Grass Fed Beef

GRASS FED BEEF

Most people think that beef is just beef. It isn’t always so.  A cows diet can have a profound influence on the nutrient content of its products, be it milk or meat.

·         Grassfed products tend to be much lower in total fat than grainfed products. For example, a sirloin steak from a grassfed steer has about one half to one third the amount of fat as a similar cut from a grainfed steer. If you eat a typical amount of beef (66.5 pounds a year), switching to grassfed beef will save you 17,733 calories a year—without requiring any willpower or change in eating habits.  If everything else in your diet remains constant, you'll lose about five to six pounds a year.

·         Although grassfed meat is low in "bad" fat (including saturated fat), it gives you from two to six times more of a type of "good" fat called "omega-3 fatty acids."  The health benefit of Omega are numerous and worthy of an entire blog itself. Stay tuned.

·         The meat and milk from grassfed ruminants are the richest known source of another type of good fat called "conjugated linoleic acid" or CLA.  When ruminants are raised on fresh pasture alone, their milk and meat contain as much as five times more CLA than products from animals fed conventional diets.  

            Health benefits of CLA:

·         Promoting fat loss

·         Fighting cancer

·         Increasing your metabolic rate

·         Promoting normal thyroid function

·         Delaying onset of diabetes, and improving management of adult-onset diabetes

·         Helping maintain normal cholesterol levels

·         Helping maintain healthful triglyceride levels

·         Enhancing your immune system

·         The meat from the pastured grassfed cattle is four times higher in vitamin E than the meat from the feedlot cattle and, interestingly, almost twice as high as the meat from the feedlot cattle given vitamin E supplements.

             In humans, vitamin E is linked with a lower risk of heart disease and cancer.  This potent antioxidant may also have anti-aging properties.  Most Americans are deficient in vitamin E.

Enjoy your beef but choose wisely.

Be smart , stay healthy