As an average consumer, you probably have a vague awareness of the nutritional value of your meats — fish being better than red meat, for example. The issue can be complicated, because all meats have pros and cons, research can come up with conflicting results, and studies can surprise us. For example, research suggests that in terms of cholesterol alone, eating white meat chicken is as bad for you as eating beef.
Still, there’s a generally agreed upon hierarchy of nutritional value when it comes to meat, and small shifts in your diet might have greater effects than you realize. In a study of the Danish population, researchers found that Danes could gain more than 7,000 years of healthy life annually if they ate the recommended quantity (12 ounces per week) of fish while replacing red and processed meats in their diet.
“It’s important to note that there is no one-size-fits-all healthier diet or meat per se,” said Janese Laster, a physician nutrition specialist in the District. Also crucial? “There are differences in farming practices, so throughout the United States, each person is getting different risks and benefits from the meats.” Keeping that in mind, here are some conclusions that can be made about different categories of meat, starting with the good.
Best of class: Fish and poultry
Poultry and fish are considered the best meats you can load your diet with, Laster said. Fish is hailed for its omega-3 fatty acids, which can protect against cardiovascular disease. Fish is also rich in vitamin D, selenium and protein. “A healthy diet would entail a great diversity of fish consumption, rather than the same fish every day, along with fish that is wild-caught rather than farmed,” Laster said. Because there’s some risk of ingesting “mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls, microplastic due to our polluted water supply,” try to avoid species such as swordfish or king mackerel and opt for cod or salmon instead.