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| Meat, Poultry, and Fish |
| As with dairy, you'll find an abundance of nutritional goodness in this categorybut make sure you choose your proteins wisely. |
| WHAT MATTERS, WHAT DOESN'T |
| What Matters |
| Choosing meats with less than 25 to 30 percent fat. Eating no more than 3 to 5 ounces of meat at a meal, preferably no more than a few times a week. Choosing organic or free-range meats when possible to eliminate or reduce chemicals. |
| What Doesn't |
| Removing all fat from meat before cooking. Trim excess fat, but don't worry about getting every bit; just be sure not to eat it. Avoiding red meat if you are watching your weight: a 3-ounce serving of beef tenderloin, for example, contains only 170 calories. |
| Lean Meat |
| Here's another much-maligned food that doesn't deserve its bad rap. Lean meat is a nutritional storehousein fact, it provides almost every nutrient your body needs. (But it's missing an important ingredient, fiber.) Rich in trace elements such as iodine, zinc, manganese, and selenium, meat is also an invaluable source of all the B vitamins, including thiamin (vitamin B 1), riboflavin (B 2), and niacin. Including a small amount of meat in your meal also improves iron absorption from other foods. |
| Pork is less fatty than beef or lamb and has little more fat than chicken if eaten without skin. But whatever meat you choose, be very careful to check the labels: all but the leanest cuts of beef can contain high percentages of saturated fat, so you can't go by the word "lean" alone. |
| Chicken and Turkey |
| Chicken and turkey contain far less fat than other meats, and most of it is in the skin. They and other types of poultry are excellent sources of protein as well as easily absorbed iron and zinc. Poultry is rich in B vitamins: B 6, which is essential for making red blood cells, maintaining the nervous system, bolstering immunity, and perhaps diminishing PMS symptoms; niacin may help reduce cholesterol; and B 12 is essential for brain functiona deficiency can lead to memory loss and depression. |
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