Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 2/18/14

The American Meat Institute and American Meat Science Association have unveiled the latest video in their Meat MythCrusher series. The video takes on the argument that simply cutting meat from the diet will make it healthier.

Anna Dilger, assistant professor at the University of Illinois, discusses the variety of nutrition benefits of meat and poultry products and their role in an overall diet.

“Eliminating meat from your diet and not making any other changes really isn’t a recipe for a healthy diet,” Dilger said in a news release. “Meat provides several essential nutrients to your diet that are pretty hard to make up with lots of different vegetable or fruit sources.”

Dilger notes that protein is a necessary part of the diet and meat and poultry are considered complete proteins, meaning they provide all the essential amino acids needed for health. People would have to eat a wide variety of plant protein sources over the course of a day or several days to get all the amino acids available from meat in one meal.

While many people believe Americans eat too much meat, the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans report shows that the protein group is the only food group consumed in the proper amount. “The recommendation is that we consume between five and seven ounces from the protein group, and the average American eats about six ounces, so they are right on where they are supposed to be,” Dilger said.
The video also discusses the benefits of protein for young children as well as for weight loss.

The Meat MythCrusher video series is available here.

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