Mutton, the meat from adult sheep, provides a more gamey alternative to standard beef or pork. You can use mutton as you would use pork or beef, and some options are mutton stew and roast mutton. The meat is rich in a variety of minerals and vitamins, but it contains more fat than very lean cuts of beef. In moderation, mutton can be a beneficial component in an overall healthy diet.
An 85-gram, or 3-ounce, serving of roasted mutton contains 199 calories and no carbohydrates. Mutton provides 28 grams of protein, or 56 percent of the daily value, in each 3-ounce serving. Protein is essential for maintaining your muscle mass and building a strong immune system. A 3-ounce serving of mutton also contains 9 grams of total fat, or 14 percent of the daily value, and has 93 milligrams of cholesterol, or 31 percent of the daily value. Dietary cholesterol may raise your blood cholesterol levels, according to MayoClinic.com.
Types of Fat
A 3-ounce serving of roasted mutton contains 3.8 grams of monounsaturated fat and 0.7 grams of polyunsaturated fat. It also contains 4.3 grams of saturated fat, which raises your cholesterol levels. Unsaturated fats may be heart-healthy nutrients because they lower your blood cholesterol levels when you substitute them for saturated fats, according to MayoClinic.com. Adults should limit saturated fat intake to 10 percent of total calories, or 22 grams of saturated fat per day on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Each serving of mutton provides 4 milligrams of iron, or 22 percent of the daily value. Iron is necessary for healthy red blood cells and preventing anemia, and the iron from meat is in the form of heme iron, which is easy for your body to absorb. Zinc is a mineral that promotes a strong immune system, and a 3-ounce serving of mutton supplies 5 milligrams of zinc, or 33 percent of the daily value. A 3-ounce portion of mutton provides 348 milligrams of potassium and 115 milligrams of sodium. Potassium helps counter the effects of sodium, and a high-potassium, low-sodium diet helps lower your blood pressure, according to MayoClinic.com.
A three-ounce portion of cooked mutton supplies 3.8 micrograms of vitamin B-12, or 32 percent of the daily value. Vitamin B-12 is an essential nutrient for producing healthy red blood cells, according to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center. Older adults are at higher risk for deficiency. Each serving of mutton contains 5.5 milligrams of niacin, or vitamin B-3, or 28 percent of the daily value. Niacin is necessary for metabolizing carbohydrate, fat and protein from your diet.
Articles For Your Diet
- Food and Drug Administration: Calculate the Percent Daily Value for the Appropriate Nutrients
- Department of Agriculture: Nutrient Data for 35141, Mutton, Cooked, Roasted (Navajo)
- Cuts of Beef: A Guide to the Leanest Selections
- MayoClinic.com: Dietary Fats: Know Which Types to Choose
- MayoClinic.com: How to Tame Your Salt Habit Now
- Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center: Vitamin B-12
- Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center: Niacin
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