Nutrition Note: Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs and Nuts Group

Regardless of your personal preference with respect to eating meat, your body still requires protein. Therefore, you must receive the protein through meat or meat alternatives such as beans, eggs or nuts.

The meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts group provides the needed protein for the body to build and maintain all structural components of the body. No other nutrient can be used for this purpose. Protein is also required to manufacture the body’s hormones, enzymes and antibodies. This food group also supplies many essential vitamins and minerals required by the body, such as B vitamins, iron and zinc².

B vitamins are essential for the body’s ability to use the energy of food for the body’s energy needs. B vitamins are also needed for growth and maintenance of both nerves and muscles. Vitamin B₁₂ is mainly sourced from meat products¹.

Beef and pork are good sources of iron. Iron is lacking in many diets of children and in women of childbearing age. This deficiency results in tiredness, a shortened attention span, poor appetite, and decreased resistance to infection. Iron found in plants and eggs may be bound by phytates and oxalates, which limits iron absorption into the body¹.

Zinc is a very important mineral and is involved in over 200 processes in the body. For example, zinc is a component of the important hormone insulin. Like iron, zinc is better absorbed into the body from meats than from plants¹.

As adults, all too often we eat too much meat, while 30 % of children and teens do not obtain sufficient quantities of the meat group to meet their daily nutrient requirements³. Table 1 indicates the required meat group servings needed each day⁴. Pregnant women require more than the 7 oz (198 g) of meat a day to fulfill their 60 g a day protein requirement. A non-pregnant woman requires 44 - 50 g of protein a day. To obtain 6 oz (170 g) of meat is not difficult. For example, a person may eat 1 egg for breakfast, 1 to 2 oz (28 - 57 g) of meat in a sandwich for lunch and 3 oz (85 g) of meat for dinner. Three oz (85 g) of meat is the size of a medium hamburger patty, or half a medium chicken breast ². An easy way to remember meat serving size is “A deck of playing cards is about the size of a 3 oz (85 g) portion of meat¹.

Table 1
Daily Recommended Serving Guide (adapted from Shaw⁴)

Table 2 gives examples of what is considered a serving size for this food group⁴. Since limiting the fat content of all food is important choose the meat group products that are low in fat. Table 3 gives examples of low fat options². In addition, trimming excess fat away and changing cooking methods to baking or grilling also helps to bring the fat level of meat down.

Table 2⁴
Examples of Serving Size and Weight of Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs and Nuts Group

Table 3²
Limit Fat by Choosing Lean

The Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs and Nuts Group, like all the other food groups in the Food Pyramid, are essential to good health. By watching serving sizes and limiting fat the food group fits into a well balanced diet.

Reference Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs and Nuts Group

1. Brown, J. E. 1999. Nutrition Now. 2^nd ed. West/Wadsworth Publishing. Ca
2. Consumer Information Center. The Food Guide Pyramid.http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_tect/food/food-pyramid/main.htm
3. Davis, C. A., Britten, P., and Myers, E. F. 2001. Past, present, and future of the Food Guide Pyramid. J Am Dietetic Assoc. 101(8):881-885.
4. Shaw, A., Fulton, L., Davis C., and Hogbin, M. Using the Food Guide Pyramid: A Resource for Nutrition Educators. USDA. Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services. Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion

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