Pork is a high-protein food and contains varying amounts of fat.
A 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving of cooked, ground pork provides the following nutrients (1Trusted Source):
Vitamins and minerals
Pork is a rich source of many vitamins and minerals, including:
Pork contains good amounts of many other vitamins and minerals.
SUMMARY: Pork is an excellent source of many vitamins and minerals, including thiamine, zinc, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, niacin, phosphorus, and iron.
Health benefits of pork
Pork is high in various healthy vitamins and minerals, as well as high-quality protein. Adequately cooked pork can make an excellent part of a healthy diet.
Like most animal foods, pork is an excellent source of high-quality protein.
With age, maintaining muscle mass is an important health consideration.
Without exercise and proper diet, muscle mass naturally degenerates as you get older — an adverse change that is associated with many age-related health problems.
In the most severe cases, muscle wasting leads to a condition called sarcopenia, which is characterized by very low levels of muscle mass and decreased quality of life. Sarcopenia is most common among older adults.
Inadequate intake of high-quality protein may accelerate age-related muscle degeneration — increasing your risk of sarcopenia (14Trusted Source).
Eating pork — or other protein-rich foods — is an excellent way to ensure sufficient dietary intake of high-quality protein that may help preserve muscle mass.
Meat consumption is not only beneficial for maintaining muscle mass but may also improve muscle function and physical performance.
Aside from being rich in high-quality protein, pork contains a variety of healthy nutrients that are beneficial for your muscles. These include taurine, creatine, and beta-alanine.
Beta-alanine is an amino acid your body uses to produce carnosine, which is important for muscle function (15Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source).
In fact, high levels of carnosine in human muscles have been linked to reduced fatigue and improved physical performance (17Trusted Source, 18Trusted Source, 19Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source).
Following vegetarian or vegan diets — which are low in beta-alanine — reduces the amount of carnosine in muscles over time (21Trusted Source).
In contrast, high dietary intake of beta-alanine — including from supplements — increases muscle carnosine levels (15Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source, 22Trusted Source, 23Trusted Source).
As a result, eating pork — or other rich sources of beta-alanine — may be beneficial for those who want to maximize their physical performance.
SUMMARY: Pork is an excellent source of high-quality protein, so it should be effective for the growth and maintenance of muscle mass. Like other types of meat, it may also help improve muscle function and exercise performance.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/pork#heart-disease