|
Sheep & Goat Meat Prime Cuts Lamb (and mutton), a red meat, has always gotten a bad rap for many reasons. One reason is that it is often believed that white meat is healthier. Today, red meat is much leaner than it was thirty years ago because of new breeding technologies, improved production strategies, and better meat processing techniques. Unsaturated fat, which is good for you, makes up for half the fat in lamb. Palmitoleic acid, a 16-carbon monounsaturated fatty acid found in lamb, possesses strong antimicrobial properties. Lamb also has a high nutritional value and is an especially good source of easily absorbed zinc and iron. The recommended daily allowance provided by a three ounce serving of cooked lamb is 30% for zinc (essential for growth, tissue repair, and a healthy immune system) and 17% for iron (needed for the formation of red blood cells). Lamb is rich in B vitamins, especially B12. One serving can provide 74-100% of the daily requirement for Vitamin B12, which is essential for the body's metabolic reactions. Goat meat cuts have fat content 50%-65% lower than similarly prepared beef (but with a similar protein content) and have between 42%-59% less fat than lamb and have about the same fat to 25% lower than veal. This pattern was repeated for the cooked samples (James et al., 1990). In addition, the percentage of saturated fat in goat meat is 40% less than chicken (without skin) and is far below beef, port and lamb by 850, 1100, and 900%, respectively.
|
