[H.M. Murdock]

A balanced diet that includes meat is every bit as healthy as a vegetarian diet. More calories, perhaps, but it is still extremely healthy.
Processed foods are bad. Vegetables and fruits are your friends, as is creative cooking/preperation.

Most people think you should stay away from red meat on reflex- high calorie content in a lot of it, it's been linked to heart disease and cancer by some, and let's not forget or ignore things like mad cow. Or the fact that red meat is far and away more expensive than white meat or fish. *wink*

Originally Posted by Cheryl Koch, M.S., R.D.

When eaten in moderation, red meat plays an important role in the diet. It can be a source of antioxidants such as glutathione or carnosine and fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K). The key to eating red meat as part of a balanced diet is to select lean cuts of meat such as round, chuck, sirloin, or loin. In addition, "choice" or "select" grades of beef are better choices than "prime" because of their lower fat content. Look also for extra lean or lean ground beef, or beef with no more than 15 percent fat. Finally, remember that the cooking method is as important as the meat source and cut. Broiling, grilling, roasting, and baking meats are the best ways to cut the amount of fat that makes it to the table.

What is moderation when it comes to meat consumption? The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish per day. One serving size of lean meat is 3 ounces, roughly the size of a deck of playing cards or the palm of a woman's hand.

Healthy eating ≠ cutting meat all together. Healthy eating is cutting your intake of meats down to size and boosting how many vegetables you eat by a significant margin.

[magical spatula]

The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish per day.

hahaha.

do you know how many people eat probably triple or quadruple that in a day?

especially in restaurants, a typical serving of meat on a lunch sandwich is probably 1/3 of a pound, if not more. many steaks, especially "dinner" steaks, are at the very least, 8 ounces. a lot of steaks (again, especially in restaurants) come in standard sizes of 10, 12, or up to 16 ounces (and remember, 16 ounces = a pound). that's a lot of meat.


and that's just for two meals! a typical day for many people includes bacon or sausage with breakfast, a meat-based lunch (per sandwiches, even on salads, although meat portions on salads tend to be about the actual right serving, probably 6 ounces or so), and then again, the "typical" dinner is a meat, a carbohydrate, and a vegetable.




mmmyeah.


the way i see it: tofu is much less expensive than meat. and better for you.




i'm not saying everyone has to be vegetarian, but simply making a point that typically, people consume a heck of a lot more meat than is recommended.


however, the same could go for a lot of things: fats, sweets, etc. why do you think america is the fattest country in the world?

[H.M. Murdock]

Well, let's keep it in perspective. In a more active society, we could consume a lot more than 6 ounces of meat per day and be very healthy. In fact, you can survive entirely on meat with a few supplemental foods (berries, fat, etc.) for variety, but I wouldn't want to do that.
However, America is the fattest country in the world because it's the least active, and the most anti-health nation on the planet. The AHA has toned down its reccomendation of meat portions accordingly.

I don't object to vegetarian meals. Or even tofu, since tofu is pretty much a blank slate food that absorbs whatever flavors you want it to with little outside influences. But a full vegetarian diet is just another end of extremism, and extremes are generally pretty stupid. Of course, I've never met a person who was "middlin' for the right to life." But I have met plenty of people who eat balanced food who are relatively likeable.