Did you know that Native American descendants of the Incas may have invented beef jerky?
They used the preparation method to preserve meats for the winter and other times when
hunting could not provide enough meat.
Hi viewers and welcome back to Bestie!
Beef jerky is beef that's had most of the fat removed and either cut into strips or
chopped fine and formed into strips.
The meat is then marinated or flavored with a mixture of seasonings and salt and finally,
dehydrated and packaged.
It isn't generally thought of as a health food.
Beef jerky has been a debated topic in dietary conversations for decades.
No one seems to know if it’s a protein-packed healthy snack or an additive-laden junk food.
But the nutritional composition of it provides several dietary benefits.
And in today’s video, we will tell you what they are.
From boosting immunity, being low in carbs, rich in proteins, not raising insulin levels
to being great for snacking and more, watch till the end to learn about all of them.
Rich In Proteins: A 1 ounce piece of beef jerky provides 9 grams of protein.
Protein breaks down in the intestines into amino acids.
Your body uses them to build tissues and enzymes which are involved in the functioning of all
body systems.
Keep in mind that for most people, 75-112g of protein is all they need to get through
a day.
People trying to lose weight need more, approximately 90-150g of it per day.
That’s because people who are trying to lose weight exert more effort exercising and
need more energy to power through.
Beef jerky can provide that energy.
But all proteins aren't created equally or digested the same in your body.
Protein sourced from higher quality meat is digested more efficiently and effectively
than lower quality grades.
So make sure you eat beef jerky that is made with only 100% grass-fed and grass-finished
beef.
What’s your favourite source of adding protein to your diet?
Is it chicken?
Fish?
Plant based soy?
Or anything else?
Tell us quickly down below in the comments section!
Boosts Immunity: Beef jerky isn’t only for people going to the gym.
One of the most crucial benefits of eating it is that it boosts your immune system.
Yes, not only does it provide energy but it also keeps you from getting sick or too exhausted,
which is great for people working out a lot.
It achieves this by providing both iron and zinc.
Iron helps your body produce red cells.
Muscles need oxygen to function and to keep your metabolism up.
Without enough iron, you won’t be able to burn fat efficiently and you’ll get exhausted.
Zinc, on the other hand, focuses on healing the body.
Each time you work out, you stretch and tear through your muscles.
It’s zinc’s role to heal those muscles, making them stronger for the next round of
exercises.
Rich In Good Fats: Your body uses fats in many ways, including storing energy and cushioning
our cell walls to prevent damage.
Fats often get a bad rep, but they are an essential macronutrient and are a necessary
component of any healthy diet.
As long as you limit your saturated fats and eat fats alongside a variety of other foods,
you’ll be just fine.
While some of the fat is eliminated during the drying period, beef jerky is still high
in fat content.
But like most foods, as long as you snack in moderation beef sticks can be a healthy,
fuel-boosting option.
Low In Carbs: Scientific literature has proven that carbohydrates are the only macronutrient
that your body does not need to survive.
That means without carbs, your body can function just fine.
After eating carb-heavy meals, you may feel hungrier more often.
This feeling occurs because carbs spike your insulin.
This increases your blood sugar levels and makes you feel tired and hungrier faster.
This is why beef jerky is such a good alternative for carb-heavy snacks like granola bars.
It gives you energy without unnecessary processed carbs, so you'll have more energy levels while
promoting fat loss.
And since beef jerky has fewer than 5 grams of carbs per serving, it’s officially considered
a low-carb snack.
Doesn’t Raise Insulin Levels: When people think of meat, they often associate it with
fats and weight gain.
However, beef jerky is one of the few snacks that doesn’t encounter this issue.
It doesn’t contain high amounts of preservatives.
Most beef jerky products, particularly all-natural and organic ones, don’t contain anything
other than salt to preserve the meat.
Without preservatives, you don’t have to worry about high insulin levels in your blood.
Insulin signals the body to store fat.
If beef jerky doesn’t increase insulin, it doesn’t cause your body to gain weight.
Of course, you must look at it more than at face value.
Anything with too much salt content isn’t healthy and so, you should still regulate
how much beef jerky you eat.
Long Lasting: If beef jerky only uses salt as a natural preservative, won’t it spoil?
Can beef jerky go bad?
The process of making jerky removes most of the moisture in the meat.
This is a crucial detail because, without moisture, bacteria won’t grow.
This prolongs the life of the meat.
Packaged, unsealed jerky can last up to 2 years.
Once opened, you should eat it within a week or two.
You could prolong its shelf life by keeping the jerky in the freezer, but this alters
the taste.
Source of Cholesterol: One serving of beef jerky has about 15 milligrams of cholesterol
on average.
It’s recommended that you limit your daily cholesterol intake from food to about 300
milligrams a day.
However, initially cholesterol in food was considered bad and thought to contribute to
the buildup of plaque in your arteries.
But it turned out that cholesterol in food may not affect your blood cholesterol levels
or heart health.
If you have concerns about heart health and cholesterol, talk to your doctor for recommendations.
It is very important to keep your cholesterol levels under control for a healthy life.
You can do so by avoiding certain foods that increase its levels.
To know what they are, watch this video titled “11 Foods That Are Dangerously Increasing
Your Cholesterol”
Now back to the surprising health benefits of beef jerky.
Great For Snacking: If you need to go on a diet, one of the main obstacles is watching
how often you eat.
A popular method nowadays is to still eat three main meals per day but cut down on the
serving size.
Think you’ll get hungry?
The secret is to throw in a snack a few hours after each one.
Beef jerky is a great in-between snack.
It’s meat so you’ll feel full and satisfied.
Yes, it does contain some salt but that’s nothing a glass of water can’t remedy.
How can you pick the healthiest Beef Jerky?
Avoid ones with high amounts of saturated fat: Saturated fats are fats that are solid
at room temperature and raise your cholesterol.
Rises in cholesterol are linked to increased risk of heart disease.
This doesn’t mean all saturated fats are bad.
It just means that you should eat them as part of a balanced diet.
It is recommended that you get 5% to 6% of calories from saturated fat.
So exercise caution by checking the labels before buying.
Avoid beef jerky with additives like MSG: MSG or monosodium glutamate and other additives
are often added during processing to tap into your brain’s desire to eat healthy proteins.
This is often referred to as the "Chinese restaurant syndrome" and is typically added
into snack foods.
The reason why chips and other junk food is so addicting is that they are literally targeting
the parts of your brain that make you desire food.
They release the hormone that promotes happiness and makes you want to eat more, even when
the food is objectively terrible for you.
Eating jerky with MSG doesn’t mean it’s unequivocally bad for you.
But MSG is typically coupled with other additives like nitrites and nitrates, making it even
worse for your health.
Choose grass-fed jerky and avoid "mystery meat": Make sure the jerky you pick specifically
states the type of meat and how it was made.
Opt for grass-fed options when possible since they contain higher amounts of heart-healthy
Omega 3s.
If you don’t look at the ingredients, there’s a chance it’s a combination of processed
meat cuts similar to a hotdog or sausage.
Choose transparent companies to avoid this possibility.
Best way to make Beef Jerky At Home:
Beef jerky is a great snack that’s high in protein and a good source of various minerals,
including zinc and iron.
However, store-bought varieties are high in sodium and may be associated with other risks,
so it’s best eaten in moderation as part of a varied diet.
That said, making your own jerky at home is simple.
Doing so is also a good way to control all the ingredients, especially sodium.
Simply use a lean cut of beef, such as top round, eye of round, bottom round, sirloin
tip, or flank steak, and slice the beef into thin slices.
After slicing, marinade the meat in herbs, spices, and sauces of your choice.
Afterward, pat the jerky strips dry to remove any excess marinade and place them in a meat
dehydrator at 155–165°F for approximately 4–5 hours — depending on the meat’s
thickness.
If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can achieve similar results using an oven at a
low temperature — approximately 140–170°F for 4–5 hours.
What’s more, it’s a good idea to let the beef jerky dehydrate further at room temperature
for an additional 24 hours before you package it.
It may be best to freeze jerky if you are not going to eat it within 1 week or so.
While Beef Jerky is a great snack to eat between meals, there are other healthy ones that you
can eat regularly.
Learn more about these by:
Watching: 15 Healthy Late Night Snacks You Can Eat
Or
Learning about Bedtime Snacks You Can Eat That Will Help You Sleep
These 2 videos will definitely help you make better snacking choices for a healthier body.
What’s your favourite beef jerky flavour?
Let us know in the comments section below!