Living in a rural community and being married to a farmer, I get upset when I read books or newspaper and magazine articles which disparage beef as “bad for you.”

Beef is the most nutrient-dense protein available, containing many important vitamins and minerals.

One thing I’ve noticed in recent years at the grocery store meat counter is the leanness of the meat. Most cuts show very little fat or marbling.

Beef generally is criticized for its saturated fat. But saturated fat is required for many crucial body functions. It makes up half of a cell membrane’s structure, enhances calcium absorption and immune function, and aids in the body’s synthesis of essential fatty acids.

Saturated fat also provides a rich source of fat-soluble vitamins. Many hormones and hormone-like substances are made up of this kind of fat.

Eating fat slows down the body’s absorption of food and keeps the diner from feeling hungry. It also is a source of concentrated energy.

It is a proven fact that almost half of the fat in beef is monounsaturated, the kind which is thought of as “healthy.”

Because beef is so delicious, people tend to overeat it and then feel stuffed and sluggish. Because it is so nutrient-dense and includes fat, a person needs a small portion of it to meet nutritional needs.

A proper serving of beef is three ounces, the same as a chicken breast or a serving of fish. Slicing a solid piece of meat in pieces and combining it with vegetables and/or pasta in various ways cuts down the amount of beef while providing the savory beef flavor.

The leanest beef cuts come from the round or the sirloin.

According to Jerry Hess, meat manager at Carlsons’ Grocery in Marion, the round is the most valuable part of a carcass because it can be made into a variety of cuts.

Meat made from the round includes cube steak, pepper steak, eye of round steak, and tenderized steak.

There is a difference in the ground meats available for sale. Ground round is the leanest at 95 percent lean. Ground chuck is 85 percent lean and is made at the store by grinding chuck roast cuts. Regular hamburger is shipped in in large tubes, then reground and repackaged for sale.

Hess said all of the meat at Carlsons’ is select grade. It has less marbling than choice grade but still retains beef’s tenderness and flavor.

I’ve found that adding just a small portion of ground chuck to a stir-fry dish is enough to satisfy one’s desire for the taste of beef.

Here are some other suggestions. When eating a hamburger at a fast food restaurant, eat a quarter-pounder rather than a half-pounder. If you go out for steak, cut the steak in half. Eat one half and take the other half home for another time or to be used in another way.

If we eat sensibly and wisely, we can enjoy beef and enhance our health at the same time.

-- Rowena Plett