Food Data Insights

🥩 Fat content of meats: Which species offer meats high in fat, or the best low-fat meats to eat, or anything in between? What are naturally low-PUFA meats? Is pork high in saturated fat?

🤔 We may have different diet needs and beliefs. We may ask different questions. But here’s one thing we have in common: we want to know what’s in our food and make informed choices.

💡 To help you answer questions related to the fat content of meats, I’ve selected and compared relevant data from the USDA food database.

🔬 As a starting point, as there are thousands of meat items in the database, I selected one item per animal species: the “ground” version.

📊 The first chart below shows the amount of each type of fatty acid (SFA, MUFA, PUFA, trans) per 100 g of meat, sorted by decreasing amount of SFA. As the different types of fats add up, you get a glimpse of overall fatty meats versus low-fat meats.

🕵️ Now, if you eat a set amount of fat from these meats, say 100 g in a day, how much SFA, MUFA and PUFA will you be eating?

📊 This is where the second chart, below, comes into play: it shows you the amount of each type of fat per 100 g of total fat. It helps you focus on the quality of your dietary fat.

🥩 For example, if you need to know what meats are high in saturated fats, you look at the top part of the chart. Is beef high in saturated fat? Yes, but not as high as lamb.

🔎 Explore further to find answers to your questions ! 

💬 What's your favorite meat source for its fatty acid profile? Share your thoughts in comments below the LinkedIn post!