Protein Comparison

Beef is nutrient rich; a serving of beef provides 14 essential nutrients and is one of nature’s best sources of iron, zinc and vitamin B₁₂.

data from chicken and fish from the 2005 Canadian Nutrient File.

For more about the health benefits of eating nutrient-rich beef see the Naturally Nutrient Rich section. Nutrient information for specific beef cuts is available at What’s in Beef?.

Practice Point
Achieving adequate intakes of iron and zinc can be particularly challenging for those who restrict foods of animal origin. Vegetarians that do not eat any meat, fish or poultry need up to 50% more iron and zinc.¹

¹ Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium and Zinc. National Academy Press, Washington. 2001

For Your Clients
The following iron pamphlets are available for your clients:

Iron... Get Rich (PDF 3.8MB)
Iron and Infants (PDF 292KB)
Iron and Teen Girls (PDF 412KB)
Iron and Adult Women (PDF 380KB)

Order additional copies for your practice.

Want to know more?
For more information on iron and zinc and health, download:

Iron for All Ages – Iron for Health (PDF 340KB).
Nutrition Perspectives, Zinc Deficiency: Impact on Health and Preventive Strategies (PDF 356KB). This resource includes a reproducible fact sheet for your clients.

Practice Point
You can feel good about recommending lean burgers to your clients. A lean beef burger (not super-size deluxe!) provides only about 180 calories and is packed with nutrients like protein, iron and zinc (to name a few). And, a lean beef burger has ½ more nutrients per calorie than a plain chicken fillet sandwich.

From the team of registered dietitians at the