Your body creates protein from 13 building blocks called 'amino (uh-MEE-no)
acids.' When you eat protein, whether
from a T-bone steak or from a vegetarian source such as rice and beans, it's digested into the individual amino acids and reconstructed into the protein your body needs. The protein that comes from eating a T-bone steak
is exactly the same quality as the protein that comes from the rice and
beans. Although steak and other red meat are a good source of iron, when you eat a steak, you're also consuming excessive
saturated fat and cholesterol. This raises
your blood cholesterol level, which can clogs up your heart's
arteries. In addition, the iron in meat is an oxidant, which causes
cholesterol to be more easily deposited in your arteries. The iron found in vegetables such as
spinach, is in a form that doesn't act as an oxidant. The nutrition
you receive when you eat meat comes from the plants that the animals
at the bottom of the food chain have eaten. Vegetables and vegetable
products contain virtually no cholesterol, are low in saturated fat and are
high in antioxidants. Diets that exclude animal
protein have been shown to result in lower rates of diseases such as heart
disease and cancer and, in some cases, even to reverse them. If you do
eat meat, try to stick to the leanest cuts, and bake or broil, rather than
fry or prepare with oils. You also may want to consider substituting
some soy products in your meals.
