You have clicked on Meat and meat equivalents, found in level 3 of the Pyramid
Foods included here are Meat, Poultry, Fish, Legumes, Nuts, and Cheese. Thaditionally
we have looked to this food group for the protein in our diets. Mostof us have been
raised to think that lots of protein is needed to make us grow healthy and strong.
Not so. Protein need only be 10 - 15% of our calories. Protein consumed above that
will usually be converted to fuel molecules if we need extra calories, or converted
to fat and stored when we eat more calories than we need. People who are physically
more active need more total calories to provide that extra fuel, and the grams of protein
taken in will increase with more calories eaten, while maintaining the 10 - 15% proportion
of calories. Many of us also think of muscle tissue when we think of protein, because muscle contains a lot of protein. But the average plant contains 10 - 16%
protein, and all of the protein we need can be easily obtained from plant foods,
as long as we eat a good variety of them. Many of the meat protein sources also
contain a lot of fat, and add saturated fat and un-needed calories to our diets.
We should not exceed 2 - 3 servings from this group, and the serving sizes are small
relative to our common portion sizes.
Quantities per serving:
2-3 oz lean, boneless, skinless meat, fish or poultry
2 oz cheese
4 Tbl peanut butter
3/4 cup beans canned
1 cup dry legumes cooked
2 eggs
1/2 cup cottage cheese
Meat and meat equivalents can provide some nutrients besides protein:
iron Most dark meats are excellent sources of this mineral, but some legumes also
contain iron.
riboflavin
niacin
thiamin
B12 ---> only animal sources. Plants do not contain B12
zinc
You will notice that some dairy products are also listed here. They have lots of
protein.
Many, many meats, poultry and fish are high in calories, and are also loaded with
fat. Most of us need to reduce the amount of meat we eat.
The cold water fatty fishes have polyunsaturated fats that are beneficial, because
few of our foods contain these. Many of us should eat more of these fish.
You have clicked on Meat and meat equivalents, found in level 3 of the Pyramid