6 nutritional facts about pork

Many people think that chicken and beef are high in protein and low in fat, while pork is low in protein and high in fat and has no nutritional value. In fact, to be fair, lean pork is also a food with high nutritional value.

Fact 1: Lean pork has a lot of protein

The reason why pork is said to have low protein is mainly because of its high fat content. For example, the protein content of pork belly is only about 10%, and that of pork neck is only 8%. In fact, the protein content of lean pork without skin, fat, and white fat lines can reach more than 18%, and the protein content of pure lean meat such as tenderloin and sirloin can reach more than 20%, which is basically the same as lean beef and skinless chicken. Therefore, people who need to supplement protein can also replace beef with pork.

Truth 2: Lean pork does not have a high fat content

The fat content of pure lean meat such as pork tenderloin and sirloin is only 6% to 8%, which is comparable to chicken thigh meat. The problem is that many people find lean meat tastes "woody" and prefer to eat pork with higher fat content, such as spare ribs, pork ribs, pork neck, pork belly, etc. People who understand gourmet food often say that "lean meat from fat pigs is delicious" because fat pigs not only contain a lot of fat, but also have fat accumulated in the gaps between the lean meat fibers, making the taste more tender and juicy. The reason why pork neck meat is so popular is because of its high fat content, and the fat and lean meat are intertwined, making it difficult to distinguish.

Similarly, tender and delicious beef, such as sirloin and ribs, also has a high fat content, which can reach 18% to 30%. The fat content of fatty beef, fatty lamb, and marbled beef that sizzles when fried is even higher.

Truth 3: Pork contains less saturated fatty acids than beef and mutton

Generally speaking, the proportion of saturated fatty acids in the meat of ruminants such as cattle and sheep is the largest, followed by pork, and even lower in chicken. The proportion of fatty acids in ordinary lean pork is roughly: 40% saturated, 50% monounsaturated, and 10% polyunsaturated. Of course, the fatty acid composition of animal meat varies greatly due to different feeds and different activity levels. If you feed it more green leafy vegetables and flax seeds, the polyunsaturated fatty acids will increase. Therefore, people who are afraid of saturated fatty acids do not need to replace pork with beef and mutton, but can replace pork with soy products rich in unsaturated fatty acids.

Fact 4: Pork is rich in vitamin B1

Lean pork contains 8 kinds of B vitamins, among which vitamin B1 content is particularly high. Whether it is beef, mutton, chicken or duck, other meats cannot catch up in this indicator.

According to the food composition table in my country, the vitamin B1 content in 100 grams of lean pork is about 0.5 mg, while lean beef, mutton and chicken are less than 0.1 mg. For people who mainly eat white rice, vitamin B1 is a vitamin that is particularly easy to be deficient. If vitamin B1 is deficient, people will feel tired, depressed, slow thinking, indigestion, muscle pain or numbness, and may also experience abnormal heartbeat and edema.

The vitamin B1 content in white rice is particularly low, and the vitamin B1 content in vegetables, fruits, and fish is also low. People who often eat sweets, sweet drinks, and fried foods are more likely to be deficient. Replacing part of the white rice with brown rice, millet, sweet potatoes, beans, etc., and adding some lean pork can effectively increase the supply of vitamin B1.

Fact 5: The iron content of lean pork is lower than that of beef and mutton

Although pork, beef and mutton are all red meat, they have different degrees of "redness", with pork being the "whitest". The red color of meat is closely related to the heme iron content, and the heme iron content of lean pork is significantly lower than that of beef and mutton, which are darker red.

For people with iron deficiency anemia, the higher the heme iron content in food, the better. But on the other hand, for people who do not need iron supplementation, too high heme iron intake will promote inflammatory response, which is one of the important reasons why eating too much red meat is not good for health. For example, patients with high blood pressure, people who are prone to acne, people with wound inflammation and skin infection are temporarily not suitable to eat too much beef and mutton with too high heme iron content. Relatively speaking, it is more appropriate to eat a small amount of lean pork.

Truth 6: Pork with bones does not supplement calcium

Meat is a food with very low calcium content, whether it is pork, beef, mutton, chicken or duck. Even pork with bones has little calcium that is easily absorbed and utilized, because the calcium in the bones cannot be dissolved during cooking, stewing, braising or making soup. In comparison, the bones of chicken and duck are relatively soft. If they are cooked and stewed, they can be chewed by teeth and enter the stomach, and then some calcium is dissolved under the action of stomach acid.

However, the problem of low calcium content in meat can be solved by food combination. One of the great advantages of pork is that it is suitable for mixing with a variety of ingredients.

The dietary guidelines recommend that we eat 40 to 75 grams of meat every day (skinless, fat-free, boneless), and it is easy to eat too much meat in large pieces. But if you cut it into strips or slices for cooking, you can ensure that the total amount of meat you eat every day is within a healthy range. For example, you used to make shredded pork and celery, but now you make shredded pork and shredded tofu with celery. Pork is rich in vitamin B1 but low in calcium; dried tofu is rich in calcium but low in vitamin B1. Both are good sources of protein, and mixing them in a one-to-one ratio for cooking not only gives you the aroma of meat, but also adds the rich calcium and plant protein of soy products.

The vitamin B1 in pork is not lost much when stir-frying shredded pork, but it is afraid of alkali. If you add baking soda and tenderizer, the benefits of pork will be discounted. If you don't want to add them, but want the shredded pork and slices to be tender, you can marinate them with some starch and soy sauce, stir-fry them over low heat for a short time, and pick them up quickly. If you still think it is not tender enough, you can consider adding protease-rich fruit juice (such as pineapple juice, papaya juice, kiwi juice, etc.) to marinate, which can also decompose the protein and make the meat softer. But don't marinate for too long, otherwise the protein will be over-degraded and the meat will be bad. If you like the taste of pork, you might as well put it on your shopping list.