Meat is a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals in your diet. Department of Health and Social Care advises that you cut down to 70g. Some meats are high in saturated meat church brisket, which can raise blood cholesterol levels if you eat too much of it.

Making healthier choices can help you eat meat as part of a balanced diet. If you eat a lot of red or processed meat, it’s recommended that you cut down as there is likely to be a link between red and processed meat and bowel cancer. A healthy balanced diet can include protein from meat, as well as from fish and eggs or non-animal sources such as beans and pulses. Meats such as chicken, pork, lamb and beef are all rich in protein. Red meat provides us with iron, zinc and B vitamins. Meat is one of the main sources of vitamin B12 in the diet. Food hygiene is important when storing, preparing and cooking meat.

Eating a lot of saturated fat can raise cholesterol levels in the blood, and having high cholesterol raises your risk of coronary heart disease. The type of meat product you choose and how you cook it can make a big difference to the saturated fat content. As a rule, the more white you can see on meat, the more fat it contains. For example, back bacon contains less fat than streaky bacon.

How much red and processed meat should we eat? Processed meat refers to meat that has been preserved by smoking, curing, salting or adding preservatives. This includes sausages, bacon, ham, salami and pâtés. 90g is equivalent to around 3 thinly cut slices of beef, lamb or pork, where each slice is about the size of half a piece of sliced bread. A cooked breakfast containing 2 typical British sausages and 2 rashers of bacon is equivalent to 130g.

For more information, read Red meat and the risk of bowel cancer. When meat thaws, liquid can come out of it. This liquid will spread bacteria to any food, plates or surfaces that it touches. Keep the meat in a sealed container at the bottom of the fridge so that it cannot touch or drip onto other foods.

If you defrost raw meat and then cook it thoroughly, you can freeze it again. But never reheat meat or any other food more than once as this could lead to food poisoning. Some people wash meat before they cook it, but this actually increases your risk of food poisoning, because the water droplets splash onto surfaces and can contaminate them with bacteria. It’s important to prepare and cook food safely. Cooking meat properly ensures that harmful bacteria on the meat are killed.

If meat is not cooked all the way through, these bacteria may cause food poisoning. This means you need to cook poultry and these sorts of meat products all the way through. When meat is cooked all the way through, its juices run clear and there is no pink or red meat left inside. You should be able to get all the vitamin A you need from your daily diet. However, because they are such a rich source of vitamin A, we should be careful not to eat too much liver and liver product foods. People who eat liver or liver pâté once a week may be having more than an average of 1.

5mg of vitamin A per day. If you eat liver or liver products every week, you may want to consider cutting back or not eating them as often. Also, avoid taking any supplements that contain vitamin A and fish liver oils, which are also high in vitamin A. Women who have been through the menopause, and older men, should avoid having more than 1. 5mg of vitamin A per week from food and supplements. This is because older people are at a higher risk of bone fracture. This means not eating liver and liver products more than once a week, or having smaller portions.

It also means not taking any supplements containing vitamin A, including fish liver oil, if they do eat liver once a week. Pregnant women should avoid liver and liver products and vitamin A supplements. Read more about foods to avoid in pregnancy. I haven’t had time to cook, so we’re just having cold meat and salad. Learn the words you need to communicate with confidence.