Healthy Choices

Is beef healthy to eat?

Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide encourages Canadians to enjoy 1 to 3 servings (75 grams each) of Meat and Alternatives, such as lean beef, every day.

Beef contains 14 essential vitamins and minerals including an excellent source of high quality protein, one of the richest food sources of highly absorbable heme iron and one of nature’s best sources of zinc and Vitamin B12. Lean beef is a nutritious choice for a healthy diet.

Lean beef is a heart healthy choice; eight beef cuts, as well as lean and extra lean ground beef, qualify for the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Health CheckTM program:

  • Lean Ground Beef
  • Lean Ground Sirloin
  • Lean Ground Chuck
  • Lean Ground Round
  • Extra Lean Ground Beef
  • Extra Lean Ground Round
  • Extra Lean Ground Sirloin
  • Eye of round
  • Inside round
  • Sirloin tip
  • Top sirloin
  • Flank
  • Strip loin
  • Cross rib
  • Outside round

For more on the healthfulness of beef see Naturally Nutrient Rich.


What should I recommend to my clients about barbequing meats?

Grilling meats is a lower fat cooking method and is best done over moderate to low heat.

Compounds known as heterocyclic amines or HCAs are formed from the reaction between creatine, amino acids and sugars in foods. HCA formation increases during the cooking of meat such as beef and lamb, fish or poultry, especially if the meat is cooked using high temperatures such as grilling, or for long periods of time. In order to be mutagenic HCAs need to be converted by enzymes in the liver or colon.1 This conversion is increased in smokers.2

HCAs have been shown to cause certain types of cancer in laboratory studies carried out with animals such as rats and mice. The amount of HCA fed to lab animals are hundreds of thousands of times higher than those found in the human diet. To date no clear relationship between HCA consumption and cancer has been found in human studies.3,4,5

1 Chan AT et al. In J Cancer 2005;115:648-52.

2 Cross AJ and Sinha R. Environ Molecular Mutagenesis 2004;44:44-55.

3 Alaejos MS et al. Food Additives and Contaminants 2008; 25:2-24.

4 Keating, GA and Bogen, KT. Chromatogr. B Analyt. Technol. Biomed. Life Sci. 2004; 802:127-133.

5 Ohgaki, H et al. Mutat. Res. 1991; 259:399-410.

For Your Clients
Recommend your clients follow these simple steps to reduce HCAs while still enjoying grilling and a balanced diet that includes meat:

  • Use moderate to low heat when grilling, roasting or pan-frying.

  • Minimize grilling time by using smaller cut-sizes such as kabobs and by cooking meat to less doneness. Enjoy meat that is cooked medium-rare to medium doneness (145°F to 160°F/ 63°C to 71°C). Keep in mind that for food safety, ground beef needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C). Use a digital food thermometer inserted sideways into burger patties to test for doneness.

  • Some marinades have been shown to reduce HCA’s created. Use acidic marinades such as those made with citrus juices, wine or vinegar.

  • Use leaner cuts and trim visible fat from meat before grilling to avoid flare-ups and prevent charring.

  • Spritz-out any flare-ups on the grill with water.

  • Trim away portions of charred meat before serving.

  • Enjoy moist heat cooking such as braising, stewing or slow cooking, more often.


Do Canadians eat too much red meat?

Data from Statistic Canada’s Canadian Community Health Survey 2.2 shows that most Canadians are not eating too much meat. In fact, on average, Canadians eat the equivalent of one Food Guide serving of red meat per day based on Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide.

Canada’s Food Guide recommends that we enjoy Meat and Alternatives, like lean beef, each day:
Children: 1-2 servings
Teens: 2-3 servings
Adults: 2-3 servings.

One serving of red meat, such as beef is 75 grams – that’s roughly the size of two lipsticks.


What is the link with red meat and cancer prevention?

Approximately 20% to 40% of certain cancers are related to unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and excess body weight.1 The actual contributions of these factors is unknown.

No single food item causes or prevents cancer; however, a balanced eating pattern including lots of vegetables, fruits and whole grain products seems to have the strongest link with reducing risk of some cancers.

Recent research also shows that conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a natural trans fatty acid in beef and milk products, may reduce the risk of some cancers.2,3 CLA isomers appear to modulate cancer, body composition, body weight, immune function and glucose metabolism in experimental models.4,5

While CLA appears to have potent anticancer effects in animal and cell culture models, a preventative role for CLA in human cancer is still being determined.6

Encouraging Canadians to eat red meat and dairy products – the two main sources of CLA – as part of a healthy, balanced diet is a prudent approach to ensuring that CLA intakes are maintained.

Beef also contains selenium, and Vitamin D, nutrients reported to be preventive with respect to cancer.7,8

For more information, download Anticancer Effects of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) This resource includes a reproducible fact sheet for your clients. Also, visit the CLA Network and download the brochure Natural Power.

For more information on nutrition and cancer, visit the Canadian Cancer Society.

1 Canadian Cancer Society/National Cancer Institute of Canada. Canadian Cancer Statistics 2005. (available at www.cancer.ca) [accessed April 2007].

2 Kemp MQ, et al. J Nutr, 2003; 133: 3670-77.

3 Hubbard NE, et al. Cancer Lett, 2003; 190: 13-19.

4 Whigham LD, et al. Pharmacol Res. 2000; 42:503-510.

5 Pariza MW, et al. Prog Lipid Res, 2001; 40:283-298.

6 Belury MA. J Nutr, 2002; 132:2995-2998.

7 Kellen E, et al. Int J Urol 2006 Sep;13(9):1180-4.

8 Brown KM, et al. Public Health Nutr 2001 Apr;4(2B):593-9.


What is the link between protein and healthy weights?

There is mounting evidence that higher protein diets (within the levels recommended by current Dietary Reference Intakes) are effective for weight management.

Eating protein-rich foods, like lean beef, may help with achieving and maintaining a healthy weight:

  • Studies show that subjects spontaneously eat less and body weight loss is greater on high protein diets in conditions of ad libitum energy intake.1,2,3
  • Including protein at meals and snacks can help you feel full and satisfied; increasing protein intake from 15% to 30% has been shown to increase satiety and spontaneously decrease calorie intake.1
  • Studies also show that our bodies naturally burn more calories when we eat protein-rich meals; protein has a greater thermogenic effect than other macronutrients.4
  • Eating plenty of protein-rich foods also improves body composition by promoting greater fat mass loss and lean muscle mass retention.5,6

Adults can safely consume up to 35% of their energy intake from protein as part of a healthy diet.7 Encourage your clients to enjoy protein-rich foods, like lean beef, at meals and snacks to help curb hunger between meals and reduce energy intake.

For more information on protein and healthy weights, see Healthy Weights. Also, download The Satiating Power of Protein. This resource includes a reproducible fact sheet for your clients.

1 Weigle DS et al. Am J Clin Nutr, 2005; 82(1):41-8.

2 Dumesnil JG et al. Br J Nutr, 2001; 86(5):557-68.

3 Skov AR et al. Int J Obes, 1999; 23(5): 258-36.

4 Eisenstein J et al. Nutr Rev, 2002; 60:189-200.

5 Johnston CS et al. J Nutr, 2004; 134(3):586-91.

6 Layman DK et al. J Nutr 2003; 133(2):411-7.

7 Wilkinson DL and McCargar L. Best Practice and Clinical Gastroenterology, 2004; 18(6):1031-47.

Good To Know
Check out this University of British Columbia study that compared diets of vegetarian, past vegetarian and non-vegetarian women and found no difference in weight among these three groups of health-conscious women.