Now that the summer is upon us, it’s time to think about what you can eat that keeps you in the “summer frame of mind.” When I think about my favorite summer foods, I immediately get into the habit of regularly barbequing food. I also enjoy cooking outside while drinking my favorite wine. There are some foods that you may want to avoid in favor of others if you are a “grill king.”
4 Foods To Avoid This Summer:
1. Hot Dogs
Hot dogs are a processed meat product from either pork or beef sources. They are very high in saturated fat, trans fat, nitrates, sodium, and various preservatives.
Instead, I recommend hot dogs made from chicken or turkey. You can purchase tofu hot dogs but they are not my favorite, personally. Purchasing a healthier alternative to the typical beef or pork hot dog can be a great way to avoid a lot of unnecessary saturated fat, sodium, and nitrates in your diet.
2. Sausages
Sausages are also very similar to hot dogs, as they are also made from pork or beef meat products. They also can contain high amounts of saturated fat, sodium, and nitrates, which can increase your risk of heart disease and cancer.
Substitute your pork or beef hot dogs with turkey instead. Turkey sausages are excellent barbequed and taste great!
3. Regular Ground Beef
Summertime is burger time, as we all know, and beef is the most popular meat to use when making burgers. I don’t happen to support the use of regular ground beef, because of its rather high content of saturated fat.
Even after grilling regular ground beef, there is quite a lot of fat left inside the meat. Try substituting with extra-lean ground beef, ground chicken, or turkey. You will still have the taste, but with a lot less saturated fat.
4. Non-Organic Red Meat
The summertime is also a great time to enjoy your favorite steaks. I also really enjoy grilling red meat on the barbeque. My favorite cuts of meat are strip loin, rib eye, and tenderloin. There is nothing really wrong with enjoying a good barbequed steak throughout the summer; however, I prefer organic, free-range beef.
The reason is that the antibiotics used in beef husbandry accumulate in the meat fat and do not dissipate after cooking. These antibiotic residues can enter the human body and be stored in our fat cells. When this occurs, humans can develop immunity to this type of antibiotic, resulting in antibiotic resistance.
Antibiotic resistance can be a very dangerous situation with, at times, deadly consequences. Free-range beef also contains less saturated fat, but a better and healthier fatty acid profile compared to grain-fed, commercially-raised meat.
Enjoy your summer—just remember to avoid these foods while you’re out having fun.
Sources:
Daley, C.A., et al., “A review of fatty acid profiles and antioxidant content in grass-fed and grain-fed beef,” Nutr J. March 2010; 9: 10.
