What's The Deal with Beef?

Nutrition advice is continually evolving and changing. Currently, whether or not to eat beef is a debated and often controversial topic. The question: is beef healthy? The answer: it depends. Like many things in health and nutrition, answers aren’t always so clear-cut or black and white.

At Honey Bee Meals, we deliver freshly prepared and handcrafted meals twice weekly across the Greater Toronto area.  We understand the importance of making good food choices and always serve high quality beef that is hormone and antibiotic free.  We include beef on both our Classic and Low Carb menus. Beef is both a delicious and versatile protein and provides important health benefits. It is one of the most complete dietary sources of protein and its’ amino acid profile is almost identical to our own muscles - making it ideal to help repair and grow our muscles.

While protein is another debated topic in nutrition - how much do we actually need?! The protein found in beef helps rebuild muscle tissue that is naturally lost through our daily activities. Protein also helps us build more muscle which is especially helpful when strength training and to reverse muscle loss. Losing muscle mass can weaken bones and may affect your balance especially for adults over 55. 

Beef is also an excellent source of iron. The iron in beef helps our bodies produce hemoglobin which helps our blood carry oxygen from our lungs to the rest of our body.  Not consuming enough iron can put us at risk of iron deficiency anemia which means we are not getting enough oxygen and may lead to feeling tired, weak and/or mentally foggy. The iron found in meat is mostly in the heme form, which our bodies absorb very efficiently. 

Beef is also a good source of zinc which adults need to heal damaged tissue as well as to support a healthy immune system.  Children and adolescents also need zinc to thrive and grow.   Beef also contains phosphorus,needed for the growth, maintenance, and repair of all tissues and cells, and for the production of the genetic building blocks, DNA and RNA. Phosphorus is also needed to help balance and use other vitamins and minerals, including vitamin D, iodine, magnesium, and zinc.

Beef contains vitamins B3, B6 and B12.  Niacin or vitamin B3 has various important functions in our bodies.  Low niacin intake has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease. B6 is important for blood formation and energy metabolism.  Meat is the only good dietary source of vitamin B12, which is an essential nutrient important for blood formation and your brain and nervous system. 

Whether choosing to have your healthy prepared Honey Bee Meals delivered right to your door or preparing meals in your own kitchen, high-quality beef can be a tasty and nutritious component to your meals.