Wild British Venison may not make a regular appearance on your dinner table but demand for it is growing. In 2014, UK sales of venison grew by over 400% - and it's not that surprising once you get into the health and environmental benefits of eating it. Not only is Venison a very lean meat it also is a more sustainable choice as controlling growing deer populations in the UK is essential to protect woodland wildlife.
Venison is low in fat, high in protein and packed with vitamins and iron. Ember Biltong broken down the top 3 health benefits of venison just for you. You lucky thing.
We also recommend you check out the "What Is Biltong" guide.
Venison tends to have more protein than other meats, with roughly 26.5g of protein for every 100g - pretty good if you ask us. Which is why venison is the perfect choice if you’re trying to up your protein intake. We’re talking to all you exercise monkeys out there.
While venison’s high protein content is important for muscle growth and repair, it tends to overshadow the other real good bits about high protein foods. Protein does so much more for our body such as supporting our immune system, hormone production, brain function, and sleep.
Yes, the protein content of venison is high but where it really stands above the rest of protein sources is its fat content - particularly saturated fat.
Venison is leaner than beef, and contains less saturated fat than other red meats. Venison is also grass fed which means the low fat content in venison is likely to have high levels of conjugated linoleic acid, which helps us fight against heart disease and cancer.
So if you’re thinking of a great swap to beef every now and then to reduce your saturated fat intake, going for venison is definitely a no brainer.
Now here’s where venison really earns its healthy status. Venison is rich in iron and in particular haem iron that is easily absorbed by the body, which prevents anaemia and helps you convert the food you eat into energy. Iron deficiency is actually quite common in the UK, so venison is a good source of iron for people who are reducing their meat intake.
Venison is actually one of the best sources of zinc, just 100g of venison gives you about 32% of the average daily requirement. Zinc is good for strengthening our immune system, helping maintain the health of your skin, and also for reproductive health — especially in men. A good serving of venison in your diet can help to keep you in tip top shape.
Venison is packed with lots of B vitamins helping keep our brain and nervous system function in check. B vitamins are important to keep your energy levels up and can affect everything from our hair to our digestion and deficiency can influence mood and produce depressive-like behaviour.
If you like to know all of the details, the presence of B2 (riboflavin) and B3 (niacin), helps with metabolism while vitamin B6 and B12, may lower homocysteine build-up in the blood, lowering risks of heart-related diseases.
So the next time you’re cruising down your local Sainsbury’s aisle, why not grab a pack of our Wild Venison Slices. Not only is it a more sustainable meat choice, it’s also packed with nutritional benefits, and not to mention delicious. Because anything that’s good for you should be good for the planet as well.
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