Grass Fed Beef
Nutritional Information SheetThe grain-fed beef that most of us are familiar with is a relatively recent phenomenon in the United States. The USDA began promoting ‘grain-fed’ beef as a way of getting rid of the grain surplus caused by the agricultural industry’s shift from horse-drawn equipment to fossil-fuel burning tractors. After WWII, the growing grain-fed industry began a campaign against grass-fed beef. They claimed that grass-fed beef had yellow fat and that yellow fat meant the beef was tough. Ironically in Europe, yellow-fat beef is recognized as high-vitamin and more healthy, and sells at a premium to white-fat beef (carotene from green grass is what produces the yellow fat).
Grassfed beef, in respect to grain-fed beef, has a number of heath benefits:
- 500% more CLA
- 300% more Vitamin E
- 75% more Omega-3
- 78% more Beta-carotene
- 400 % more Vitamin A
Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)
Ruminants (such as cattle) are the richest known source of another good fat called “conjugated linoleic acid” (CLA). Although not discovered until 1987, CLA shows promise of reducing the risk of cancer, obesity, diabetes, and a number of immune disorders.
As of this writing, research on CLA and its effects on cancer are very promising. When rats are fed very small amounts of CLA (0.01% of their total calories), they show a significant reduction in tumor growth. At 1.5% of their caloric intake, tumor size is reduced by as much as 60%!
CLA also has some unique fat-burning properties: It blocks the lipoprotein lipase enzyme that moves fat from the blood into storage in the body’s fat cells; and enhances the hormone sensitive lipase enzyme that breaks down the fat that is already deposited in the cells. The net result is less fat, more muscle.
Some body builders have discovered the benefits of CLA and are using synthetic versions found in supplements at health stores, though research has shown that synthetic supplements have a lower biological activity and may require more than twice the amount found naturally in grassfed products to achieve the same results.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a potent anti-oxidant that lowers the risk of both heart disease and cancer. Anti-oxidants are also considered to be ‘anti-aging’ agents that help your body resist the negative impacts of oxidation. Vitamin E deficiency is diet related and grassfed beef has 300% more Vitamin E than grainfed beef.
Omega 3
The idea of a fat being good for you, runs counter to what doctors have told us for the past 20 years. But omega-3 fatty acids are not only good for you, they are essential for normal growth and development. Furthermore, you can’t manufacture them in your body, so you must get them from your diet.
For good health, a 2 to 1 Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio is recommended. However, the diet of most Americans is currently estimated at 20 to 1.
In the brain, omega-3 is very important. Adequate amounts of this nutrient lowers your risk for a host of mental disorders such as depression, aggressive behavior, attention-deficit disorder (ADD), schizophrenia, and dementia.
Your cardiovascular system is equally dependent. Diets rich in Omega-3 are less likely to have high blood pressure or irregular heart rhythms. They are also 50% less likely to die from heart attack or stroke.
Omega-3s may also make you less vulnerable to cancer. Heart patients who followed an omega-3 rich diet for three years not only had a 70% reduction in the risk of dying from a heart attack, they had a 61% reduction in the risk of dying from all types of cancer.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is also a cancer fighter and is linked to both good vision and good sex. It is also necessary for good bone development and the prevention of skin disorders.
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