More than 80 percent of the protein in the average American’s diet comes from meat, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Although meat, including poultry, red meat, fish and seafood, may taste good, eating too much of it can be unhealthy. Being aware of the recommendations for protein and meat consumption can benefit your health while still allowing you to satisfy your taste buds.
Your body breaks down dietary protein into subunits called amino acids. Amino acids are essential for growth, DNA synthesis and various reactions in your body. Since humans can’t make all of the amino acids they need, it is necessary to eat protein on a daily basis.
There are two types of protein in your food: complete and incomplete. Complete protein comes from animal sources and contains all of the essential amino acids you need, while incomplete protein comes from plant sources and is missing one or more of these amino acids.
The Recommended Dietary Allowance of protein for men and women is 56 grams and 46 grams per day, respectively, and is not dependent on caloric intake. To meet these recommendations, you should consume approximately 5 to 6 ounces of protein foods — such as meat, nuts, eggs or beans — per day, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
One ounce of meat is equivalent to 1 ounce of protein food. Based on a 2,000-calorie diet, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends you consume no more than approximately 4 ounces of total meat per day to help meet your protein recommendations.
Remember, however, not all meat is created equal. For example, some cuts of red meat contain high amounts of unhealthy saturated fat, whereas fatty fish contain healthy fats. Specifically, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends consuming no more than an average of 1.8 ounces of red meat, 1.5 ounces of poultry and 0.4 ounces of seafood per day, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. The rest of your protein foods should be from non-meat sources.
