GAME MEATS, A HEART-HEALTHY CHOICE” IT’S CONTRIBUTIONS IN REDUCING ANIMAL PROTEIN MALNUTRITION: REVIEW

Abstract

With escalating demand for animal protein and the high prices associated with such products, many people have become increasingly reliant on the harvest of local wildlife species as animal protein sources. Although humans have hunted wildlife for over 100,000 years, consumption has not increased considerably until recently. Game meat is a known delicacy in many parts of the world including Nigeria. It provides an important source of meat in both rural and urban household diets. It constitutes about 16-20% (North) and more than 80% (South) of total animal protein consumed in Nigeria and up to 90% for most rural West Africans humid regions. Indeed, many Nigerians cannot forget in a hurry its delicious aroma and taste in their native soups. It is usually obtained from free-range animals that grow in the wild. As they grow in natural environments, meat from game animals are usually rich in vitamins and minerals and free from growth hormones, which is the norm in domestic meat and poultry products. They are also low in calories when compared to beef and chicken. Game meat is high in eicosapentaenoic acid, an essential Omega-3 fatty acid that has several cardiovascular benefits. Carcasses of domesticated animals have 25 to 36% fat while the average for wild game animals is 4.3%. Fat from wild game contains a much higher proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (good fat) and is low in saturated fat (bad fat). Some game meats are higher in dietary cholesterol than domestic meats, but the combination of more lean body tissues, less saturated fat and significantly higher percentage of cholesterol-reducing polyunsaturated fatty acids makes it a heart-healthy choice. Due to their wild nature, wild animals’ meat is truly a natural product free from any residual chemicals. However, as nutritious and tasty as it may be, they can be a likely source of infectious diseases including the deadly Ebola viral disease.