Beef Does a Body Good?

Unable to polish off a sixteen-pound steak, Homer Simpson yells, “What’s happening to me? There’s still food, and I don’t want to eat it! I’ve become everything I’ve ever hated!” Ah, the American diet. So how much beef is too much beef? Check it out. We’ve adjusted the government’s three-ounce serving size. (Sissies.)

9-ounce filet mignon
540 calories, 26 grams fat, 240 milligrams cholesterol, 72 grams protein

12-ounce sirloin
680 calories, 25 grams fat, 300 milligrams cholesterol, 104 grams protein

40-ounce porterhouse   
2,330 calories, 96 grams fat, 998 milligrams cholesterol, 333 grams protein   

Downside: Government agencies advise against consuming more than 200 milligrams of cholesterol a day.
You’ve ruined your diet in one meal.

Upside: Steak is heavy on iron. A 9-ounce filet provides 42 percent of your daily iron needs. (You’d have to eat nine cups of raw spinach to match it.)