People around the world have been consuming beef for thousands of years. From the past until now, there are many processed products for this red meat. However, the nutritional content and benefits of beef are still the same, what are they?
Beef content
Beef is one type of red meat that contains higher iron than chicken or fish.
Most people usually consume beef as grilled meat, ribs, steaks, to the main topping of hamburgers.
Just like other meats, beef offers a variety of preparations that can be consumed easily, such as corned beef, beef jerky, and sausage.
Normally, low-fat fresh beef contains vitamins and minerals that the body needs.
The following is the nutrient content per 100 grams of fresh beef with medium fat.
- Water: 66.0 g
- Energy: 201 cal
- Protein: 18.8 g
- Fat: 14.0 g
- Ash: 1.2 g
- Calcium: 11 mg
- Phosphorus: 170 mg
- Iron: 2.8 mg
- Sodium: 105 mg
- Potassium: 378 mg
- Copper: 4.58 mg
- Zinc: 5.2 mg
- Retinol (Vit. A): 9 mkg
- Beta-carotene: 198 mkg
- Thiamin (Vit. B1): 0.08 mg
- Riboflavin: 0.56 mg
- Niacin: 1.3 mg
With the nutritional content above, it's no wonder that beef offers so many benefits for the health of the body, right?
Benefits of beef
Beef is a source of high quality protein which is also rich in vitamins and minerals. That is why, beef can be one of the good foods in a healthy diet.
Here are a myriad of benefits beef has to offer thanks to the nutritional content in it.
1. Maintain muscle mass
One of the benefits of beef that is a pity to miss is that it helps maintain muscle mass. How not, beef is a source of protein that contains all the essential amino acids.
Essential amino acids are needed by everyone, especially the elderly, to maintain a healthy body.
In addition, the protein in beef helps build and repair body tissues, as well as increase muscle activity.
No wonder if those of you who want to increase muscle mass need to increase the amount of protein intake.
If the body does not get the right nutrition, efforts to get a muscular body will certainly take a long time.
2. Improve exercise performance
In addition to maintaining muscle mass, other benefits of beef that may greatly affect athletes are increasing exercise performance.
You see, fish and meat, including beef, contain beta-alanine which produces carnosine in the body. Carnosine is an important compound needed to carry out muscle function.
Consumption of beef can increase carnosine levels in muscles. High levels of carnosine can reduce fatigue and improve exercise performance, especially when running.
3. Prevent anemia
Thanks to the iron content in it, consumption of beef is claimed to help prevent anemia.
Anemia can be caused by iron deficiency which is usually characterized by fatigue and weakness.
By consuming beef, the body gets enough iron, especially in the form of heme. Heme is a form of iron that is only found in animal protein.
The human body absorbs heme iron more effectively than non-heme iron, which is plant-derived.
That is, the consumption of beef is useful to help meet the needs of iron which can prevent anemia.
4. Maintain the immune system
Did you know that beef is a high source of zinc and can help boost immunity?
The benefits of beef are obtained from the antioxidant properties of zinc which are responsible for producing antibodies.
The antibodies produced help fight free radicals that can cause chronic disease.
In addition, the protein in beef helps produce these antibodies to protect the body from infection.
Therefore, children to adults need adequate amounts of zinc and protein. This zinc requirement can be obtained by eating beef in moderation.
5. Beautify skin and hair
Meat, including beef, may contain high levels of tocopherol and vitamin E. Both are known to fight collagen so that it can promote skin aging.
However, certain parts of meat, such as liver, are rich in ubiquinol.
Ubiquinol is a strong antioxidant compound found in the outermost layer of the skin (epidermis). These antioxidants can help fight oxidative damage to the skin.
In addition, consumption of beef is considered good for maintaining healthy hair because it is rich in iron. The reason, iron deficiency is one of the causes of hair loss.
The dangers of eating too much beef
Beef does offer a myriad of health benefits.
Even so, consuming too much red meat can be at risk for various health problems, such as:
- heart disease,
- colon cancer,
- excess iron, and
- tapeworm infection if the meat is undercooked.
The good news is, you can avoid these risks by recognizing what types of beef are healthy.
In addition to the type, don't forget to find out how many servings it is safe to eat meat according to your health condition.
If you have further questions, please consult your doctor or nutritionist to understand the right solution for you.