Medical Questions » Diet Questions » Question No. 1202
| Question: | Is meat the best food for protein and iron? |
| Answer: | The best foods to eat for protein are not simply those that are highest in protein. Although meat has a high percentage of calories as protein, its actual usability in the body - which depends on the balance of amino acids it contains-is not as good as that of soya or quinoa.
Quinoa (pronounced ' keen-wa' ) is a grain-like food from South America, available in healthfood shops.
A food' s other nutritional constituents also have to be taken into account. Most meat is actually as much as 50 per cent fat, mainly saturated, whereas a vegetarian source of protein like tofu provides, percentage-wise, a lot less fat, mainly polyunsaturated, and more than enough protein.
As for iron, other foods such as spinach, beans, lentils and pumpkin seeds are richer in this important mineral than meat, but the iron in meat is more absorbable. So overall, for iron at least, meat probably is best. |
|
|
