Juicy lamb: what are the benefits and harms? Interesting information about the beneficial properties and dangers of lamb, tips on choosing lamb and determining the quality of meat. Dietary meat: Myths about lamb Why lamb is considered dietary meat

Mutton is the meat of a slaughtered ram, lamb or sheep. Moreover, not just any sheep’s meat can be eaten. The most delicious, tender and low-calorie meat is lamb meat, especially that which was fed only on mother’s milk.

But it is advisable to slaughter adult animals before they reach two years of age, then there is still a chance to get tasty, nutritious meat. In older individuals, the meat will be tough, with an unpleasant specific odor.

Among other types of meat, lamb is considered the lowest in calories and the healthiest in its composition.

For example, it contains almost 30% less fat than pork. But it is much richer in iron content than other types of meat.

Benefit

A conclusion about the beneficial properties of lamb can be made by looking at what vitamins and microelements are included in its composition. These are almost all the main useful substances - B vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, iodine, fluorine, phosphorus and others.

Lamb also contains a large amount of easily digestible proteins, which makes this meat especially nutritious.

The amount of fat in this meat is even lower than protein, and therefore it practically does not contain cholesterol that is harmful to the human body.

At the same time, lamb is quite low in calories. Especially young lamb meat, which can contain only 135 calories. Therefore, this food product can rightfully be called dietary. And it deserves the attention of those people who care about proper nutrition.

Iron-rich lamb will be useful for people with low hemoglobin levels and iron deficiency anemia; it has a good effect on blood composition.

It has a beneficial effect on the condition of teeth, and can even help prevent caries. After all, it contains a sufficient amount of fluoride, which is beneficial for dental tissue.

It is good to eat lamb meat for people with pancreatic diseases. It regulates the production of gastric juice and can prevent the serious disease diabetes mellitus.

Since the meat itself is a rather heavy product, people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract can use broths made from it. So, lamb broth will be useful for gastritis and low acidity.

If other types of meat are not harmless for people with poor vascular condition and atherosclerosis, then lamb is even useful. It can be eaten in moderation. It is better if it is young lamb meat, because it has very little cholesterol.

Potassium, sodium and magnesium contained in lamb have a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system, so this meat is useful for people with heart disease.

This meat has several other unusual beneficial properties. For example, burnt lamb is useful for scorpion or snake bites. It will help prevent the poison from spreading into the human body.

But lamb with wine will help with rabid dog bites, preventing harmful effects on humans.

Rich in protein, B vitamins and various macro- and microelements, this product, when consumed regularly but in moderation, has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin, hair and nails. But it is not used in cosmetology.

Harm

Without undue modesty, lamb can be called a highly nutritious product. It contains a large amount of proteins and fats, which cover almost a third of the daily requirement.

Vitamins and minerals

Types and amounts of vitamins contained in 100 grams of lamb:

It is rare to find a product with such a rich content of B vitamins and nicotinic acid as lamb.

Types and amounts of macro- and microelements contained in 100 grams of lamb:

From the table data we see how rich lamb is in cobalt, iron, phosphorus, zinc, chromium, potassium and other elements. In addition, it contains almost all useful substances, even in smaller quantities.

Everything about the benefits of lamb meat becomes clear; you just have to see its chemical composition and find out the nutritional value. But this product should not be abused, since it is quite difficult to digest, and its waste is eliminated from the body for quite a long time.

Anna Belousova is a famous Russian practicing nutritionist, member of an international team of developers of popular weight loss products.Modelforms invites her to understand the myths about lamb and why it is not necessary to exclude this meat from your diet.

When a nutritionist tells his patients that they can also eat lamb, among other types of meat, in most cases they are perplexed: “How? It’s too greasy, heavy, and smells!” Meanwhile, lamb is a very healthy and tasty meat, which greatly helps to diversify the diet during a diet.

So, let's immediately deal with the issue of fat content and calorie content. Fatty lamb contains 16.3% fat, lean lamb contains 9.6%, which corresponds to 209 or 166 kcal per 100 g. Let us consider for comparison beef, which contains 16% fat in fatty meat, 9.8% in lean meat, and In terms of calorie content, beef is even ahead of lamb, albeit slightly: 218 or 168 kcal per 100 g, depending on the category. Lamb remains far behind when compared in terms of fat content with turkey, broiler chicken, not to mention sausages and mayonnaise.

And yet, lamb fat has its own peculiarity. It is more refractory, that is, it breaks down at a higher temperature than beef or pork fat. Although, a temperature of 37 0 C or slightly higher, which is typical for our digestive system, is quite enough for lamb fat. The main thing is that lamb dishes should not be washed down with very cold drinks.

The opinion about the “heaviness” of lamb is also a little erroneous: the protein of this meat is digested no worse than others. But the refractoriness of fat matters. People with liver, pancreas, or gallbladder disease may not tolerate lamb well. Although, its tolerance greatly depends on the method of cooking the meat.

In fact, the opinion about the fat content and heaviness of lamb is more subjective. Where do we most often encounter this meat? That's right, in the national cuisines of Central Asia, China, and the Caucasus. For example, pilaf simply cannot be low-fat, otherwise it is no longer pilaf! Traditional lamb in a frying pan in Chinese restaurants is prepared with the obligatory addition of pork, goose or duck fat and starch. And in the Caucasus, even fatty lamb is excellently cooked over coals, but usually they serve it with so much greenery and vegetables that the fat simply does not have time to be absorbed!

Just let's not forget that lamb is actively present in the cooking of other countries. It is readily eaten in Italy and Spain, Turkey and Greece (by the way, food in the Mediterranean countries is considered one of the healthiest), in Albania and Bulgaria, Hungary, Australia and the UK. Where does this worldwide prevalence come from? Everything is very simple: in those times when peoples led a nomadic or semi-sedentary lifestyle, it was flocks of sheep that accompanied them. There are numerous references to this even in the Old Testament. By the way, sheep farmers joke that you can never drive a cow or a pig like sheep. Therefore, our lambs are fitness enthusiasts.

And, if we touch on the field of livestock farming, then we need to mention one more important point. Sheep and rams are much more difficult to feed with combined food than other animals; they prefer natural food. And, therefore, the meat is more environmentally friendly.

In terms of the content of protein, vitamins and minerals, lamb is not inferior, but not much ahead of other types of meat.

Another important fact that requires discussion is the smell of lamb. In fact, all types of meat differ in smell from each other. A person with a good sense of smell will never confuse the smell of raw pork, beef, lamb, chicken or rabbit, even blindfolded. If, of course, the meat is fresh. So, lamb is the meat that stays fresh the longest, even in the heat. According to one legend, the choice of the capital of present-day Uzbekistan depended on lamb during the time of Tamerlane. The formidable ruler ordered that a lamb be slaughtered and skinned in each of the cities and monitor where the carcass would remain fresh longer. The choice fell on Samarkand.

It was in Uzbekistan that I was taught how to choose and cut lamb correctly. Of course, I am far from the chefs there, but I will share my knowledge!

If you really want to “make friends” with lamb, go to the market or farm store to buy meat, where you will be offered not just chopped pieces, but will be given a look at the whole carcass, or at least its large parts. This is where the smell problem is solved! The fact is that sheep farmers know many breeds of lamb, but culinary specialists distinguish only two features: fat-tailed and non-tail-tailed lamb. Non-fat-tailed lamb actually has a sharper smell, which many people don’t like. In addition, instead of it, they may well sell you goat meat, which is much cheaper (but this will not be reflected in the price tag, of course). In principle, goat meat is also quite edible meat, but it actually has a specific smell.

In general, look for fat-tailed lamb. Fat tail is an accumulation of fat around the tail, sometimes quite abundant, which makes fat-tailed lambs and sheep look like a lady dressed in a dress with a bustle. In the markets, they usually hang half a carcass or a hind leg with a tail, so that it can be seen that the lamb is correct. The total percentage of fat content of such lamb is slightly higher, precisely because of the presence of the fat tail, but don’t let this scare you - we will not take either the fat tail or the hind leg! Ask the seller to separate the front leg or shoulder blade from the same carcass: there is very little fat in it. Smell, press with your finger, assessing the depth of the hole, thereby checking the meat for freshness. Good fresh lamb has a not pungent smell, just a little sweet.

And then they will offer you to chop the piece into smaller pieces, so, under no circumstances agree! Otherwise, you will have to wash the lamb before further cutting, and less experienced housewives should not do this. It’s better to tinker a little yourself, but then the meat will be more dietary. I can imagine how after these lines real cooks from Central Asia and experienced butchers will curse me, but believe me, we simply have different tasks. For the chef it is important to cook tasty and “correctly”, for us it is as low in calories as possible. So we proceed to further cutting the meat “dry”; in extreme cases, you can remove external contamination with a paper towel. The fact is that all visible fat is separated from lamb that has not been pre-washed much easier than from other types of meat. It is best to do this with your hands, but you can also help yourself with a knife. When all the external fat has been removed, the piece can be thoroughly washed with cool water, dried with a paper towel, allowed to air dry a little more so that your hands do not slip, and then cut further into pieces convenient for your culinary purposes.

Well, what lamb dishes does the world culinary offer us, read in the “Healthy Recipes” section on the website modelform. ru!
Be healthy, beautiful and happy!
Your Anna Belousova, nutritionist, member of the international team of developers of popular weight loss productsModelforms .

Among the varieties of meat traditionally consumed by the inhabitants of Russia, lamb occupies a very special place. On the one hand, in terms of popularity and sales volumes, it is inferior to beef or pork, but at the same time, experts and amateurs invariably note the high taste and dietary properties of lamb. True, this product also has negative sides, so for those who have not yet determined their attitude to this issue, it would be a good idea to clarify for themselves what exactly the benefits and harms of lamb are.

Positive properties

Speaking about the benefits, first of all, we should mention significant amount of protein. In this indicator, sheep meat is practically not inferior to pork, which is considered the protein record holder among all types of meat.

At the same time, the fat content in lamb and beef is approximately comparable - about 24%. Therefore, lamb is often used in therapeutic diets for a variety of diseases, the characteristics of which require limiting the consumption of fatty foods. True, the fat content in lamb is much higher than in the meat of adult sheep, and this feature must be taken into account when organizing dietary nutrition.

Another important aspect of the question of the benefits and harms of lamb is its saturation with useful substances and microelements. From this point of view, first of all, it is necessary to mention that lamb contains the entire group of B-type vitamins and elements necessary for our body such as potassium, magnesium, and iron. Moreover, the concentration of iron in lamb is 25-30% higher than in other types of meat. For this reason, it is recommended to include lamb in the diet of people suffering from anemia - it has been noted that this helps improve blood composition.

Why is lamb harmful?

After all that has been said above, it may seem that lamb is simply a unique food product that has no negative properties. This, of course, is not so - the benefits and harms of lamb are two inseparable sisters, sides of the same coin, which do not exist one without the other.

First of all, lamb can cause sclerosis. However, such consequences become a reality only if this meat is abused. If you consume lamb in moderation, as they say, without fanaticism, then you will not have to worry about sclerosis at any age. It must be noted that the risk of developing sclerosis exists when consuming meat from other animals, including cows and pigs.

The benefits and harms of lamb are largely determined by how correctly it was cooked.. It is recommended to do this with a minimum amount of fat. Under no circumstances should you add butter to dishes; if the recipe requires the introduction of additional fat, then it is better to give preference to vegetable oils, or, in extreme cases, margarine. You can also reduce the negative impact of lamb by combining it with vegetable side dishes.

So, what are the benefits and harms of lamb? The positive characteristics of this type of meat include low fat content and saturation with useful substances - vitamins and vital microelements. All this makes lamb a wonderful dietary product, although there are some restrictions for people prone to developing heart and vascular diseases.

It should be noted that the beneficial qualities of lamb more than compensate for its inherent disadvantages. It is no coincidence that the lion's share of all the world's centenarians falls on the Caucasus and Central Asia, the people of which traditionally prefer lamb to other types of meat.

It is impossible not to say a few words about such a component as lamb fat, which in traditional folk medicine has been used since ancient times as a remedy for colds and other viral diseases. It is believed that it helps to improve the health of the body and strengthen the immune system.

Lamb is one of the most important components of the most delicious dishes of Caucasian cuisine. Properly prepared shish kebab, kharcho soup, manti or pilaf made from young lamb meat will not leave even the most sophisticated gourmets indifferent.

It is believed that lamb is a dietary meat product recommended for consumption by sick people, which is not hazardous to health and can be consumed in any quantity.

But is this really so? What are the benefits and harms of lamb for the body known today?

What is lamb, and what are the features of this meat?

Most Europeans, who have nothing to do with culinary education, associate the word “lamb” with the meat of an adult ram or sheep. In reality, such a concept does not correspond to reality, since lamb is a piece of lamb carcass or, at most, a one-year-old lamb that has not yet acquired fat.

The fact is that the meat of sexually mature male rams becomes very tough, and also has a very unpleasant odor, so it is not used for cooking.

The most delicious meat in oriental cooking is considered to be lamb meat that is no more than three months old. In this case, almost any part of the carcass is used for cooking, regardless of its location. In the Caucasus, such meat is served at family holidays or when welcoming dear guests.

How to choose good lamb - watch the video:

Cooking young lamb is a reason to celebrate the birth of an heir, celebrate an anniversary, celebrate a wedding, and the like. This meat is highly valued in the East due to its unique taste and properties. But how is lamb useful for the human body? Let's try to sort this issue out.

Basic properties and composition of the meat product

You can often find questions online, such as is lamb healthy, is lamb dietary meat or not, what is healthier: lamb or pork, beef? Having examined the meat of young ram or lamb, scientists were able to establish that lamb is indeed one of the low-fat varieties of meat products, and therefore can be used in treatment regimens for obesity.

The calorie content of the product is about 130 kcal per 100 g of meat, which is very low compared to, for example, fatty and unhealthy pork.

Dietary lamb does not contain carbohydrates, so patients with diabetes can safely eat it. In addition, the fat content in meat is sharply limited to 22 grams (out of 100 grams). Therefore, answering the question whether lamb meat is fatty or not, we can safely say that this meat product is one of the dry or low-fat varieties. For your information, lamb contains almost half as much fat as pig meat. Regarding proteins, they make up the predominant mass of meat and by nature are easily digestible proteins that are well tolerated by the human body and do not cause disorders or dysfunction of the digestive system.
Lamb is a lean meat that is easily digestible

The beneficial properties of lamb also depend on the content of a number of vitamins and chemical elements, including vitamins B, E, D, calcium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, and iron. Lamb is a source of essential amino acids that are not independently synthesized in the human body, but enter it exclusively with food.

Beneficial features

Lamb, as a type of dietary meat, has a huge number of beneficial properties.

So, what are the benefits of lamb really? Who should pay attention to this meat?

Experts tend to highlight the following positive effects from eating young ram or lamb meat:

• this meat product is valuable source of iron therefore, it copes well with the treatment and prevention of iron deficiency conditions (for example, lamb has a third more ionized iron than pork);
• lamb contains minimal amounts of cholesterol, which helps prevent atherosclerotic damage to the vascular intima;
• lamb meat does not contain carbohydrates, which has a beneficial effect on the condition of the pancreas and is one of the preventive measures for hereditary type 2 diabetes mellitus;
• lamb contains a lot vitamins and chemical elements, improving metabolism, metabolic processes in the body, normalizing the functioning of nerve cells, in particular the brain;
• for people suffering from digestive tract ailments, it will be very useful lamb broth;
• The benefits of lamb for women are: dietary and low-calorie content, as well as containing large doses of folic acid, necessary in the first months of pregnancy for the normal development of the baby's neural tube.

You will learn more about the benefits of lamb from the video:

Caucasian men not only cook lamb well, but are also firmly convinced that it is simply necessary for their health. There are a lot of rumors about the benefits and harms of lamb for men: some consider it an indispensable part of the diet of a healthy member of the stronger sex, while others, on the contrary, recommend avoiding it. How is lamb useful for men and is it useful at all?

As is known, men more often than women suffer from atherosclerosis of the heart vessels and various types of ischemia.

Therefore, lamb is an ideal meat product that is a safe and natural means of preventing these diseases due to its low cholesterol content.

In addition, thanks to the high content of highly digestible proteins, a man is able to quickly replenish his body with these nutrients, which has a positive effect on his virility, improves reproductive abilities and sperm quality.

Possible harm and contraindications to eating lamb meat

In addition to its beneficial properties, lamb also has contraindications for consumption. Doctors strongly do not recommend preparing lamb dishes for people who have obvious digestive problems, for example, ulcerative colitis or stomach ulcers. In such cases, the harm of lamb will be noticeable, since meat can provoke an exacerbation of chronic diseases and aggravate the course of the underlying pathology.
Modern Western medicine considers contraindications to consuming lamb meat if patients have the following diseases and pathological conditions:

• peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum;
• ulcerative nonspecific colitis;
• hemorrhagic colitis of various origins;
• gastritis and enterocolitis in the acute phase;
• renal failure;
• gallbladder dysfunction;
• cholelithiasis;
• complex liver pathologies;
• gout;
• arthritis of the joints.

Can a child eat lamb? The digestive system of preschool children is an immature complex that is easily susceptible to negative external influences.

In this regard, it is highly undesirable to prepare dishes from lamb meat for children under 4-5 years old. At what age is lamb appropriate for children?

Like any other meat, lamb product can cause digestive diseases in children, so its use should be taken seriously, and even better, consult with specialists.

From time immemorial, humanity lived by animal husbandry and gathering, eating in addition to plants the meat of domestic animals, which include pork, beef and, of course, lamb.

Moreover, many Asian and Caucasian peoples prefer it, which is not an accident. Lamb has a lot of useful qualities, largely thanks to which the inhabitants of the East live to a very old age.

The benefits of lamb lie primarily in its dietary properties. The fat in its composition is quite refractory, but it is 2 times less than in beef, and 3 times less than in pork. Rams are usually slaughtered at an early age - up to a year, when their meat contains a minimum of fat and has a beautiful pale pink color.

The meat of adult sheep is tough, smells bad and is very fatty, so it is not highly valued, but the product obtained from dairy lambs is considered a real delicacy. Animals raised for slaughter, and not for wool, are provided with unique living conditions and are fed only environmentally friendly food.

As a result, a person gets the opportunity to enjoy a 100% protein product, rich in vitamins and valuable minerals.

The benefits of lamb can hardly be overestimated. The pulp of this meat contains a minimal amount of cholesterol, which is the main cause of the development of cardiovascular diseases and thrombosis. It also contains lecithin, a substance that plays the role of a means of delivering vitamins, essential nutrients, and oxygen to cells and tissues.

Lecithin is part of cell membranes and ensures normal functioning of the brain and central nervous system. Lamb, like no other animal product, is the richest source of B vitamins.

It also contains vitamins E, K, D, and many more minerals - iron, copper, manganese, zinc, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, sodium and magnesium.

Iron – There is enough iron in the pulp that a person who consumes it regularly will forget about anemia forever. The meat of these animals normalizes the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and can be safely taken by people with diseases of the digestive system.

In addition, this product reduces the risk of diabetes progression and has a positive effect on pancreatic function.

Fat rendered from lamb is widely used in folk medicine for the treatment of bronchopulmonary diseases - influenza, acute respiratory infections, sore throat, bronchitis. Lamb improves erection, so its health benefits for men are undeniable.

Along with its benefits, lamb can also cause harm to the human body. As you know, protein foods produce the secretion of gastric juice, so it is contraindicated for people with high stomach acidity. Sheep meat can be consumed only in moderation, and this especially applies to persons with biliary dyskinesia.

Indigestion may occur due to lack of bile. The harm of lamb is also associated with the low content of iodine in its composition. Therefore, those who prefer it to all other types of meat can be advised to start preparing food from them, otherwise problems with the thyroid gland cannot be avoided.

The meat of these animals is contraindicated for people suffering from arthritis, arthrosis, and gout. Young children and the elderly are also not recommended to eat lamb.

As already mentioned, meat from young animals is more expensive, which means it is better to buy it in trusted places to be sure that the animal was not more than three years old at the time of death. To confirm this, the flesh will have a dark pink tint or close to light red, but if it is dark, it means the sheep has already crossed the 3-year mark.

Depending on what dish you plan to cook, you should choose meat. Lamb can be boiled, baked, made into shish kebab, shurpa, manti, lagman, pilaf.

For minced meat, it is worth purchasing peritoneum or shoulder, but it is better to boil drumstick, hip part, brisket, neck or ribs, although you can cook both shoulder and peritoneum using the same method.

When fried, loin, rib, tenderloin and shoulder are good. Many people have heard that lamb has a specific smell. However, the meat of the Kalmyk breed of sheep does not have this unpleasant quality.

But even if you purchased lamb of a different variety, with the help of special seasonings you can prepare tasty and healthy food without any unpleasant odor. We are talking about garlic, marjoram, ginger, cumin, onions and spicy sauces.

Experienced chefs use vegetables and legumes as a side dish, and the taste of this meat is perfectly complemented by dates and apricots.

Before cooking, the meat should be thoroughly cleaned in running water and fat removed. When boiling, be sure to remove the foam and simmer under the lid for at least 1.5–2 hours.

Any product can be both harmful and beneficial, the main thing is to observe moderation in everything and then the health problems described above will not be terrible.