Is red meat good for you, say a burger with a little ketchup?

Question

Is red meat good for you, say a burger with a little ketchup?

Answer 1

Let's put it this way, I have read enough about the subject that I pretty much laugh any time the vegetarians come out of the woodwork.  Go ahead and eat red meat as long as you feel OK doing so.  Here are a few pointers:

1.  If you can afford more humanely-raised meat, by all means buy it.  This creates a market for ethical ranchers and ultimately would help put factory farming out of business.

2.  Whole cuts of meat are safer to prepare than ground meat, and you don't always have to cook them all the way through (but you always run a little risk of food-borne illness if you don't).  If you do use ground meat or prepare a burger, make sure it is cooked all the way through.

3.  I'm not convinced fat content really matters.  A lot of what people refer to as "evidence" that dietary fat causes heart disease can also be pointed to as "evidence" that excess carbohydrate intake is the culprit;  for example, a Big Mac meal is mostly starchy bread, starchy French fries and sugary "special sauce."  A pizza is mostly crust.  Spaghetti with meatballs is mostly pasta.  And so on.  You always need some fat in your diet, but you don't need a lot of glucose sources in your food to get the energy you need--you can just as easily get it from fruit or vegetables or even protein.  But if you skip the fat you'll be missing an important satiety-inducing ingredient, you won't be able to absorb fat-soluble vitamins as efficiently, and your hormone production and brain functioning will suffer.

So the short answer would be, go ahead and eat the burger, but don't drown it in ketchup.  :)

Answer 2

Red meat is awful for you. High in fat and cholesterol. May I suggest a veggie burger? It dose contain protein iron and magnesium though.  

Answer 3

You can eat anything you want. Just do so in moderation.