Is Red Meat Good For Athletes?

Guest Post by Heather Warren:

Now this is an interesting one, as red meat tends to have a bit of a bad reputation when it comes to your health. Linked to heart disease, cholesterol and cancer; eat red meat in excess isn’t always good for your health.

However sports dieticians tend to disagree…

In fact, many are now encouraging athletes to introduce more red meat into their diet, instead of surviving on the monotony of chicken breasts and fish.

What health benefits does red meat have?

For runners quite a lot…

For starters red meat is rich in iron which is needed to maintain energy levels, but this is not all it contains/can do:

• It provides essential proteins and amino acids which are needed to repair small muscle tears caused by training.
• Sirloin/tenderloin is a good source for zinc, iron and B vitamins. B vitamins are particularly important as they help convert carbohydrates into the fuel athletes need for training.
• Consuming 3.5 ounces of dark meat chicken, lamb, pork, turkey and beef can provide athletes will all the health benefits they need without overloading them with fat and calories.
• Dark meat chicken is rich in zinc and iron.
• Lamb is enriched in omega-3s that important for maintaining the health of your heart.
• Pork is a good source for Vitamin B6, which can speed up your metabolism.

Pretty good for your health right, whether you are an athlete or not…

Yet sports dieticians do offer one piece of caution about eating red/dark meat. They recommend spacing out your meat portions throughout the day, as this is better for your bone health, muscle mass and appetite.

Otherwise, you could say sports dieticians strongly recommend including all types of meat in your diet.

So if you are an athlete looking to improve your training and stamina through your diet or you are simply looking to improve your health, don’t dismiss red/dark meat completely.

As proven above, red/dark meat can equally be as good for your body as white meat.

Heather writes about food in all forms. If you’re an athlete perhaps you will enjoy red meat, such as a prime ribeye steak cooked exactly how you like it, knowing it is fueling your body.

image via FYILiving

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