Know2eat

Moose

Alces alces

What moose has been studied for

2 associations assessed — 1 with at least some human evidence behind it. Strongest first.

  • 1 Limited
  • 1 Insufficient
4 things to know first — allergies, interactions and intake limits

About moose

The largest living deer, hunted across Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia and a staple of northern subsistence and hunting diets. The meat is very dark, extremely lean and coarse-grained.

Also known as Elk (Europe), Alg, Orignal

Women's HealthMuscle & Physical Performance

The evidence in depth

Best supported: Limited

What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Iron status

Women's Health
Limited evidence

Has been studied as a source of heme iron. Moose muscle is among the more iron-dense meats measured, though the human evidence concerns heme iron in general rather than this species.

Limited evidence. Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.

3 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Muscle protein synthesis

Muscle & Physical Performance
Insufficient evidence

May support muscle protein synthesis as a very lean complete protein. Support comes from the general protein quality of meat; moose itself is unstudied.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

No source is attached to this association yet, so it is rated insufficient by default. It is listed because people commonly ask about it — not because there is evidence for it.

Ask about Moose

Ask about Moose

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories102 kcal5%
Protein22.2 g44%
Total fat0.74 g1%
Carbohydrate0 g0%
Fibre0 g0%
Water75.5 g—
Fats
Saturated fat0.22 g1%
Monounsaturated fat0.15 g—
Polyunsaturated fat0.24 g—
Cholesterol59 mg20%
Linoleic acid (omega-6)0.14 g—
Vitamins
Vitamin A0 µg0%
Vitamin C4 mg4%
Thiamin (B1)0.06 mg5%
Riboflavin (B2)0.27 mg21%
Niacin (B3)5 mg31%
Minerals
Calcium5 mg0%
Iron3.21 mg18%
Magnesium23 mg5%
Phosphorus158 mg13%
Potassium317 mg7%
Sodium65 mg3%
Zinc2.8 mg25%
Copper0.067 mg7%
Manganese0.0080 mg0%
Selenium9.6 µg17%
Other measured compounds
Ash1.13 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Game meat, moose, raw (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 174344).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

Nothing dependable is recorded about how preparation changes this food’s nutritional properties. Rather than guess, this section stays empty.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Worth knowing

    Cadmium in moose liver and kidney

    Moose accumulate cadmium in the liver and kidney as they age, and Nordic and Canadian food safety authorities have long advised against eating those organs from older animals, in some regions advising against them entirely. The muscle meat named in this entry is not the concern; the organs are.

  • Worth knowing

    Chronic wasting disease and lead shot

    Chronic wasting disease has been confirmed in moose in Norway and in North American cervid populations, and the standard advice is to test animals from affected areas and not to eat any that test positive. Lead ammunition fragments are the other recognised hazard in hunted meat, with specific advice for children and pregnant women to avoid it.

  • Too much

    Red meat classification

    Moose is unprocessed red meat, in the IARC Group 2A category of probably carcinogenic to humans, evidence graded limited and driven mainly by colorectal cancer. Whether wild game behaves like farmed red meat in that respect has not been studied.

  • Allergy

    Alpha-gal syndrome

    Mammalian meat, and therefore a trigger for people with tick-associated alpha-gal allergy.