What is meat?
Skeletal muscle and associated tissues harvested from mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians and fish for human consumption
What defines unprocessed meat?
Fresh meat that has not been altered by preservation methods
What is red meat and why is it red. What are some examples?
Red meat is meat from mammals, high myoglobin content, gives it to the red colour
Ex: beef, pork, lamb, goat, horse, mutton
What is white meat and what are some examples?
Meat from poultry (birds)
Example, examples include chicken and turkey
Why is fish nutritionally distinct from poultry?
It has a different fat profile and nutrient composition, despite sometimes being called white meat
What defines the processed meat and what are some examples?
Meat altered by salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or chemical preservation
Ex: bacon, ham, salami, sausages, hotdog jerky, canned meat
Why do humans eat meat from a biological perspective?
Humans are omnivores and can digest both plant and animal food foods
What does archeology show about meat consumption?
Humans and ancestors have eaten meat for hundreds of thousands of years
Why is meat culturally significant?
It’s central to many traditional cuisines worldwide
What key vitamins and minerals are found in meat
Vitamins: B3 (niacin), B6, B12
Minerals: zinc, selenium, heme iron
Why is a meat protein considered the highest quality?
Because it contains all nine essential amino acids in adequate amounts
What happens to protein during digestion?
It’s broken down into individual amino acids
What are essential amino acids and what are non-essential amino acids?
Essential: amino acids the body cannot make and must get from diet
Nonessential: amino acids the body can synthesize by itself
What are conditionally essential amino acids?
Usually non-essential but required from diet during illness, stress or growth
Why are animal proteins considered complete?
Because they contain all essential amino acids
Examples of complete animal proteins?
Milk, egg, white, chicken, beef, fish
Why are many plant proteins incomplete?
They often lack sufficient amounts of one or more essential amino acids
What limiting amino acid is in wheat, rice, and corn
Lysine
Which limiting amino acid is in legumes & which in nuts
Methionine & cysteine in legumes
In nuts: lysine & methionine
How can plant based diet meat amino acid needs?
By combining lagoons and grains
Why doesn’t historical weight consumption guarantee health?
Health depends on quantity type processing, cooking methods and overall lifestyle
What is heme iron and why is it risky?
It’s iron from myoglobin/hemoglobin that can oxidize LDL cholesterol
How do L-carnitine and saturated fat affect health
They increase LDL and triglycerides, which increase cardiovascular disease risk
What is Neu5Gc and why is it concerning?
It’s a sugar in red meat linked to inflammation and cancer
