The Nutrients You Need with a Taste You Love

Champagne Steak Salad with Blue Cheese

When it comes to beef and your health, you can rest easy knowing that along with being delicious, beef contains important nutrients that your body needs. In just one 3 oz. cooked serving, you’re getting 10 essential nutrients, including about half your Daily Value for protein!

Big Nutrition. Small Package.

This may leave you wondering how beef stacks up against other protein options. When it comes to high-quality proteins, beef provides many nutrients in a smaller serving size than some other choices (with unbeatable taste at that)! For example, you’d have to eat at least 8 oz. of cooked chicken breast (USDA NDB #05064) to get the same amount of iron in just 3 oz. serving of cooked beef (USDA NDB #13364). When comparing zinc, you’d need to eat 20 oz. of cooked chicken breast!.

Beef's Big 10 Infographic

While we’re on the subject of other protein options, let’s also take a look at a comparison of Ground Beef and Ground Turkey – you just might be surprised by the results!  Before you decide to swap Ground Turkey for Ground Beef, check the Nutrition Facts Label to make sure you’re making the best substitution for your health.  Ground Beef has more of many essential micronutrients and lean ground beef can be lower in calories, fat and cholesterol than Ground Turkey.  Here are the facts when comparing USDA’s data on 93% lean/7% fat cooked patties.

Delicious takeaways

You can feel good knowing that beef is providing so much of what your body needs to perform at its best. And even more good news is how deliciously beef pairs with fruits, vegetables and whole grains—making it even easier to enjoy a balanced diet. Here are some of our favorite recipes to inspire you!

It's easier than you think to build a healthful diet with beef. You may be surprised to hear that a 3-oz. serving of lean beef (about the size of a deck of cards), has about 150 calories on average and is a good or excellent source of 10 essential nutrients like zinc, iron and B vitamins.

  1. • U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 2013. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 26. Available at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc/ndl.
    • Zanovec M, O'Neil CE, Keast DR, Fulgoni VL, Nicklas TA. Lean beef contributes significant amounts of key nutrients to the diets of US adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2004. Nutrition Research. 2010; 30 (6):375-81.
    • Cotton PA, Subar AF, Friday JE, Cook A. Dietary sources of nutrients among US adults, 1994 to 1996. J Am Diet Assoc 2004;104:921-30

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