Pork Nutritional Facts

Introduction

When it comes to good health and good eating, pork gets top marks! Pork contains many of the nutrients recommended by many Health Organisations to build and maintain a healthy body, including six essential vitamins, four important minerals, protein and energy. And making pork a regular part of your diet makes good sense, especially when you consider that Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating recommends two to three servings of Meat and Alternatives every day.

The following information provides the amount of various nutrients available in a 100-gram cooked serving of lean Canadian pork.

Vitamins

Thiamin (Vitamin B1): Provides 65% of Recommended Daily Intake.
One of the best sources of thiamin is pork. Thiamin is necessary for the metabolism of carbohydrates. It's also essential for the growth and repair of nerve and muscle tissues and helps maintain appetite.

Riboflavin (Vitamin B2): Provides 22% of Recommended Daily Intake.
Pork rivals milk as your best source of riboflavin. Riboflavin plays an essential role in the release of energy from food and in cell division. This vitamin also promotes the growth and repair of tissues and maintains healthy skin and eyes.

Niacin (Vitamin B3): Provides 47% of Recommended Daily Intake.
Pork is chock-full of niacin, which is essential for the release of energy from carbohydrates, proteins and fats. It's also required to maintain healthy skin, the digestive tract and nervous system.

Vitamin B6: Provides 24% of Recommended Daily Intake.
Choose pork as a good source of vitamin B6, which is essential for the metabolism of protein, carbohydrate and fat. Vitamin B6 also promotes normal functioning of the central nervous system. Vitamin B12 38% Pork is an excellent source of vitamin B12, which is only found in animal products. Vitamin B12 helps build red blood cells and ensures healthy nervous tissue. it is essential for the normal function and metabolism of all cells, and is also involved in the synthesis of genetic material.

Pantothenate: Provides 10% of Recommended Daily Intake.
Pantothenate is necessary for the metabolism of carbohydrate, fat and protein. Pantothenate is also required to synthesize hemoglobin, the part of red blood cells that transports oxygen and carbon dioxide.