Nutritional Benefits of Meat. A White Paper M. Susan Brewer,1* Ph.D., R.D. and Terry F. Hatch2, MD 1* Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 202 ABL, 1302 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Urbana, IL, 61801. Phone: 217-244-2867. Fax: 217-244- 3585. email:
[email protected]. 2 College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 611 W Park, Urbana, IL, 61801. Email:
[email protected] Table of Contents Summary 3 Introduction 5 Part 1--A Comparison of Red Meat vs. Poultry and Meat vs. Non-Meat Protein 5 Nutrient density 5 Protein 6 Iron 7 Zinc, Niacin and Vitamin B12 7 Protein Quality 8 Effect of diet on composition of beef, pork, poultry and fish tissues 10 Effect of cooking on nutrient content of meat 12 Glycemic response 13 Part 2--Meat Protein Benefits 15 Bone health 16 Immune function 17 Inflammation 18 Aging/Muscle Wasting 20 Cognition 22 Iron 23 Vitamin B12 23 Choline 23 Carnitine 24 Omega-3-fatty acids 24 References 26 Tables Table 1. Nutrient content / 100 grams of selected protein sources 38 Table 2. Fatty acids per 100 g of sample 40 Table 3. Nutrient density / 100 calories of selected protein sources 41 Table 4. Protein digestibility–corrected amino acid score of selected foods 43 Table 5. Protein (g/100g of food) and amino acid content (g/100 g of food and % of 44 protein) of selected protein sources Table 6. Sulfur-containing amino acids/100g protein and cysteine/methionine Ratio 46 Table 7. Glycemic index and glycemic Load of Selected Foods 47 Summary A “nutrient dense” food contains a generous amount of nutrients relative to it caloric content.