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A Healthy Red Meat
by Myra J. Charleston
It may seem odd to hear of a red meat being touted as a health food; but, Emu farmers are
doing exactly that, and with good cause. Emu meat is high in protein, monounsaturated
fats, iron, B12, zinc and low overall in fat and cholesterol. For those of you who have
just started studying about cholesterol and fat, here is a simple breakdown:
CHOLESTEROL
Cholesterol is produced by the liver. If you have a liver, you will have cholesterol.
There is no such thing as good and bad cholesterol, but there are good and bad cholesterol
carriers. The bad one is LDL (low density lipoprotein) and the good one is HDL (high
density lipoprotein). Both carry cholesterol around in your body.
The LDL deposits it in your blood vessels, the HDL pulls it out of your blood and gets it
out of your system. LDL causes heart disease, HDL fights heart disease. The more HDL you
have, the better. The problem is that it is very hard to raise the HDL level in your body.
And if you lower it, you increase your chance for heart disease.
FAT
Ok, lets talk about fat. Saturated fat is bad. It raises LDL and lowers HDL, exactly the
opposite of what you want. Monounsaturated fat lowers the LDL and has no effect on HDL.
Emu is high in mono-unsaturated fat. Beef, the most popular red meat, is high in saturated
fat. So, how do you cook this lean red meat that 's so good for you? Adapt your favorite
beef recipe. Keep in mind that the emu is extremely lean and cooks quicker than beef.
There will be no pan drippings. It also absorbs flavors much quicker. If you use a
marinade, you will find that half an hour to two hours is enough. Anything longer and the
meat may have an aftertaste. When cooking emu, less is more.
Visit Emu's Zine at http://www.emuszine to get a kitchen tested recipe. |
| Myra J. Charleston is an accomplished writer whose works
have appeared in The McKenzie Banner, Carroll County News-Leader, Emu's Zine
(http://www.emuszine.com), Emu Today & Tomorrow. Examples of her work are available at
Emu's Zine where she is on staff. If you have specific writing needs, you can reach Myra
at (901) 669-3226 or email her at redoak@iswt.com. |
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This page was last updated Monday, November 20, 2006 01:49:33 PM |
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