Red meat has long been an important element of the human diet. In recent years there has been a decrease in the consumption of red meat due to some studies which claimed that it increased the risk of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer. In a study conducted by the British Nutrition Foundation, it was stated how essential meat is to provide protein in the diet, which comes from amino acid chains. There are 8 essential amino acids that humans need that must come from our food and red meat is an essential component of these amino acids. Proteins obtained from plants also contain these amino acids, however plants do not provide all 8 essential amino acids. Plants usually have a "limiting amino acid". This causes humans who only consume plants to have a large variety of plants in their diet with different limiting amino acids to get all the essential amino acids. Eating red meat reduces the need for a wide variety in your diet. The average amount of protein in red meat is 20-24 grams per 100 grams, but after cooking it increases to 27-35 grams per 100 grams of meat. The reason is that cooking meat dehydrates it to a certain extent, causing an increase in protein concentration. Excess protein in the body is turned into energy, and most developed countries consume a surplus of it. Fat is another important part of red meat and your diet. Fats contain energy and nutrients important to the diet, but can cause cholesterol problems if consumed in excess. Fat also provides palatability which plays an important role in the marketing aspect of the meat. Fat is present as intramuscular fat, intermuscular fat, and subcutaneous fat. Intramuscular fat is the most relevant as it determines the marbling and effects...... middle of paper ......t.Lusk, Jayson L. and John A. Fox. Regional differences in consumer demand for ribeye steak attributes. [Mississippi State, Miss.]: Office of Agricultural Communications, Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, 2001. Print.Micha, Renata, RD, PhD, Sarah K. Wallace, BA, and Dariush Mozaffarian , MD, Dr.PH. “Red and Processed Meat Consumption and Risk of Incidence of Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke, and Diabetes Mellitus.” Consumption of red and processed meat and risk of incidence of coronary heart disease, stroke and diabetes mellitus. American Heart Association, May 17, 2010. Web. December 3, 2013. ShortList Staff. “The definitive steak manual.” Shortlist. ShortList and Web. December 03, 2013.Williamson, C.S., R.K. Foster, S.A. Stanner, and J.L. Buttriss. "Red meat in the diet". Nutrition Bulletin 30.4 (2005): 323-55. Press.