Why Grass Fed Beef?

                                 Grass-Fed vs. Grain Fed

                                                  What's the difference? 

How and what cows are fed over their lifetime can have a major effect on the nutrient composition and taste of the beef we eat.  In an effort to keep up with the increasing demand for beef in a growing population, cattle today are often fed grains to help fatten them up and get them to production facilities faster.  In contrast, our ancestors ate cattle that roamed free and ate grass.  Humans have been eating meat throughout history and our bodies are well equipped to digest and absorb the nutrients from meat.  Some of the traditional hunter-gatherer populations got most of their calories from meat and remained in good health.  This is possible because red meat, including conventional grain-fed meat, is incredibly nutritious.  The fact that beef is nutritious and tasty will not be argued here, but instead we will look at the difference in nutrition between grass-fed and grain-fed beef.

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                      The different life-styles of Grass-fed and Grain-fed Cattle.

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Most cows' lives start in very similar ways.  The calves are born in the spring and start by drinking their mothers' milk and then slowly begin to roam and feed on pasture grasses, shrubs or any other edible plant.  This lasts for about 6 - 12 months, at which time "conventionally-raised" beef are moved to a feed lot.  At the feed lot, the cattle are fed grain-based feed (usually corn or soy-based) combined with hormones and antibiotics to rapidly fatten them up and then they are sent off to the processing facility.  Compare this to grass-fed cattle, which remain on the pasture and eat various grasses for the remainder of their life, until they are taken to the processing facility. Our cattle are never given any growth hormone or antibiotics.  They only eat grass and hay that we grow right here on our own land.  We know exactly what our animals eat.

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                                      What are the differences in the meat?  

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Fatty Acids:

Grass-fed usually contains less total fat than grain-fed, which means fewer calories.  But the composition of the fatty acids is vastly different. 

Saturated and monounsaturated: 

Grass-fed beef has less saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids than grain-fed.  Monounsaturated fatty acids are considered a benefit to heart health. 

Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats: 

Grass-fed and grain-fed beef contain similar amounts of Omega-6 fatty acids. 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids: 

This is where grass-fed beef has a major difference, containing up to 5 times as much Omega-3 than grain-fed beef. Grass-fed beef also has the correct ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fatty acids.  That is important for good health.

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA): 

Grass-fed beef contains about twice as much CLA as grain-fed beef.  CLA is associated with reduced body fat and some other beneficial effects. 

What are some other nutrient differences in beef? 

Both grass-fed and grain-fed beef are loaded with vitamins B12, B3, and B6.  Beef is also very rich in highly bioavailable Iron, Selenium and Zinc.  Meat also contains some amount of almost every nutrient humans need to survive.  Meat contains high quality protein and lesser-known nutrients like creatine and carnosine, which are helpful for muscles and the brain.  Grass-fed beef is even more nutritious than that:  

Vitamin A:  Grass-fed beef contains carotenoid precursors to Vitamin A, such as beta-carotene. 

Vitamin E:  This is an antioxidant that sits in your cell membranes and protects them from oxidation.  Grass-fed has more of this. 

Micro-nutrients:  Grass-fed beef also contains more Potassium, Iron, Zinc, Phosphorus, and Sodium. 

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Beef in general is very nutritious and great tasting.  Grass-fed beef does have slightly more nutrients and is usually much leaner, but can be harder to find and is generally more expensive.  Grain-fed beef usually contains more monounsaturated fat (good for heart health), is more accessible, and generally considered more tender. 

Our beef is dry-aged before processing which intensifies the flavor and creates a more tender cut.  The choice is up to you as to which one better fits your needs.  

 

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                 The Health Benefits of Grass Farming

            "Why Grassfed is Best!"

Author: Jo Johnson

Consumers have been led to believe that meat is meat is meat. In other words, no matter what an animal is fed, the nutritional value of its products remains the same. This is not true. An animal's diet can have a profound influence on the nutrient content of its products. 

The difference between grainfed and grassfed animal products is dramatic. 

First of all, 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. 

In fact, grassfed meat has about the same amount of fat as skinless chicken or wild deer or elk.1 When meat is this lean, it actually lowers your LDL cholesterol levels.2 
 

Because grassfed meat is so lean, it is also lower in calories. 

Fat has 9 calories per gram, compared with only 4 calories for protein and carbohydrates. The greater the fat content, the greater the number of calories.

A 6-ounce steak from a grass-finished steer has almost 100 fewer calories than a 6-ounce steak 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 six pounds a year. If all Americans switched to grassfed meat, our national epidemic of obesity would begin to diminish. 

Extra Omega-3s 

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." 

Omega-3 fatty acids play a vital role in every cell and system in your body. For example, of all the fats, they are the most "heart friendly." People who have ample amounts of omega-3s in their diet are less likely to have high blood pressure or an irregular heartbeat. Remarkably, they are 50 percent less likely to have a serious heart attack.3 

Omega-3s are essential for your brain as well. People with a diet rich in omega-3s are less likely to be afflicted with depression, schizophrenia, attention deficit disorder (hyperactivity), or Alzheimer's disease.4 

Another benefit of omega-3s is that they may reduce your risk of cancer. 

In animal studies, these essential fatty acids have slowed the growth of a wide array of cancers and kept them from spreading.5 Although the human research is in its infancy, researchers have shown that omega-3s can slow or even reverse the extreme weight loss that accompanies advanced cancer.6 They can also hasten recovery from cancer surgery.7 

Furthermore, animal studies suggest that people with cancer who have high levels of omega-3s in their tissues may respond better to chemotherapy than people with low levels.8 Omega-3s are most abundant in seafood and certain nuts and seeds such as flaxseeds and walnuts, but they are also found in grassfed animal products. 

The reason that grassfed animals have more omega-3s than grainfed animals is that omega-3s are formed in the green leaves (specifically the chloroplasts) of plants. Sixty percent of the fat content of grass is a type of omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic or LNA. 

When cattle are taken off grass and shipped to a feedlot to be fattened on grain, they lose their valuable store of LNA as well as two other types of omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA. Each day that an animal spends in the feedlot, its supply of omega-3s is diminished.9 

When chickens are housed indoors and deprived of greens, their meat and eggs also become artificially low in omega-3s.10 

Eggs from pastured hens can contain as much as 20 times more omega-3s than eggs from factory hens. 

Switching our livestock from their natural diet of grass to large amounts of grain is one of the reasons our modern diet is deficient in these essential fats. It has been estimated that only 40 percent of Americans consume a sufficient supply of these nutrients. Twenty percent have levels so low that they cannot be detected.11 Switching to grassfed animal products is one way to restore this vital nutrient to your diet. 

The CLA Bonus 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.12 

CLA may be one of our most potent defenses against cancer. 

In laboratory animals, a very small percentage of CLA --- a mere 0.1 percent of total calories ---greatly reduced tumor growth.13 Researcher Tilak Dhiman from Utah State University estimates that you may be able to lower your risk of cancer simply by eating the following grassfed products each day: one glass of whole milk, one ounce of cheese, and one serving of meat. You would have to eat five times that amount of grainfed meat and dairy products to get the same level of protection. 

There is new evidence suggesting that CLA does reduce cancer risk in humans. 

In a Finnish study, women who had the highest levels of CLA in their diet, had a 60 percent lower risk of breast cancer than those with the lowest levels of CLA. 

Switching from grainfed to grassfed meat and dairy products places women in this lowest risk category.14 Vitamin E In addition to being higher in omega-3s and CLA, meat from grassfed animals is higher in vitamin E. 
vitamin E levels in meat from: 1) feedlot cattle, 2) feedlot cattle given high doses of synthetic vitamin E (1,000 IU per day), and 3) cattle raised on fresh pasture with no added supplements. The meat from the pastured 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.15 

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.
 

The NY Times best selling author, Jo Robinson, has an informative book "Why Grassfed is Best!" on the benefits of grassfed beef. She has done a great service educating America about this healthy beef and her book is a "must have" in your library of health books. Please visit her web site at www.eatwild.com to purchase the book and learn more about this healthy beef.

COPIED FROM, http://www.rrhighlands.com/why_grass_fed_beef