Beef vs. Veal: What Are the Differences and Benefits?
![Veal](/img/foods/50px/17143.png)
![Beef broiled](/img/foods/50px/23377.png)
Summary
Beef is slightly higher in calories and fats but lower in cholesterol when compared to veal.
Beef provides more than twice the amount of vitamin B12 and approximately 2 times more selenium and zinc, as well as 3 times more iron compared to veal. On the other hand, veal is approximately 2 times richer in vitamin B2, vitamin B3, and vitamin B5 and contains slightly higher levels of copper and phosphorus.
The adverse effects of red meat are attributed to the high levels of saturated fats, cholesterol, and heme iron. Veal, being lower in all of these, can be assumed to be the healthier choice.
Table of contents
Introduction
Humans have been consuming cattle meat since prehistoric times. Cattle were domesticated around 8500 BC primarily because of the multitude of valuable products they could provide to humans.
Today, bovine meat is one of the most consumed meats in the world. This article will examine the two primary types of bovine meat – veal and beef – and compare their nutritional values and health impacts to determine which meat is the better choice.
Classification
Veal is the meat of calves: young domestic cows or bulls. Beef, on the other hand, is produced from older cattle.
Both veal and beef can be produced from either sex of cattle. However, veal is commonly cut from the meat of young males of dairy cows, while most beef comes from young heifers and steers. Heifers are immature females, and steers are young castrated males.
Beef and veal are classified as red meats due to the high levels of myoglobin and, therefore, iron.
Appearance
While veal and beef are both red meats, beef is significantly darker in color. Because of its high myoglobin content, beef is also higher in iron.
Taste and Use
Notably, veal has a more tender texture and a more delicate taste. Additionally, veal is easier to digest compared to beef.
Cattle meat is very versatile and is used in staple dishes from numerous cultures. Veal and beef can be cooked by grilling, barbecuing, broiling, roasting, frying, and many other ways.
Price
According to the general market value of meats, beef is slightly cheaper.
Varieties
Based on the cut of the meat, both veal and beef can be called the chuck (shoulder), the brisket and shank (breast), the rib, the sirloin (hip), the short loin, the short plate, the flake, and the round. These different cuts have varying culinary characteristics and are used according to those qualities.
Based on the conditions in which the cows have been kept, veal can be formula-fed, also known as milk-fed or white, non-formula-fed, also known as red, pasture-raised, or free-raised, and bob veal. Bob veal is the meat of the calf, slaughtered at less than one-month-old.
Beef can also be grass-fed or organic.
Nutrition
The nutritional values below are presented for broiled ground veal and broiled patty beef (85% of lean meat and 15% of fat).
The average serving size of beef and veal is approximately 3 ounces or 85 grams. To make the comparison easier, we will be using 100-gram servings of each.
Macronutrients and Calories
Beef is overall denser in nutrients, as it consists of only 58% water, whereas veal contains 67% water.
Macronutrient Comparison
Contains
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WaterWater
+15.1%
Contains
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OtherOther
+91.2%
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FatsFats
+103.8%
Calories
Both of these meats are high-calorie foods; however, beef is significantly higher in calories. One hundred grams of beef contains 250 calories, while the same amount of veal has 172 calories.
Fats and Cholesterol
Beef contains almost twice the amount of fats found in veal.
Per 100-gram serving, beef contains 15.41 grams of fats, while veal contains 7.56 grams. The fat type distributions in beef and veal are similar. Both consist of mostly saturated and monounsaturated fats.
Veal is higher in cholesterol.
Fat Type Comparison
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Sat. FatSaturated Fat
-48.4%
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Poly. FatPolyunsaturated fat
+13.6%
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Mono. FatMonounsaturated Fat
+134.8%
Protein and Carbohydrates
Beef is negligibly richer in protein; however, veal contains a significantly higher amount of all essential amino acids. Therefore, the quality of protein from veal is more favorable.
Per 100-gram serving, beef contains 25.93 grams of protein, while veal contains 24.38 grams of protein.
Like most meats, both beef and veal contain no notable amount of carbohydrates.
Vitamins
Veal and beef have similar vitamin profiles. The predominant vitamins found in both are B-complex vitamins, especially vitamin B12, vitamin B6, vitamin B5, vitamin B3, and vitamin B2.
Beef provides over twice the amount of vitamin B12 when compared to veal. Meanwhile, veal is approximately 2 times richer in vitamin B2, vitamin B3, and vitamin B5.
Beef and veal contain similar amounts of vitamin B6.
Both of these meats are absent in vitamin C and vitamin D. Veal also lacks vitamin A, which is present in small amounts in beef.
Vitamin Comparison
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Vitamin E Vitamin E
+25%
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Vitamin B1Vitamin B1
+52.2%
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Vitamin B2Vitamin B2
+53.4%
Contains
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Vitamin B3Vitamin B3
+49.3%
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Vitamin B5Vitamin B5
+76.3%
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FolateFolate
+22.2%
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CholineCholine
+15.3%
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Vitamin AVitamin A
+∞%
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Vitamin B12Vitamin B12
+107.9%
Minerals
Veal and beef are packed with various minerals.
Beef contains around 2 times more selenium and zinc, as well as 3 times more iron, when compared to veal. On the other hand, veal contains slightly more copper and phosphorus.
Veal and beef also contain similar amounts of other minerals, such are potassium, magnesium, calcium, sodium, and manganese.
Mineral Comparison
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MagnesiumMagnesium
+14.3%
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CopperCopper
+21.2%
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ManganeseManganese
+191.7%
Contains
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IronIron
+162.6%
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ZincZinc
+63%
Contains
less
SodiumSodium
-13.3%
Contains
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SeleniumSelenium
+56.9%
Glycemic Index
As beef and veal both do not contain carbohydrates, their glycemic index is considered to be 0. You can read more about the glycemic index of foods with no carbohydrates here.
Acidity
The acidity of meat is higher immediately after the slaughter and starts to fall steadily while the meat ages.
The acceptable range of the pH value for beef falls between 5.3 to 5.7, making beef acidic (1). Once the pH value of beef reaches 6.5, it starts to decompose.
The pH values for veal are similarly acidic, ranging from 5.5 to 6.1, depending on the level of maturity (2).
The potential renal acid load values for veal and beef are 12.1 and 12.6, respectively. The PRAL value demonstrates how much acid or base the given food produces inside the body – the higher this positive number, the more acid-producing the food.
Weight Loss & Diets
Most meats, including beef and veal, are high in calories. Beef contains 78 more calories per every hundred-gram serving compared to veal.
Between these two types of meats, veal is the better choice for low-calorie and low-fat diets. They both fit well into low-carb and low-glycemic-index diets.
Various studies have concluded that meat intake, especially processed meats, leads to an increased risk of weight gain and obesity (3, 4, 5).
In contrast, one study suggested that high-protein, low-fat diets can be effective in weight reduction, regardless of whether lean beef consumption is rich or restricted as a source of red meat (6).
In weight loss diets, lean, unprocessed meats are advised to be chosen over fatty and processed meats (7).
Health Impact
Now that we have looked at the nutritional differences between beef and veal, we will look at the effects of these two types of meats on health.
Health Benefits
Cardiovascular Health
Being low in saturated fats, lean beef can have a positive impact on lipid risk factors for cardiovascular disease by reducing total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein levels (8). Moreover, veal is lower in saturated fatty acids and total fats compared to beef, which means these positive effects also extend to veal.
One study has shown that a healthy diet high in protein, with or without red meat, may improve cardiometabolic disease risk factors (7).
Diabetes
A diet low in calories and high in protein from lean red meats has been studied to improve risk markers of type 2 diabetes mellitus (9).
Downsides and Risks
Cardiovascular Health
Despite previous findings, research has indicated that the consumption of both unprocessed and, particularly, processed red meat is associated with a slight increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality (10). On the other hand, substituting protein sources such as soy, nuts, and legumes for red meat has been linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (11).
These adverse effects are said to be caused by a chemical found in the blood after eating red meat called trimethylamine N-oxide or TMAO (12)
Diabetes
Similarly, unprocessed and, particularly, processed red meat has been correlated with a higher risk of diabetes. This risk may be partly due to the contents of heme iron and dietary cholesterol found in red meat (13). As veal is lower in both heme iron and dietary cholesterol, it can be assumed that veal is the better choice between these two kinds of meat for people with prediabetes or diabetic conditions.
Cancer
Consumption of red meats, particularly processed red meat, has long been associated with an increased risk of several types of cancer.
Total red meat intake increases the risk of colorectal, nasopharynx, lung, pancreas, breast, and prostate cancer (14, 15, 16).
In addition, processed red meat also elevates the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus and non-cardia stomach cancer (14).
References
- The effect of pH on beef eating quality
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283006713
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2697260/
- https://bmcnutr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40795-016-0063-9
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5501979
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5598025/
- https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/108/1/33/5036105
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3238465/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31771921/
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2759737
- https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4141
- Eating red meat daily triples heart disease-related chemical
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3483430/
- https://www.wcrf.org/dietandcancer/exposures/meat-fish-dairy
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31389007/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6171413/
Infographic
![Veal vs Beef broiled infographic](https://foodstruct.com/compareimages/veal-vs-beef-nutrition.jpg)
Comparison summary table
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Lower in Saturated Fat |
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Rich in vitamins |
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Lower in Cholesterol |
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Lower in Sodium |
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Lower in price |
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Lower in Sugar | Equal | ||
Lower in Glycemic Index | Equal | ||
Rich in minerals | Equal |
All nutrients comparison - raw data values
Nutrient | ![]() |
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Opinion |
Calories | 172kcal | 250kcal |
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Protein | 24.38g | 25.93g |
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Fats | 7.56g | 15.41g |
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Cholesterol | 103mg | 88mg |
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Vitamin D | 0IU | 2IU |
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Magnesium | 24mg | 21mg |
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Calcium | 17mg | 18mg |
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Potassium | 337mg | 318mg |
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Iron | 0.99mg | 2.6mg |
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Copper | 0.103mg | 0.085mg |
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Zinc | 3.87mg | 6.31mg |
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Phosphorus | 217mg | 198mg |
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Sodium | 83mg | 72mg |
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Vitamin A | 0IU | 9IU |
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Vitamin A RAE | 0µg | 3µg |
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Vitamin E | 0.15mg | 0.12mg |
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Manganese | 0.035mg | 0.012mg |
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Selenium | 13.7µg | 21.5µg |
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Vitamin B1 | 0.07mg | 0.046mg |
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Vitamin B2 | 0.27mg | 0.176mg |
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Vitamin B3 | 8.03mg | 5.378mg |
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Vitamin B5 | 1.16mg | 0.658mg |
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Vitamin B6 | 0.39mg | 0.382mg |
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Vitamin B12 | 1.27µg | 2.64µg |
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Vitamin K | 1.2µg | 1.2µg | |
Folate | 11µg | 9µg |
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Trans Fat | 0.572g |
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Choline | 95mg | 82.4mg |
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Saturated Fat | 3.04g | 5.895g |
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Monounsaturated Fat | 2.84g | 6.668g |
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Polyunsaturated fat | 0.55g | 0.484g |
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Tryptophan | 0.247mg | 0.094mg |
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Threonine | 1.065mg | 0.72mg |
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Isoleucine | 1.201mg | 0.822mg |
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Leucine | 1.94mg | 1.45mg |
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Lysine | 2.009mg | 1.54mg |
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Methionine | 0.569mg | 0.478mg |
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Phenylalanine | 0.984mg | 0.725mg |
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Valine | 1.347mg | 0.914mg |
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Histidine | 0.885mg | 0.604mg |
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Omega-3 - EPA | 0g | 0.003g |
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Omega-3 - DHA | 0g | 0.001g |
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Omega-3 - ALA | 0.044g |
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Omega-3 - DPA | 0g | 0.016g |
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Omega-6 - Gamma-linoleic acid | 0.012g |
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Which food is preferable for your diet?
![ok](/img/food-check.png)
![ok](/img/food-check.png)
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Low Calories diet |
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Low Fats diet |
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Low Carbs diet | Equal | |
Low Glycemic Index diet | Equal |
Vitamins & Minerals Daily Need Coverage Score
![Veal](/img/foods/50px/17143.png)
![Beef broiled](/img/foods/50px/23377.png)
![Veal](/img/foods/50px/17143.png)
![Beef broiled](/img/foods/50px/23377.png)
Comparison summary
![Veal](/img/foods/50px/17143.png)
![Veal](/img/foods/50px/17143.png)
![Beef broiled](/img/foods/50px/23377.png)
![Beef broiled](/img/foods/50px/23377.png)
![Beef broiled](/img/foods/50px/23377.png)
References
All the values for which the sources are not specified explicitly are taken from FDA’s Food Central. The exact link to the food presented on this page can be found below.
- Veal - https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/175291/nutrients
- Beef broiled - https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/174032/nutrients
All the Daily Values are presented for males aged 31-50, for 2000-calorie diets.