One of my clients recently inquired about the fat content of ground beef and whether it’s too fatty a meat for her goals (she’s in the process of getting stage ready and doing a fabulous job of doing so). Since there appears to be a massive amount of confusion about dietary fat in general, I figure now is as good a time as any to discuss fat content on nutrition facts labels.
It’s imperative to remember than when you read a nutrition facts label on a package of meat, the nutrition facts are representative of an uncooked portion of protein. Does this make much difference on a low-fat piece of chicken breast or pork tenderloin? Not really. But when it comes to fattier meat, it becomes truly significant.
Take ground beef for as an example. Many people insist on exclusively purchasing “extra lean” ground beef because it’s the lowest in fat. But is purchasing extra lean ground beef your best bet?
Not necessarily. Admittedly, I don’t think there is anything wrong with extra lean ground beef; however, the fact of the matter is that when you brown lean ground beef and drain the excess fat… what you are left with is virtually identical to browned extra lean ground beef.
In other words, opting for lean ground beef and draining the fat before eating can save you a few dollars, while still providing all the same nutrition you’d get in extra lean ground beef. Just something to think about the next time you hit the grocery store.
Another perfect example of a misleading nutrition facts label is bacon. If we analyze the nutrition facts for uncooked bacon we get:
Bacon, raw (3 slices)
Calories: 260 kcal
Fat: 24 g
– saturated 9 g
Carbohydrates: 0 g
Protein: 10 g
Obviously, the incredibly large amount of fat in bacon jumps off the page. But if we stop for a second and use common sense… who actually sucks back the fat from the pan after cooking their bacon? Assuming a steaming cup of bacon fat isn’t your idea of a breakfast beverage, then the nutrition facts for bacon actually looks a lot more like…
Not how you should dispose of bacon grease.
Bacon, cooked (3 slices)
Calories: 130 kcal
Fat: 10 g
– saturated 3 g
Carbohydrates: 0 g
Protein: 9 g
Admittedly, bacon can never be considered a fat free food. But at 10 grams of fat and 9 grams of protein per serving, bacon can’t really claim to be a heart stopper. In fact, when we consider that almost 50% of the fat in pork fat is oleic acid, the same “heart healthy” fat found in olives and almonds, bacon likely carries a minimal cardiovascular disease risk at best. But that’s a discussion for another day.
For now, just remember that you can’t take everything you read off a nutrition facts label at face value. Use common sense when preparing foods and watch your health and physique take dramatic steps forward.
Till next time, train hard and eat clean.
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