The big benefit of lean meats such as chicken, turkey, beef and lamb, is that they are rich in protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, niacin, zinc, and iron.
Lean meats are mostly low in fat and sodium. Lean meats are also sources of a range of endogenous antioxidants and other bioactive substances including taurine, carnitine, carnosine, ubiquinone, glutathione and creatine.
Substantial evidence from recent studies shows that lean red meat trimmed of visible fat does not raise total blood cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels.
The saturated fat content of lean red meat is less than 1.5g/100g lean red meat compared with more than 37g saturated fat/100g of visible fat from red meat. The main lipid in lean meat tissue is phospholipid which makes up the major portion of the cell membrane structure, and these are rich in polyunsaturated fat (PUFA), while the other main lipid in lean meat is triacylglycerol which in beef and lamb are enriched in saturated fat and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA).
Today, more than 65% of beef cuts sold at retail meet government standards for lean, and 17 of the top 25 most popular cuts sold at retail are lean. Among those cuts are perennially popular and widely consumed beef products like Sirloin Steak and Tenderloin.
Lean meat
