What’s the Beef with Red Meat?

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Red meat is a nutrient dense food that is an important and strong source of complete protein with all essential amino acids, iron, zinc, selenium, and B vitamins, especially vitamin B₁₂. A healthy, balanced diet can include red meat, provided it is approached with moderation and mindful choices.

🐮 Lean and grass-fed options are often a better nutritional profile.

🐮 Look for “loin”, “sirloin” or “round” in beef and pork names and select 90% or higher lean ground meat.

🐮 Trim visible fat before cooking.

🐮 Avoid or limit high-fat cuts such as ribeye and T-bone.

🐮 Best cooking methods are grilling, baking, roasting, or broiling.

🐮 The standard serving size of cooked beef is 3 ounces; on this program 4 oz. cooked = 1 Protein serving. While it’s OK to occasionally double-up to have 1.5 or 2 Protein servings (6-8 oz.) at one sitting, the standard recommendation is to limit yourself to 12–18 oz. (cooked weight) weekly to manage health risks.

🐮 Treat beef as a side dish rather than the main focus. If you start with a pre-dinner salad, add 1 serving or (for example, rice or potato, and 1-2 servings of cooked veggies on your dinner plate, 4 oz. cooked beef on your plate is certainly enough.

Also, as an FYI, when it comes to the “other” red meat – namely, from wild game animals (deer/venison, rabbit, elk, and others) – due to their diet and active lifestyle, their meat has significantly less fat and more nutrients compared to domesticated beef.

To help you make good decisions when it comes to red meat in your diet, here are two versions of the same “Beef Cuts” reference sheet – one by cut name in alphabetical order and the other by cut tier, Leanest to Highest Fat. You can download and print at your convenience.