The Health Benefits of meat

When it comes to following a cleaner, healthier diet, meat tends to be a rather polarizing food, with proponents and critics on both sides of the health spectrum. Even so, annual meat consumption in the U.S. (including red meat, poultry and fish) has increased steadily, rising from 205 pounds per consumer in 1980 to 230 pounds per consumer in 2016 (roughly 10 ounces per person, per day). By contrast, fruit and vegetable intakes have declined over the past 10 years, with nearly 80% of Americans (across all age groups) not meeting the recommended daily intake for vegetables.
Given the fact that this time period has seen a concurrent rise in both obesity and heart disease rates, some have questioned whether or not meat consumption to blame. However, the true culprit is overconsumption of calorically dense foods. While this might describe some meats, other types can be considered quite healthy.
The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend a plant-based diet, but this does not rule out meat consumption. Instead, many people opt for a semi-vegetarian approach—a flexitarian diet, as some have termed it—that may provide the most health benefits. This term conceptualizes a way of eating that places more emphasis on vegetable-based meals and less emphasis on meats. In other words, the most current recommendation is to eat a lot of vegetables with some meat (as opposed to the other way around). For the record, vegan and vegetarian eating patterns can supply all necessary nutrients as well.
If you choose to include meat in your diet, it’s important to know what health benefits you might be getting and how to choose the healthiest meats.