Overview
Is roast beef healthy? This question often plagues meat lovers and health-focused people. I myself love to enjoy the taste of red meat, but I often get concerned about its potential effects on my health. So, is roast beef healthy for your body? The answer, as it turns out, is not as simple as yes or no. The truth is, it depends because there are both potential benefits and risks associated with consuming roasted beef.
It is dangerous when food in general (roasted red meat in particular) gets consumed in large amount. But what about eating only a moderate amount of roast beef? Would it still be healthy, or dangerous, so that we should avoid it altogether? Let us go find out the undiscovered beef benefits and disadvantages.
What is roast beef, anyway?
Literally, a roast beef is beef that has been cooked in the oven at a high temperature. According to Wikipedia, roast beef is a meal that is generally served as the main side dish and is been enjoyed for many centuries. You will often find a few pieces of roast beef in pudding, sandwich filling, and cold cuts.
Roast beef is characteristic of western culture and classic dishes like Yorkshire pudding. Proudly in England, roasted beef is one of the juiciest national dish. Some different cuts for beef for roasting include sirloin, top rump, and fillet.
What part of the cow is roast beef?
Actually, roasts and steak meat can come from the lower neck and upper shoulder of the cow, which is called “chuck. You’ve for sure heard of chuck roast, flat iron steak, shoulder roast, Denver cut and shoulder tender medallions.
What does roast beef taste like?
Never tried roast beef before? Roasted meat tastes savory, juicy, tender, and slightly sweet, but the taste depends more on the cut of meat.
With different kinds of ingredients, you can enjoy an ultimate flavor of roast beef. When roasting, if you rub the beef with spices, you will infuse that spicy flavor. For sure, the taste would be different for different cooking methods.
When prepared right without freaking out, those who have had a taste of beef describe it as “umami”. However, everyone has his/her own unique palate.
It is normal to wonder how a roasted beef would taste. Yummy? Well, if you have attended a fun dinner party where you are served roast beef, you know you’re in for a serious treat. It is very tempting not to turn down the opportunity to enjoy that kind of a savory treat, if you got a busy lifestyle.
Read More: Is roasting a healthy or unhealthy cooking technique?
Roasted beef Nutritional facts
Is roast beef healthy for your health? You might be surprised at the nutritional data for a roasted beef.
According to one health report, a 3.5-ounce serving of roasted beef contains:
- Calories: 217
- Water: 61%
- Protein: 26.1 grams
- Total Fat: 11.8 grams
- Carbohydrates: 0 grams
- Dietary Fiber: 0 grams
- Sugar: 0 grams
Is roast beef healthy? – the health benefits of roast beef
Is roasted beef healthy for your body? This is a common question I find most people ask when trying to determine whether to include red meat in their diet or not. The health benefits of roast beef are often debated, but there are some clear pros and cons to consider. On the plus side, a mouth-watering roast beef is a good source of protein and iron. That is not all, let us find out the benefits of eating roasted beef.
1) Roasted beef is a rich source of protein
Roasted beef is super rich in protein. Surprisingly, for every 2 ounce serving of roast beef, you get 11grams proteins. Again, 3-4 ounce serving of roasted sirloin has up to 22.5 grams of protein. The quantity of protein is more than the 40% daily need for active men and 50% for women. Health reports show that the protein content of lean, roasted beef is as high as 26–27%
This is more than you get from skim milk, so it is very suitable for body building, and weight gain dieting. If you love to repair tissues and build muscle mass for fitness, protein (amino acid) is a nice addition to your bodybuilding diet. Away from being the macronutrient for muscle growth in strength exercises, our body cell structure, enzymes, antibodies are all protein-based substances.
People who are heavy and want to get skinny body can also use protein to suppress appetite. A good portion of beef in the breakfast, like eggs, would keep you feeling full for near an entire day. This is an indirect way to reduce cravings for snacks and other weight gain foods.
2) A roast beef is a good source of iron
The presence of iron in red meat is what makes roast beef heart healthy. Surprised? Roasted beef contains up to 6 percent iron for every 2oz. serving. You know how consuming roasted beef helps you in cardiovascular health?
The iron is the main component of hemoglobin, which transports oxygen throughout your bodies[research]. When you your body runs short of iron, you will start feeling unexpected health issues including weight loss, dizziness, irritability, headache, and general weakness (low energy).
Be mindful of the benefits of roasted beef if you have heart related problems. Shortage of iron in the body can raise hell or provoke sudden death.
3) Roast beef is an excellent source of B vitamins
Roast beef is a good source of vitamin, including B12, B3 and B6. About 3 ounces of roasted meat (sirlon) contains enough niacin, B6 and B12, an amount you’ll need for each day. These B-vitamins are indispensable and essential nutrients for your nervous system, your brains, and blood formation.
One most life saving benefit of Vitamin B6 is in energy metabolism (act as coenzymes that convert food into energy), in addition to blood formation. I wonder what we can likely do without continuous metabolism going on in our cells. Doesn’t blood has link with the heart?
Let us look at the function of vitamin B3, which is also called niacin. Studies have shown that without the right level of this niacin – member of vitamin B family, in your body, you will suffer an extremely increased risk of cardiac disease.
Finally, niacin helps to keep your cholesterol level at minimum, reduces risk of death from heart attack. To be safe, you got to consume a good portion of roast beef to keep niacin and B6 level as required.
4) Roasted red meat is a good source of Zinc
Roasted beef is just one of the best foods high in zinc, you must strive to include in your daily diets.
Zinc is one of those vital minerals your body needs for growth and tissue maintenance. Surprised how healthy roasted beef is? Can you imagine that more than a hundred enzymes rely on the mineral zinc for their activities?
If you are a woman, take this seriously. Sufficient zinc is needed at the early stage of pregnancy, and any deficiency might cause birth defects, including poor brain development, defects in the spinal cord.
One life-saving health benefits of mineral zinc is the to empower white blood cells in immune system to fight and expel bacteria and infections.
5) A roasted beef is a little-known source of selenium and phosphorus
Not only is roast beef a rich supply of selenium (trace element in our body), beef also contains a large amount of phosphorus, which essentially supports growth and maintenance.
6) Roasted beef is a suitable for a low-fat diet.
Is roast beef good for a diet low in fat? Roast beef meat contains about 6 grams of fat in every 100g serving, and 3-ounce serving of mouth-watering roasted sirloin contains nearly 8 grams of total fat, including 3 grams of saturated fat. But according to the AHA(American Heart Association), your daily intake of saturated fat shouldn’t exceed 7%.
Be careful about these fat numbers. The quantity per serving of roasted beef is quite below the allowed daily limits, yet you must not consume large portions of roasted beef. If you are hypertensive or has high cholesterol level, you don’t just have to eat roast beef, although it is low in saturated fat.
It is best to enjoy the roast beef along with a side dish like potatoes full of carbohydrates. A lean cut of the red meat in a breakfast sandwich is another nice way to consume beef in moderation.
7) Other health important compounds
There are many other bioactive compounds that beef supplies. Some of the prominent substances include but not limited to:
Creatine which is an energy source for your muscles. Bodybuilders would like this one. Creatine is richly available in meaty diets and helps in muscle growth and maintenance.
Taurine does not only come from beef, you can get it also from fish, and some sugary drinks. Taurine is an antioxidant protein substance (amino acid) to improve muscle and heart functioning.
CLA – Conjugated Linoleic acid is a natural trans fat with huge health benefits including weight loss (report). Because it improves insulin sensitivity, make beef a part of your healthy diet, if you suffer from diabetes. The best food source for CLA is the grass-fed beef, because it has an average amount of 0.46% of fat content.
Carnosine(beta-analyl-L-histidine) is a wonderful amino acid in a beef. It would boost your immune system, lower risk of inflammation, prevent lipid peroxidation and help in anti-aging (it limits glycation). Compared to roasted chicken, roasted beef has 50% more carnosine.
8) Roasted beef is an incredible source of antioxidants
One of the best antioxidants for human health is the glutathione. Roasted beef contains a high amount of dietary glutathione. The master antioxidant is scientifically proven to:
- prevent cell damage,
- prevent chronic diseases,
- have anti-aging benefits,
- strengthens the immune system
9) Beef is a good source of L-Carnitine
L-Carnitine is the component that assist in fat metabolism. From my biological science knowledge, fat has to be transported to the cell, precisely in the mitochondrion, for oxidation(burning). L-carnitine is an essential made inside the liver from two amino acids – L-methionine and L-lysine.
However, here are the health benefits of this mineral from roast beef.
- Helps in minimize hypertension, inflammation and reduces mortality due to heart failure.
- Reduces cholesterol level (source)
- L-Carnitine supplement aids weight loss. Controlled trials proved that people who took L-carnitine supplement lost significantly more weight.
The health benefits of roast beef – summary
With all the vitamins, proteins, and minerals,
Roasted beef has complete protein vital to build and maintains muscle mass. If you love strength workout, just increase your protein intake from roast beef.
Eating roasted beef reduces fatigue in muscles. You want to exercise with great performance, beef is rich in carnosine which is reported to reduce a feeling of tiredness and weakness.
Eating roasted beef prevents blood diseases, including anemia (red blood cell fails to carry oxygen). Enough beef reduces risk of suffering iron deficiency anemia.
Is roast beef heart healthy? Beef is rich in nutrients that prevent heart and blood related diseases, stroke, and also high blood pressure. There’s mix feeling when it comes to relating effect of red meat on heart health. The truth is, too much eating of processed red meat is unhealthy not friendly if you have cardiovascular diseases.
Grain fed beef or grass fed beef? Which is healthier?
The type of foods used in feed a cow significantly affects the nutrient composition in the beef. Is your red meat a grain-fed beef or a grass-fed beef? How healthy the roasted beef is, depends on whether the animal was fed with grass or grains. Their nutritional values will largely be different.
Grass fed beef makes a healthier meat-based diet than grain fed beef. Most cattle owners today depend mostly on grains to feed the cows. Yet, if you can find grass-fed beef, you’ll for sure have a health-friendlier meat to enjoy.
Research has found that grass-fed beef is healthier than grain-fed beef. Grass fed beef is rich in the following:
- Rich source of antioxidant
- Higher amount of vitamins, including vit E
- Contains yellow fat – carotenoid antioxidants
- Has a healthier fatty acid profile – lower amounts of fat, good source of ruminant trans fats and higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.
is roasted beef unhealthy? – The drawbacks of eating roast beef
Is roast beef healthy? We saw that it depends! While roast beef can be a part of a healthy diet, as we have seen above, there are also some potential health risks associated with eating roast beef. We all know from online sources and our healthcare providers that eating too much red meat isn’t good for our health. They don’t give a fancy frightening recommendations. Here is the hard truth!
- People who are health conscious say it is good to avoid beef as red meat is unhealthy(studies).
- The saturated fat in roast beef increases your risk of suffering heart disease because it raises your blood cholesterol levels.
- Guys who eat roast beef are more likely to be overweight.
- Roast beef can cause you to exercise less, and consume fewer fruits and vegetables(research-backed)
- High meat consumption to an increased risk of colon cancer(study shows) and likely prostate cancer. Worse still, processed beef is bad for you
- over roasting (high-temperature cooking) of beef destroys animal protein and form carcinogenic substances, which is a cancer-causing substance.
- You may suffer from interstitial infections caused by beef tapeworm (Taenia saginata)
Wrap Up + FAQs
Is roast beef healthy for humans? The answer depends on many factors, including the type of roast beef, the cooking method, the accompanying sides dishes, ingredients, and the individual’s health and dietary needs. You can weigh both the pros and cons of roasted beef and see for yourself. Decide what is important for your overall health and life from the information provided above.
Is roast beef good for weight loss?
Yes. We have seen muscle development as one of the beef benefits for male and female athletes. Now, considering weight loss, roasted beef is really low in Calories. A roast beef has low amount of calories than any other beef. This is good news for someones who wants to reduce calorie intake and create calorie deficiency.
Just imagine that consuming 2 oz roast beef serving gives you only 70 calories. This is far below the number of calories you get from one cup of skim milk during breakfast. If you crave for meat-based meals and want to lower your calories, i think you include a roast beef sandwich in your daily diet
Is roast beef a healthy fat?
Is roast beef a healthy fat source? No. It is not surprising. Roast beef contains saturated fat, which is an unhealthy form of fat, which is known to cause heart disease. Moreover, too much consumption of this saturated fat in beef can increase your blood cholesterol levels.
Is roast beef a healthy meat?
It depends!. Roasted beef is one of the most flavorful meat products and you will find it in majority of restaurants across USA. Roast beef has low fat percentage but it is rich in protein, vitamines, and well loaded with beneficial nutrients.
Is a roast beef sandwich healthy?
Is a roast beef sandwich healthy or unhealthy for you? YES, sandwich and beef are healthy, and make incredible energy sources. never undermine the health benefits of roast beef sandwich. A roast beef sandwich is healthy for you because the roast beef is an excellent source of protein vitamins and minerals. A serving gives up to seven grams of protein, which is a body building nutrient.
Is roast beef good for your heart?
Is roast beef good for your heart? YES Roasted beef makes a an undispendable part of your heart-healthy lifestyle. Beef iis a rich and natural source essential nutrients including protein, iron, zinc and B vitamins. Iron is the main part of heamoglobin that carries oxygen into your blood vessels. You can enjoy lean beef as part of your daily heart-healthy diet. Do your best to take it in moderations so as to lower cholesterol, and lower blood pressure.