IV. Meat, fish, eggs, milk and their products

IV.Meat, Fish, Eggs, Milk and their Products

• Foods of animal origin are a useful complement to most diets, especially to those in developing countries that are based mainly on a carbohydrate-rich staple food such as a cereal or root crop.
• provide protein of high biological value, which is often a good complement to the limiting amino acids in plant foods consumed.
• relatively expensive
• increasing the risks of heart disease and obesity (especially saturated fat).
• Americans consume about 80 kg of meat per person per year - almost 0.25 kg per day

(1) Meat and meat products
• Usually defined as:
– the flesh (mainly muscles)
– organs (for example, liver and kidneys)
• Sources:
– animals (mammals, reptiles and amphibians)
– birds (particularly poultry).
• Subdivided into:
– red meat (from cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, etc.)
– white meat (mainly from poultry).
• Nutrient content:
– contain protein of high biological value (about 19 percent protein of excellent quality)
– iron that is well absorbed.
– fat depends on the animal that the meat comes from and the cut.
– energy value of meat rises with the fat content
– fat in meat is fairly high in its content of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol.
– provides useful amounts of riboflavin and niacin, a little thiamine and small quantities of iron, zinc and vitamins A and C.
– Offal (the internal organs) and brain has a relatively high amount of cholesterol.
• Contaminated meat can lead to disease, so need:
– hygienic practices are essential at all levels, from the farm, through the slaughterhouse, to the retailer and into the kitchen.

(2) Fish and seafoods
• Nutrient content:
– provide a good quantity (usually 17 percent or more) of protein of high biological value, particularly sulphur-containing amino acids.
– varies in fat content but generally has less fat than meat.
– provides thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin A, iron and calcium.
– contains a small quantity of vitamin C if eaten fresh.
– small fish from the sea and lakes such as sardines and sprats are consumed whole, bones and all, thus providing much calcium and fluorine.
– fish liver and fish oils are very rich sources of the fat-soluble vitamins A and D.

(3) Eggs
• Nutrient content:
– Contain no carbohydrate.
– contains high proportion of excellent protein
– is rich in fat and contains good quantities of calcium, iron, vitamins A and D and also thiamine and riboflavin.
• Eggs do have a nutritional disadvantage: very high cholesterol content (in the yolk).
• They are also an easily prepared, easily digestible, protein-rich food suitable for children from the age of six months onward.
• Toddlers should be given priority in eating the eggs.

(4) Milk and Milk Products
• The composition of milk varies according to the animal.
• Thus, for human infants, human milk is better than cows' milk or any other milk product.
• Caseinogen and lactalbumin, proteins of high biological value, are among the most important constituents of cows' milk.
• The fat has a rather high content of saturated fatty acids.
• The calcium content of cows' milk (120 mg per 100 ml) is four times that of human milk (30 mg per 100 ml), because calves grow much more quickly and have a larger skeleton than human babies and therefore need more calcium.
• When a human infant is fed entirely on cows' milk the excess calcium does no good.
• Milk is also a very good source of riboflavin and vitamin A.
• It is a fair source of thiamine and vitamin C, but it is a poor source of iron and niacin.
• Pasteurization of milk carried out efficiently in a large, well-run dairy greatly reduces the risk of pathological organisms spreading.
• Some people limit their milk consumption because of lactose intolerance, a condition resulting from low levels of the digestive enzyme lactase. Research shows that most lactose-intolerant persons can in fact consume milk in moderate quantities (perhaps three to five cups of milk per day) without developing symptoms.

(5) Blood
• cattle blood is highly nutritious.
• rich in protein, has high biological value and contains many other nutrients.
• It is a particularly valuable source of iron.
• also a good source of nutrients in its processed form, usually a type of sausage (sosis).