Is or pork or beef healthier as a protein overall
What is your goal with those products in your diet? We eat meat as a calorie dense source of protein and fat. It’s typically a balanced source of minerals and b vitamins. Pork on average is leaner, less marbling or fat. This isn’t always the case for every cut - varies between breeds and how they were raised. Beef tends to be more fatty but again, this can vary. The differences are not substantial enough to declare one vastly superior. It’s really only going to matter to you and your preferences. Both are good sources of protein, fat, iron, b-vitamins, etc with small portions. The variety in your diet is more important than any one thing.
The cut generally matters more then the animal. On average there is not much in it nutrition wise, pork has a slightly greater variety of vitamins & minerals but those it beats beef in you should be getting from other sources anyway. The leanest pork cut has significantly less saturated fat then the leanest beef cut but the fattiest pork cut has significantly more saturated fat then the fattiest beef cut.
If you are eating pork loin or sirloin tip you are making a good choice (in moderation still), if you are eating belly or ribeye you are making a bad choice. Its still fine to make bad choices, belly & ribeye are treats not an every day thing.
Oily fish/shellfish are a better choice then walking animals. Poultry is somewhat better then red meat (poorer minerals, much better vitamins and somewhat better on fat content).
Beef has a better micronutrient (iron, B vitamins etc) profile but from a macro perspective it just depends on the cut. I use 93/7 ground beef (96/4 if I go to Trader Joe’s) which has much less fat vs the 80/20 we usually get. Pork loin is low in fat versus other pork options. Round steak is low in fat if you’re looking for a chunk of beef
I think it depends on your source. If your pork is pasture raised in a low stress environment, that would presumably be better than the ones eating plastic and garbage in the factory farms. Same for cows.
Big beef fan here.
However. Beef is really, really, REALLY, much worse for the planet. And pork is a lot cheaper, so it does depend on how you’re cooking it and how much.
In the strict envelope of the question above, beef is probably better, but if you’re willing to a) make your protein go further and b) consider the wider impact, you should keep pork in the mix.
All I know is there was that whistleblower video of the worker at the pig feed factory or whatever and he showed all the thrown away food that gets turned into feed for pigs. It showed that they don’t even remove the packaging and plastic, they just mix it all in. And then pigs eat that and you eat the pig. After that i decided I didn’t want to eat pork anymore.
Generally speaking, it is all in your preference….I buy pork more often because it is cheaper…..and the beef that tends to be available is not of the better variety unless you want to get into expense….some like the gentler taste of pork better than the gamier taste of beef….and in the days of greedflation pork doesn’t hurt the budget as much as beef…..
I think it will come down to how lean the cut of meat is. But from what I’ve seen, beef cuts appear leaner than most pork cuts so I’d go for beef. I would t say avoid pork like the plague too, it should be alright every now and then in a balance diet, paired with an active lifestyle.
At this point there isn’t scientific consensus pointing either direction as far as I’m aware. There’s a lot of people in these comments arguing one way or the other based on media biases but I don’t see sources for anything.
The general scientific consensus is to keep saturated fat below 10% of your calorie intake and to try to limit processed meats like: salted, smoked, cured etc. (think lunch meat). Outside of these public health guidelines, I think you should be fine with either pork or beef.
Here’s an article that discusses the topic of red meat consumption with tons of references for further reading.
With pork the pigs feed (which is not great) impacts the fat of the animal which you then eat. With a cow their fat is less influenced by what they eat. I only eat pork as a tasty treat. My go to is beef.
Just from the nutritional benefits, id go with beef.
but its situational,
lets say you are rare on food and needed to up the calories, you go with pork as it tends to have more fat and is cheaper
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if you got to choose in a stable environment, beef all the way, its got more protein per pound you can get it lean but its on the more expensive site…
in my opinion there is nothing more beneficial than fish/shrimps, good protein, filling , cheap .
The chart attached here explains it pretty well.
To be clear I’m not suggesting people shouldn’t eat beef, but you should consider the impact on the planet and the proportion of protein on your plate as part of the discussion.