Women Choose Beef for Taste and Health
“Women have told us they want to be treated just like men,” says Jim Croteau, Vice President Operations for the Keg Restaurants. “They don’t want waiters to presume they’ll be ordering chicken and pasta, just because they are women; they love the taste of beef.” With women in mind, the Keg is introducing a couple of new menu items this month – grilled sirloin topped with a tomato-artichoke salsa and a Mediterranean sirloin with shrimp and scallops seared in a roasted red pepper sauce.
The increased frequency with which women choose a good steak has been validated by research from the NPD Group Canada Inc. People from 4,000 households keep a diary record of their menu choices when eating in restaurants. In the 12-month period ending in August 2000, there was a nine per cent increase in the frequency with which women reported ordering steak at their evening meal compared to the previous year.
While great taste is, no doubt, the main motivator for menu choices when eating out, women also benefit from beef’s powerhouse of nutrients, including iron, zinc and five essential B vitamins.
Susan Barr Ph.D., Professor of Nutrition at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, questioned women who had previously tried following a vegetarian-eating pattern and noted three common motivators for returning to eating meat. “Their reasons could be grouped into three categories – health, taste and changes in living situation,” says Dr. Barr. “Almost a third cited weakness, fatigue or anemia – symptoms of iron deficiency – as factors in their decision to return to a non-vegetarian diet. A quarter said that they missed the good taste of red meat. The rest talked about the extra work inherent in preparing vegetarian meals.”
Beef gives women Z-I-P: zinc, iron and protein
Meat, particularly beef, is an excellent source of readily-absorbed iron, the mineral needed to combat/prevent iron-deficiency anemia. As well, beef is one of nature's best sources of zinc, a mineral essential to normal growth and development, and maintenance of the body's immune system.
Iron, particularly, is a nutrient many Canadian women need in greater quantity from their diets. In an analysis of the one-day food records from over 2,000 Quebecers, Huguette Turgeon-O’Brien, a professor of nutrition at Laval University, found that 56 per cent of the women did not meet the Canadian Recommended Nutrient Intake for total iron. “Moreover, only one out of four women had what is considered an adequate intake of absorbable iron,” says Dr. Turgeon-O’Brien.
This is a concern since a deficiency of iron can have an adverse effect on resistance to infection, attention span, memory, learning ability, productivity, physical performance and endurance. Because of monthly blood losses women actually need to include more iron in their diets than men.
“Eating beef regularly is a good way to improve both iron and zinc status,” continues Dr. Turgeon-O’Brien. “Zinc helps the body to resist infection, improves wound healing, stimulates taste and is involved in healthy appetite regulation.”
“As nutritionists, we often stress the importance of vegetables, but we mustn’t forget the role meat plays in the diet as a source of essential minerals,” adds Dr. Turgeon-O’Brien. “We found that meat eaters tended to have more balanced meals overall, consuming more vegetables and grain products as well.”
Iron. Essential for Good Health