Is Beef Jerky Good For You
Beef Jerky Is Good For You
From the beginning beef jerky has had a reputation of being junk food or not so good for you. High in sodium, MSG, nitrates and chemicals like this. Chemicals are not good in our bodies. In the last handful of years there has been a huge growing number of craft beef jerky (with healthy ingredients) companies popping up. Most of them started because they see a need to provide customers with a healthier option.
Yes beef jerky is good for you. Most of these small batch beef jerky brands are all about healthy, quality ingredients and top of the line beef. So if you purchase your beef jerky and other meats made into jerky from one of these brands than yes it will be good for you in moderation of course.
Beef jerky is a good source of proteins and it makes a great snack. Many of the brands listed here on this site pride themselves on the fact that they have minimal ingredients. The less ingredients that are in beef jerky the better the jerky is for you. Even with quality ingredients and a minimal amount of ingredients you still need to watch the sodium levels. Even if you are healthy and active, you don’t need to be consuming large quantities of salt.
As I wright this article for you i am enjoying some El Norteno Mexican-Style beef jerky, from Austin Texas! Packed with 24 Grams of protein and zero Grams of Sugar, I will list the small list of ingredients listed on the back panel of the bag:
Ingredients: Beef, Water, Soy Sauce (water, hydrolyzed soy protein, salt, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, sodium benzoate, citric acid). Salt, Spices (including Cayenne Pepper, Cumin and Chili Pepper). Dextrose, Garlic Powder, Dehydrated Garlic, Dehydrated Onion, Sugar, Jalapeno Pepper, Sodium Nitrate, Spice Extractive, Soybean Oil.
Made With USA American Beef
At the time of this writing we have over 400 small and large beef jerky brands listed on JerkyUP.com and not one of them imports their beef. Every brand listed has uses top quality beef raised in America. One of the largest beef jerky suppliers on the market today can not say that. So we are proud to present to you even the jerky manufactures in other countries use only local beef suppliers. No imported beef… Visit: El Norteño Beef Jerky
Middleberg Nutrition Center
In New York City there is a nutrition center called Middleberg Nutrition and that’s where you will find Eliza Savage, R.D. She has studied and written about heath and nutrition for many years and she recommends the following 5 beef jerky brands:
- The New Primal – Classic beef jerky
- Epic Brand – All natural meat bars, 100% grass fed
- Field Trip – All natural grass-fed beef jerky
- Mighty Organic – Grass-fed beef jerky
To read an article she contributed to go here: Woman’s Health Mag – Is Beef Jerky Healthy
Bringing You Options
Jerky UP is an online directory for jerky brands, at this time well over 400 to choose from. Listing brands in alphabetical order, listing brands by the state/country they are in and providing all the top beef jerky reviews on the internet. It’s much easier to make a decision on what beef jerky you would like to try next if you have an honest review on the smell, texture and taste of it before you make a purchase.
Steve Johnson of Best Beef Jerky dot org has reviewed over 1000 varieties of jerky. Johnson is in digital marketing, making web site, blogs and anything in this new digital age. In the early days he explains that getting started with reviews actually started with not so healthy foods, junk foods! Steve gained a lot of weight before switching to beef jerky reviews. Then lost over 75 pounds and is much healthier for it. Read all about it here: Beef Jerky Diet
A close second in the number of jerky reviews is Mark Jurrius of Jerky Ingredients dot com. Jurrius has reviewed over 800 jerky brands and going strong. A Canadian based site started in 2014 with an emphasis on the healthiness of the jerky. Jerky UP would like to thank “Jerky Ingredients” for their collaboration with our listing, with every review they do they check to see if the brand is listed on JerkyUP.com if not we are notified. Thank You Mark!
Private Label Options
If you are the entrepreneurial type and thinking about making your own brand of beef jerky, Jerky UP also provides links to jerky manufactures that will make the jerky for you, package it and put your label on it. Box it up and send it to you for distribution. You don’t have to worry about anything but selling your very own brand of beef jerky. Check out our “Private Label” page on JerkyUP.com here: Private Label Beef Jerky
New YouTube Channel
Just before finishing this article, which is why I’m adding this to the bottom here. I have found a YouTube channel that I know will go far. Brian’s Jerky Journey – Brian G. has started something that I have been saying for years that this industry needs. We have many beef jerky review site out there, (written reviews). No video reviews, we did have “The Jerky Wrangler” that we were working with every step of the way. John was on his way, off to a great start. 29 video reviews and 40 subscribers and he stopped.
Brian has started uploading videos from his cell phone. A little bit narrow, kind of armature but off to a great start. He will find his grove real soon and then look out! We at Jerky UP are on his side 100% and will be doing everything we can to help him to achieve a successful channel. If you would like to check it out and show him some support just go to YouTube and search Brian’s Jerky Journey. It will com up, at the time of writing this he has 27 video reviews and 26 subscribers. Wishing you the best Brian, keep going man! On YouTube: Brain’s Jerky Journey
Yes beef jerky can be good for you, just be aware of the ingredients. Mainly the sodium level, nitrates, nitrites and so on. Try to keep your beef jerky consumption to a single serving like 1 OZ. depending on the healthiness of the jerky. Beef jerky that is low sodium like below 100 mg. and no nitrites or nitrates and so on, I don’t mind having 2 to 3 OZ. per day. Considering the fact that beef jerky is so much better of a snack than most snack foods like chips or candy I think jerky of any brand is good for you! Jerky UP!