Article written by Judy Siegel, Ph.D, Longevity Training Center, Avon, CT HOW TO MAKE A HAMBURGER WHAT A SILLY TITLE! OF COURSE YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE A HAMBURGER. BUT HOW DO YOU START? WHAT KIND OF GROUND MEAT? BEEF? BISON? TURKEY? MOST HAMBURGERS ARE NOT MADE OF HAM—NONE SO FAR IN MY LIFE. USUALLY IT’S BEEF. THE PERCENT MEAT, 75%, 85%, 93% APPEARS ON THE PACKAGE LABEL. THE OTHER PORTION, 25%, 15%, 7% REFERS TO THE AMOUNT OF SUET ADDED. (THE FAT IN THE MEAT IS NOT COUNTED.) SO, THE 85% LEAN IS NOT 15% FAT; IT’S MORE, DEPENDING ON WHICH CUT OF BEEF WAS USED. THIS INFORMATION USED TO BE ON THE LABEL—GROUND CHUCK, GROUND ROUND, GROUND SIRLOIN. NOW I’M SEEING THE WORDS—GROUND BEEF, GIVING US NO INFORMATION. LET’S MAKE SENSE OUT OF THIS PARTIAL LABELING. WE CAN COMPARE SIRLOIN STEAK TO 93% LEAN GROUND SIRLOIN. FOUR OUNCES OF SIRLOIN STEAK HAS ABOUT 34.5 GRAMS OF PROTEIN, 9.1GRAMS OF FAT, 3.5 GRAMS OF SATURATED FAT AND 228CALORIES. FOUR OUNCES OF 93% LEAN GROUND BEEF CONTAINS 3.72 OUNCES OF SIRLOIN STEAK (93%) AND .28 OUNCES OF SUET (7%). THAT’S 32.5GRAMS OF PROTEIN, 18 GRAMS FAT, 7 GRAMS SATURATED FAT, AND 300CALORIES. THE FAT AND SATURATED FAT DOUBLE. AND GROUND SIRLOIN MAKES A DRY HAMBURGER. RESTAURANTS AREN’T GOING TO SERVE IT. THEY WILL USE, I’M GUESSING HERE, 75% LEAN GROUND CHUCK. FAT TASTES GOOD AND THAT’S A JUICY BURGER. BY THE WAY, ONLY MCDONALD’S IS STILL SERVING A QUARTER-POUNDER (4 OZ.) SIZING HAS GONE UP, WAY UP. I SEE 6 OZ, 8 OZ. EVEN 12 OZ. HAMBURGERS OFFERED. A HAMBURGER GETS TO BE A FAT FESTIVAL AND THE SAME SIZE STEAK LOOKS A LOT BETTER. IT IS. HOW ABOUT BISON? THE MEAT IS MUCH LOWER IN FAT AND CALORIES. IT COULD BE A HEALTHIER CHOICE, BUT A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF FAT IS REQUIRED TO MAKE A DECENT BURGER. IT’S GREAT AS A STEAK. OK. WHAT ABOUT TURKEY? THERE ARE TWO TYPES, SOLD IN DIFFERENT PLACES IN THE SUPERMARKET. ONE IS DARK MEAT WITH ADDED FAT. IT’S PRETTY TASTY, A BIT LOWER THAN THE 85% LEAN GROUND BEEF. IT’S SOLD WHERE THE GROUND BEEF IS SOLD. THE OTHER GROUND TURKEY IS WHITE MEAT WITH NO ADDED FAT. IT’S THE LOWEST IN FAT AND CALORIES BY FAR, AND ALSO IN FLAVOR. DRY DOESN’T COVER IT. HOW DO YOU DECIDE? IT DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU ARE ON THE HEALTH SCALE AND HOW MANY TIMES A MONTH YOU PLAN TO EAT BURGER. IF YOU ALREADY HAVE HEAR DISEASE AND/OR IT RUNS IN YOUR FAMILY, I’D COUNSEL STEAK. LEAVE THOSE HAMBURGERS ALONE AND DON’T EAT A LOT OF STEAK EITHER. IF YOU ONLY EAT HAMBERGERS ON THE 4TH OF JULY AND LABOR DAY, IT PROBABLY DOESN’T MATTER WHICH YOU CHOOSE.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Jul 2013 23:15:24 +0000
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