A study has shown that fresh beef and lamb contributed to intakes of important nutrients, which adds to the existing evidence supporting the role of red meat as part of a healthy diet.
A large proportion of people in Ireland between the age of five and 90 consumed fresh red meat, which contributed to intakes of protein; monounsaturated fat; vitamin D; niacin; vitamin B6; vitamin B12; iron; and zinc.
Fresh beef and lamb – not undergone any preserving process other than chilling, freezing and quick-freezing – contributed relatively small proportions of nutrients of public health concern, including total fat, saturated fat and salt.
While higher consumption was associated with higher intakes of total fat and lower intakes of carbohydrate and dietary fibre in some age groups, it was also associated with higher intakes of protein, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, zinc and potassium and lower intakes of total sugars.
In adults, older adults and women of childbearing age – which the study specifies at between the ages 18-50 – at higher consumption was not associated with increased risk factors of cardio-metabolic diseases, nor was it associated with better or poorer nutritional status for vitamin D, B12 or iron.
Red meat
The dietary role of meat is under scrutiny for health and environmental reasons, however, a growing body of evidence proposes that dietary advice to limit red meat for health benefits is “unnecessarily restrictive”.
Some literature suggests that the negative health outcomes previously linked to red meat consumption are associated with the wider dietary patterns associated with being a red-meat consumer.
The study published in the journal Nutrients was conducted by researchers at Munster Technological University (MTU), University College Cork (UCC), University College Dublin (UCD), and Queen’s University Belfast.