How much meat to eat every day for a healthy diet

According to the recommendations of the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)", it is enough for healthy adults to eat 40-75g of livestock and poultry meat and 40-75g of aquatic products every day. When converted into a portion that everyone can easily perceive, it is about a piece of raw lean meat the size of the palm of your hand and one finger thick, plus a piece of skinless fish fillet the size of a palm. If you have already eaten eggs and drank enough milk that day, you can reduce the amount of meat. There is no need to gather enough meat dishes for every meal.

A while ago, I helped my mother sort out her food records and discovered that the fresh meat buns she loved to eat in the morning contained 30g of pork, and she used to add 100g of pork tenderloin to the stir-fried shredded pork with green pepper at noon. She occasionally stewed ribs in the evening, and the amount of meat almost reached 400g in a day. No wonder the triglycerides were high in the last physical examination. Later, she adjusted to almost 100g of lean meat every day. She replaced the pork with steamed fish every now and then, and the index returned to the normal range in more than two months.

However, this recommended amount is not a red line that cannot be touched. Nowadays, there are many different opinions on the amount of meat eaten. Many people who advocate low-carb diet believe that high carbohydrate is the root cause of metabolic problems. They will eat more than 200g of animal food every day. A fitness coach friend I know even eats close to 400g of lean beef and chicken breast every day during the muscle-building period. The body fat rate remains below 15% all year round. The blood lipids and uric acid indicators in the annual physical examination are all normal. However, many clinical studies have pointed out that long-term excessive intake of red meat, especially processed bacon, sausages, and cured meats, will indeed increase the risk of colorectal cancer and cardiovascular disease. Middle-aged and elderly people with high blood lipids and high uric acid should try not to eat excessive amounts.

In fact, you don’t need to use a kitchen scale to weigh each meal at ordinary times. You just need to know it well. For example, if you order an Orleans grilled chicken leg burger out at noon, the boneless chicken leg meat in it is almost 70g. It is enough for half a day. You can eat more fresh tofu and green leafy vegetables in the evening. There is no need to order heavy meat dishes such as braised pork and soy elbow. By the way, the amount of meat just mentioned refers to fresh high-quality animal protein, and those processed meat products are not included. Even if you eat no other meat for a day, just eating two sausages is not a healthy diet. After all, the World Health Organization has long listed processed meat products in the list of carcinogens. No matter how delicious they are, you have to purse your lips and avoid touching them.