{"id":60384,"date":"2021-08-10T08:00:50","date_gmt":"2021-08-10T13:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=60384"},"modified":"2021-07-28T15:24:47","modified_gmt":"2021-07-28T20:24:47","slug":"%ef%bb%bfbeef-is-it-good-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=60384","title":{"rendered":"\ufeffBeef: Is it good for you?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Jessica Starr<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special to Tiger Media Network<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is\nbeef good for you? Since Colorado declared their \u201cMeatOut Day\u201d consumers may be\nthinking about this question now more than ever. However, cutting beef out of\nyour diet could do a lot more harm than good. Beef has great nutritional\nbenefits that are hard to get from any other whole food alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One\nexample of this is the amino acid l-carnitine. Beef is the top source of this\namino acid containing up to 162mg in just 4 ounces. You would need to drink\nabout eight glasses of milk or eat eighty-one cups of asparagus to get the same\namount of this nutrient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why\nis l-carnitine important for our health? It has several functions in the body\nbut most notably it helps with fat metabolism. The body can make its own\nl-carnitine if we consume the right combination of foods, so people are rarely\ndeficient in it. However, a diet high in this amino acid could have some really\ngreat health benefits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nexample, l-carnitine is beneficial for the heart according to the National\nInstitutes of Health. Studies have shown that it can help lower high blood\npressure as well as improve fasting glucose levels and cholesterol levels in\npatients with type 2 diabetes. In another study, l-carnitine helped people\nreach a healthier BMI by losing weight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With all the\npositive effects of this amino acid, you may be thinking you should start\ntaking an l-carnitine supplement but think again! Our body cannot absorb the\nsynthetic form of this nutrient nearly as well as it can from beef. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another benefit of beef is it contains the antioxidant glutathione. This antioxidant is linked to anti-aging benefits, increased longevity, illness prevention, strengthened immune system and reduced chronic disease risk. It also contains the antioxidant carnosine which helps reduce inflammation and boosts the immune system. Smaller amounts of other antioxidants like taurine and anserine are also present. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s\nno secret that beef is high in protein, which is a key component of a healthy\ndiet. Protein helps repair and make tissues within our bodies. Protein helps\ncreate and maintain lean muscle mass, which has been shown to increase\nlongevity and health. It also helps you feel more satisfied than other\nmacronutrients (fats and carbohydrates). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While\nbeef clearly has many benefits, some still might be wary about its saturated\nfat content. However, beef only makes up about ten percent or less of the\nsaturated fat in the American diet. Additionally, beef fat is high in stearic\nacid which has been shown to have a neutral effect on blood cholesterol levels.\nBeef is also high in oleic acid. This is the healthy fat that is also found in\nolive oil and avocados. Some people still may want to watch their saturated fat\nconsumption. The great news is that there are leaner varieties of beef that\nthey can easily include in their diets!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beef\ncontains conjugated linoleic acid, also known as CLA. This is a naturally\noccurring trans-fatty acid. But don\u2019t be alarmed! While artificially\nmanufactured trans-fats do have negative health effects, the naturally\noccurring trans-fats found in animal products behave differently in the body\nand are actually beneficial. The CLA trans-fat found in beef has been shown to\nimprove insulin sensitivity and aid in fat loss. However, like other nutrients,\nCLA in supplement form is not as beneficial as CLA from whole foods. Beef is\none of the highest whole food sources of CLA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iron\ndeficiency, or anemia, is a growing problem around the world. According to the\nNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, anemia is the most common blood\ndisorder in the United States affecting more than 3 million Americans. Each\nyear thousands of U.S. citizens are hospitalized and about 5,000 die from\nanemia. Eating beef is a great way to prevent anemia since it contains a lot of\niron. Iron can also be found in plant sources, but it\u2019s more difficult for our\nbodies to absorb. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not\nonly does beef contain iron, but it also contains multiple other vitamins and\nminerals that are important for a healthy functioning body. Beef has high\nlevels of iron, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc. It also contains smaller\namounts of calcium, copper, magnesium, manganese, and potassium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vitamins\nB12, B3, B6, B2, B5, and small amounts of vitamin E and K are also in beef.\nThese all have important roles in the body. A 4-ounce serving of beef contains\nover half of your daily value of B12. This is an essential nutrient and people\ndeficient in B12 are more at risk of depression among other health\ncomplications. Animal products are the only whole food source of vitamin B12. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nyou ever find yourself waiting in line at the Walmart pharmacy, you may notice\ncreatine supplements in the \u2018Health Foods\u2019 section nearby. Creatine helps\nimprove exercise performance, muscle growth, muscle development, and improves\nendurance. But did you know that beef contains about 350mg of creatine per\n100g? Your liver can also make creatine from the amino acids present in beef. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So,\nis beef good for you? I think the multiple health benefits discussed in this\narticle prove that beef is indeed a highly nutritious food, and I personally\nwon\u2019t be going without beef anytime soon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Starr, a 2017 Mullen High School graduate, is a senior majoring in animal science at Fort Hays State University. She is the daughter of Ann and Bryan Starr, Mullen, Neb. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jessica Starr Special to Tiger Media Network Is beef good for you? Since Colorado declared their \u201cMeatOut Day\u201d consumers may be thinking about this… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3397,3398,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-area-news","category-campus-news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Starr-Jessica.jpg?fit=3132%2C4698&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60384"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60386,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60384\/revisions\/60386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/60385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}