Page Sec1:4 - Labyrint 2013 - English Edition

Reindeer meat is as
If you are told your evening meal must
be low in fat and high in B-12, omega-3,
omega-6 and essential fatty acids, you
might think your only choice is a trip
to the fish monger’s. But a recent study
from the University of Tromsø shows
that reindeer is one of the healthiest
kinds of meat you can put on your plate.
“Reindeer meat is very healthy,” says
Ammar Eltayeb Ali Hassan, a PhD
candidate at the university’s Faculty of
Health Sciences. “It contains more than
double the values of some nutrients than
other meats, and comparable to chicken
in fat.”
A careful analysis
Over the past several years, Hassan has
analysed meat, liver, tallow and bone
marrow sampled from 131 reindeer from
four Norwegian counties and 14 grazing
areas. His findings should please those
who are careful about what they eat.
“The meat is high in the essential fatty
acids that humans only get from the
foods they eat. Although oily fish is an
important source of essential fatty acids
in the Norwegian diet, the levels of some
of these substances in reindeer meat is
comparable to those found in seafood
such as cod, crab, mussels, oysters and
scampi. Additionally, 100 grams of
reindeer meat contains the daily recom-
mended dose of omega-3 and 6,” says
Hassan, who has also been educated as a
veterinarian.
Low fat
Hassan has lived in Norway for 15
years, and he enjoys this distinctively
­Norwegian meat, which also offers a
number of other health benefits. With a
fat content of only two per cent, reindeer
meat is considered very lean. Beef typi-
cally has a fat content of nine per cent,
with lamb as high as 17 per cent.
“Reindeer meat also has more than twice
as much vitamin B12 than, say, veal or
lamb. Vitamin B12 is essential to the
human diet to prevent anaemia, among
other things,” he adds.
One reason that reindeer meat is so
healthy could be the animal’s diet, which
is comprised mainly of lichens in the
winter and green plants in the summer.
“Lichen improves the animal’s diges-
tion, and is also rich in minerals. As a
result, the meat contains high amounts
of vitamin B12, selenium, zinc and iron,”
Hassan says.
Heavy Metals
“Are there any drawbacks to eating this
kind of meat? What about heavy metals?”
“We have looked into this, and the only
thing we found was cadmium in the
liver, which was at a higher level than
Reindeer meat is actually one of the leanest
meats you can eat. It also compares favourably
with fish and seafood when it comes to omega-3
and essential fatty acids.
4 ••• Labyrint E/13 – University of Tromsø
There has been relatively little nutritional analysis information on reindeer meat as compared to other meats. That lack of information led the Centre for Sami Health Research at
the University of Tromsø to conduct a thorough analysis of reindeer meat as a food source. Photo: grida.no, Lawrence Hislop