With medical science indicting a high-fat diet as a major culprit in various diseases, red meat has fallen into disrepute over the past several years. Many consumers have sworn off steaks, burgers, and chops for poultry and fish. Now the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that, thanks to changes in breeding and butchering techniques in the meat industry, beef and pork are leaner than they were 25 years ago. Also, certain cuts are considerably less fatty than others.

That's good news, because red meat is a good source of protein, and it's rich in important minerals like iron, zinc, and manganese and B vitamins like thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin.

You can continue to eat beef and pork and minimize your risk of gaining weight or developing high cholesterol levels or heart disease by taking the following steps.

• Check the label or ask your butcher what grade meat you're buying. "Select" (previously known as "good") is the leanest. "Choice" is somewhat higher in fat, and "prime" is the fattiest.
  
• Limit the amount of lunch meat and frankfurters you eat.
  
• Be careful buying lunch meat and frankfurters labeled as "lite." Some may technically qualify as low in fat because they contain a high percentage of water, but they're usually a poor buy nutritionally.
  
• Trim fat from meat before cooking.
  
• Broil or grill meat rather than frying it.
  
• Limit servings to 3 to 5 ounces each.
  
• Eat no more than five to seven servings of meat a week.