Lamb vs. Beef: Difference in Nutritional Value, Health Benefits, and Taste

Lamb and beef are two different and widely popular varieties of red meat that have a good nutritional value. Beef is a readily available red meat, and is therefore consumed extensively, especially in the United Sates. Conversely, lamb is a staple meat in Mediterranean cuisines. In this article, we will discuss the nutritional values, benefits, and taste of lamb vs. beef.

Before we delve any further, let’s get one thing straight. Grass-fed, organic red meat is more healthy, hygienic, and nourishing than processed red meat.

Red meat is rich in minerals like zinc and phosphorus, B vitamins (niacin, vitamin B12, thiamine, and riboflavin), and is a good source of protein with large amounts of iron and creating.

Lamb vs. Beef: Nutrition Facts

Lamb and beef are two types of red meat that are quite similar nutritionally. Lamb is the meat of a young sheep. It is tender in texture and has a strong flavor. Beef is the culinary name for cattle meat, and it has a more subtle taste than lamb. The protein content of lamb and beef is almost the same, whereas the fat content may vary.

A serving of 100 grams of lamb will provide 258 calories, 25.6 grams of protein, and 8.8 grams of fat. The same serving of beef will give 217 calories, 26.1 grams of protein, and 4.2 grams of fat.

As we can see, when comparing lamb vs. beef calories and lamb vs. beef fat, beef wins the battle in both cases. But what about the nutrient content of lamb vs. beef? Let’s take a closer look.

Red meats, such as lamb and beef, are good sources of essential minerals and vitamins. A standard serving of 100 grams of lamb contains 40% DV of zinc, 49% DV of selenium, 27% DV of phosphorus, 25% DV of iron, 13% DV of copper, seven percent DV of potassium, six percent DV of magnesium, and four percent DV of sodium.

Lamb has an impressive amount of B vitamins—41% DV of niacin, 21% DV of riboflavin, eight percent DV of thiamine, and 108% DV of vitamin B12. It also contains five percent DV of fol-ate, four percent DV of vitamin K, and two percent DV of vitamin D.

In comparison, a standard serving of 100 grams of beef contains 58% DV of zinc, 39% DV of selenium, 34% DV of iron, 29% DV of phosphorus, 10% DV of copper, seven percent DV of potassium, six percent DV of magnesium, and five percent DV of sodium.

Beef also contains B vitamins—35% DV of niacin, 14% of riboflavin, four percent DV of thiamine, 107 % DV of vitamin B12, and two percent DV of folate.

Traces of other minerals like manganese and calcium are found in both types of red meat. The nutritive value of both lamb and beef looks equally nutritious, yet lamb meat has better quality protein. This is because lamb is not processed and reared in confined factory farm conditions like cattle.

Is Lamb Healthier Than Beef?

Any type of organic, grass-fed red meat is healthy and sanitary. However, if you have to choose between lamb and beef, lamb is the better choice. The production of beef has been industrialized due to high demand.

As mentioned earlier, grass-fed animals produce a better quality cut of meat. Furthermore, lambs need to graze over grasslands.

Unlike cattle, the mass production of lamb does not supply high-quality meat. Therefore, lambs are more humanely reared, and thus are more nutritious and healthier than beef.

1. Is Lamb Fattier Than Beef?

Lamb and beef are high in saturated fats and cholesterol. But, is lamb fattier than beef? Well, yes it is. Lamb meat contains a slightly higher fat content than beef. However, the fat available in lamb is, in fact, healthy and contributes to good health.

Since lambs are fed with grass, they have a significant amount of omega-3 fats. The omega-3 to omega-6 ratio is quite amazing and is good for cardiovascular health.

Lamb tallow (fat) consists of ruminant trans fats, which are beneficial to heart health, unlike the trans fats found in hydrogenated oils.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is the most common ruminant trans fat found in red meats like lamb, beef, and veal. It has been linked to many health benefits, including the potential to reduce inflammation and body fat. This further lowers the risk of heart disease.

About 40% of lamb tallow includes a monounsaturated fat called oleic acid. This fat is also found in extra virgin oil, and is the reason for which it is lauded. Oleic acid also reduces the risk of heart disease.

In addition, lamb nutrition also includes a handful of bioactive nutrients and antioxidants such as creatine, taurine, and cholesterol. Creatine is essential for muscle health. It serves as a source of energy for muscles, and is useful in the growth and maintenance of muscle mass.

2. Meat Quality: Another Reason Lamb Is Better Than Beef

Another factor that makes lamb healthier than beef is the meat quality. Lamb is mostly grass-fed, while processed beef is obtained from cattle that are grain-fed.

Now, animals cannot fully digest whole grains, and as a result, our body cannot digest such meat. Lamb meat is easily digestible due to the presence of ruminants in the meat.

Red meat is not considered lean meat due to its high-fat content. However, the fat content varies with different cuts of meat.

Choosing lean parts of lamb and beef, such as sirloin, foreshanks, arm chop, top round, and bottom round could be a healthier choice.

Also, the lean parts of lamb meat become leaner during the cooking process. Therefore, in the battle of lamb vs. beef, lamb is a healthier red meat option.

Lamb vs. Beef: Difference in Taste

Each type of red meat has a distinct aroma, taste, and texture. The fat content plays a crucial role in bringing out the taste of the meat. In fact, it is the fat in the meat that helps us to differentiate lamb from beef.

Fat Content Affects the Taste

According to Dr. Ian Richardson, senior research fellow in Food Animal Science at Bristol University’s School of Veterinary Sciences, there are two kinds of fat in red meat.

Dr. Richardson explains that the white strip of fat around beef steak is called triglycerides, and the fats that are hidden inside the cell membrane are called phospholipids. Phospholipids contain healthier, unsaturated fats.

Removing triglycerides from the meat doesn’t affect its taste, but extracting phospholipids may impinge on the flavor.

Lamb has a specific kind of fatty acid mix called branched-chain fatty acid. This fatty acid is absent in grain-fed beef.

The branched-chain fatty acid enriches lamb with a complex gamey and earthy flavor. Lamb meat is more tender and stringy than beef.

Conversely, beef has a milder taste, which depends a lot on the cut of meat and the cooking method used.

Beef has to be cooked and spiced well. Beef that is overcooked or undercooked can have a chewy and rubbery texture.

In Lamb vs. Beef Comparison, Lamb Emerges as Winner

To conclude, in the comparison of lamb vs. beef, lamb seems to be a better choice of red meat. Grass-fed lamb and beef offer many health benefits. But, the chances of finding grass-fed beef are less than grass-fed lamb. Although lamb is slightly higher in calories than beef, it is more tasty and offers high-quality protein.

Whether you choose lamb or beef, red meat should not be a part of your everyday diet. If you must eat red meat every day, be sure to watch your portions and the cuts you eat, especially in the case of beef. Also, combine it with vegetables, nuts, and whole grains to reduce the meat content and calories.

A research study conducted at Harvard Medical School links the excessive consumption of red meat with heart disease, diabetes, and early death. The study says that the risk of premature death is even higher when processed red meats such as bacon, hot dogs, and sausages are consumed.

While red meat has health benefits, it also has fats and cholesterol. Also, the way the animals are reared is an important factor. In the case of processed meats, high sodium is also a concerning factor. With all the positives and negatives of eating red meat, it is obvious that moderation is key.

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MEAT BENEFITS FOR US

When it comes to following a cleaner, healthier diet, meat tends to be a rather polarizing food, with proponents and critics on both sides of the health spectrum. Even so, annual meat consumption in the U.S. (including red meat, poultry and fish) has increased steadily, rising from 205 pounds per consumer in 1980 to 230 pounds per consumer in 2016 (roughly 10 ounces per person, per day). By contrast, fruit and vegetable intakes have declined over the past 10 years, with nearly 80% of Americans (across all age groups) not meeting the recommended daily intake for vegetables.
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Given the fact that this time period has seen a concurrent rise in both obesity and heart disease rates, some have questioned whether or not meat consumption to blame. However, the true culprit is over consumption of caloric ally dense foods. While this might describe some meats, other types can be considered quite healthy.

The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend a plant-based diet, but this does not rule out meat consumption. Instead, many people opt for a semi-vegetarian approach—a egalitarian diet, as some have termed it—that may provide the most health benefits. This term conceptualizes a way of eating that places more emphasis on vegetable-based meals and less emphasis on meats. In other words, the most current recommendation is to eat a lot of vegetables with some meat (as opposed to the other way around). For the record, vegan and vegetarian eating patterns can supply all necessary nutrients as well.

If you choose to include meat in your diet, it’s important to know what health benefits you might be getting and how to choose the healthiest meats.
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Here are some well-known health benefits of meat
consumption:

Protein. Meat provides complete, high-quality protein (roughly 7 grams per ounce). While most Americans consume enough protein; however several myths about high-protein consumption exist. For example, some believe that the body can only absorb about 40 grams of protein at once. While it is true that the effectiveness of a single dose of protein levels off around 30-40 grams, this does not mean the body cannot utilize more than 40 grams or that it will automatically convert to fat. Nor will a high-protein diet wreck your kidneys or leach calcium from the bones. Unless you have a preexisting condition (such as high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease) and your fluid intake is adequate, a high-protein diet will not over stress the kidneys. And it’s actually an over consumption of phosphorus (such as phosphoric acid in colas), not protein, that has the greatest negative impact on bone health.

Iron. Unlike protein, iron is deemed an under-consumed nutrient and iron deficiency is considered a public health concern for adolescent, postmenopausal and pregnant women. Meat, especially red meat, contains ample amounts of heme iron, which has a very high biological value, meaning it is well absorbed. Iron from non-animal sources (non-heme) has a lower biological value.

Vitamin B-12. Vitamin B12 is only available from animal sources and plays an 

important role in digestion (stomach acid) and energy production. People who do not eat meat, dairy or eggs must supplement their diets with B12.

Lipid Profile and Cardiovascular Health. The research now suggests that low-carbohydrate diets are equally effective as low-fat diets at reducing weight and improving cardiovascular risk factors. Low-carbohydrate meal plans typically replace starches, grains and fruits with meats and healthy fats. Thus, when replaced with the correct proteins and fats, a high-meat diet can be heart healthy.

While meat does contain cholesterol (as all animal products do), the newest Dietary Guidelines has removed the cap on cholesterol consumption. Research suggests that dietary cholesterol has very little effect on blood cholesterol.

It is also worth noting that a recent extensive review of the scientific literature concluded that the body treats saturated fats from processed meats and unprocessed meats differently. That is, a small steak from the local butcher and a few slices of deli meat (laden with nitrates and other preservatives) may each contain 5 grams of saturated fat, but the latter will have a greater, negative impact on our health.

Which Meats are the Best?

Non-Processed Meats. As a rule of thumb, it is best to buy foods with the fewest ingredients as these tend to be less processed and closer to their original form. Most meats do not have an ingredient list at all, because the food itself is the only ingredient (the same applies to fresh and frozen vegetables). Make these types of food the nucleus of your meal planning and preparation.

Grass-fed Beef. You are what you eat, but you are also what your food eats. Put another way, when we consume healthier animals, we become healthier ourselves. Arguably, one of the most important factors to overall health is the ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s in your diet. Grass-fed cattle have greater amounts of omega-3 fats than grain-fed cattle, as well as lower bacterial infections and parasites (meaning they require fewer antibiotics). The type of feed also matters more than the quality of feed; that is, organic-fed animals can still be fed food (corn, soy) they were never intended to eat.

Eggs. People often classify eggs as dairy, but eggs are the “fruit” of chickens, whereas dairy comes from cows (and a few other animals). Eggs are completely void of dairy products such as whey, casein and lactose, and offer the highest biological value of protein. Eggs are also high in vitamin A, various B vitamins, minerals and nutrients and, as discussed, are safe to eat again, despite their high amounts of cholesterol.

Small Fish. Many types of fish offer high levels of omega-3 fats. But small fish (bottom feeders), offer an additional benefit—sustainability. The environmental impact of our food sources is often overlooked and predators are the least sustainable because they eat fish that eat other fish—by the time your anchovy becomes a tuna, you have eaten 100 pounds of seafood.

While it is O.K. to eat tuna, mahi mahi, farmed salmon, shark, red snapper and swordfish occasionally, try to consume more mussels, oysters, clams, sardines, scallops Pacific halibut, rainbow trout, lobster and crayfish. These smaller fish also have lower mercury levels compared to predator fish.

Overall, a plant-based diet with meat appears to offer the most health benefits. Think of the ideal plate with a 2:1:1 ratio of vegetables, meats and fruit/starches. For most Americans, this means cutting total meat consumption in half, but it is even more important to consume quality meats such as grass-fed beef, eggs and small fish. Additionally, look for the words local and free-range when purchasing meat and poultry. Eating a little less meat overall, while also emphasizing, unprocessed, higher quality meats, will have no net change in your budget, but will make meals more enjoyable and have lasting health benefits.