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Posted by Brenda Ruble on NTP Talk
 
“People often ask me what the health benefits are of grass-fed beef and lamb versus their grain-fed counterparts”
 
From a nutritional standpoint let’s take a look at some of the differences. Grass-fed animals produce:
 
•500 % more CLA
•400% more Vitamin A
•300 % more Vitamin E
•75% more Omega 3s
All that, and we’re just getting warmed up!


So just what is CLA?


Conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, is a good fat found almost exclusively in the meat and dairy products of ruminant animals. Notice it’s a “good fat” which means it’s found in “the fat” of animals that we’ve all been taught to avoid. Interestingly enough, in animal studies it has been shown repeatedly that the consumption of CLA can inhibit the growth of tumors. Scientists consider CLA to be one of the most potent of all naturally occurring anti-carcinogens. Some of you may have seen artificial forms of CLA available as a nutritional supplement in your local health food stores.
 
However, naturally occurring CLA from ruminant animals is 600% more effective at fighting cancer than anything in pill form. Animals fed small amounts of grain during their lifespan, then finished on pasture have less than half the CLA of animals raised exclusively on pasture. In addition, animals moved from a pasture operation to a grain fed one will lose almost all of their CLA in just five days of grain! This is vitally important! What this means is, if your animal is butchered at a slaughterhouse instead of in the pasture where it roams, it will have been fed grain. Not only do you want grass-fed beef and lamb, but you want to know that it wasn’t fed any grain prior to butchering.


Now for Vitamin A, E and the omega 3’s…


Vitamin A is a critical fat-soluable vitamin that is necessary for growth and tissue healing, healthy skin, normal vision, cancer prevention, anti-oxidation, cell division and cell differentiation, just to name a few. Supplementary Vitamin A is used in the treatment and prevention of both infectious and noninfectious diseases by supporting the production and function of white blood cells.


Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that helps to stabilize cell membranes and protect the tissues of the skin, eyes, liver, heart and lungs. In addition it is used to stabilize blood fats protecting the blood vessels, heart and entire body from free radical damage.
Our bodies cannot make omega 3s and they must be consumed regularly in our diet. The omega-3 fatty acids are formed in the green leaves of plants, algae and phytoplankton. Animals grazing on these “salad greens” store omega 3s in their body tissues, which are ultimately passed on to humans through the food chain. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and play an important role in the reduction of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, arthritis, allergies, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and asthma.
 

CLA not only has anti-carcinogenic properties, it is also a great anti-inflammatory and over 30 clinical studies have shown that it can help with weight management. CLA has been shown to burn fat and help to maintain muscle mass in small amounts. it might not be a huge effect but anytime you can get that little extra help just by doing something like buying grass-fed instead of grain-fed i would recommend it.

You’ve probably heard that one of the benefits of grass-fed beef is higher omega-3 content but that really can’t be stressed enough. Like the article says, we can’t make omega-3s on our own, that’s why they are called “essential” fatty acids (it is essential to get them in our diet). You might be taking fish oil and using flax oil, but finding another source like your juicy hamburger makes it easier to get enough of these to get the benefits! ^_^

MODERN FARMING
MIke Mahler:
Consider having more respect for yourself and consuming meat, dairy, and eggs from animals that are treated humanely and fed optimal diets.
 
MIke Mahler: It’s not necessarily the “animal foods” per se that cause problems, but the way animal foods are being raised/processed.
 
Meat, dairy, and eggs from factory farms are the most problematic. These animals live in miserable conditions, are given antibiotics, and provided low quality feed.
 
 
If the animals aren’t healthy, do you think that you’ll be healthy eating them? Of course not!
 
Moreover, imagine the stress that these animals experience on a daily basis. The adrenaline and cortisol they produce goes into their tissues, and this is what people are eating.
 
 
If you support the level of suffering that these animals experience you shouldn’t be surprised when it comes full circle and causes human health problems. Even if you don’t care about animal welfare, consider having more respect for yourself and consuming meat, dairy, and eggs from animals that are treated humanely and fed optimal diets.
 
Take-home: Avoid dairy. If you eat animal products, make sure they’re organic and humanely raised.

Grass fed tastes WAYYY better too. I bought 100lbs of grass fed buffalo this summer and boy is it good. I could eat way more of it too…which was good and bad haha. It is a bit more expensive (it was like $4.80 a pound), but I could eat a lot more before I felt full. The digestion process seemed a lot better too. A lot of meat doesn’t sit too well in my stomach after I eat it, this was so easy to eat. I’m telling you- if you can get yourself some of this it is definitely worth it!!

How long did you keep your meat frozen?? and how did you freaze all that meat

on top of the nutrients, you also have a far less chance of getting sick from grass-fed buffalo/lamb/cows. eating their natural diet of grass and weeds instead of grains or feed gives them a better immune system and allows their gut bacteria to fight the good fight and kill 90% more e. coli than commercially farmed cows with antibiotics.

since the omega-3 to omega-6 fat ratios are better, you also are at less risk of inflammation in your gut, which is why grass fed meat is easier to digest.

and FYI, all buffalo and lamb in the US is grass fed. the industry isn’t large enough to require commercial farming, so all those flocks are rasied on natural farms and allowed to roam and graze in pastures. i’m a big fan of using lamb and buffalo as supplements to your typical beef, chicken and pork.

Great tips Pete… I didn’t now all lamb and buffalo were grass fed.  This is great to know because now i have alternatives if the market does not carry grass fed beef.
 
I can’t wait to make my next big meal.  You just sparked a great recipe!
 
If my goal is fat loss (still can’t get rid of the holiday 4 lbs) would it be ok to eat grass fed flank steak a few times a week???

Pete, many of the buffalo farms are not “finished” on grass…Which from my understanding can really change what kind of product you are getting as those stages may be months long. When I Was finding places to get my buffalo meat from I kept getting told (by another farmer) to keep asking what they are “finished” on. A lot of the farms in Iowa were not finished on grass actually, which diminishes many of the effects of being grass fed in the first place I guess.

I ate all 100lbs. over the 3-4 months of summer. Of course, my brother ate some as well. But, between my parents house, my house, and my brothers house we froze it all very easily. I cooked about 10lbs. right away, took 30lbs. for my freezer, 30 for my parents, and 30 for my brothers. I really want to get some grass fed stuff around here pretty soon.
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Pete- do you have any recommendations on where to go around here to get some grass fed meat for cheap?

Why you should switch from grain-fed beef to grass-fed beef Feed
 
by: Charles Poliquin
 
There is plenty of strong medical evidence that if the the ratio of omega 6 fats to omega 3 fats exceeds 4:1, people have more health issues. This is quite important,  since cereal-fed beef can have ratios that exceed 20:1 whereby grass-fed beef hovers around 3:1. In other words, grass-fed are a high contents of health enhancing fats, and a low content of the fats known to create inflammation in the body. Inflammation has been identified as the culprit in cancer, auto-immune diseases, heart disease, and a host of other ailments.
 
Grass-fed beef has 4 times more CLA than cereal-fed beef, leading to better immune system health, insulin management, and optimal body composition.
Typically, Omega 3s in grass-fed beef  is 7% of the total fat content, as opposed to 1% in cereal-fed beef.
Since the average American consumes twice his or her weight in meat per year, it is wise to ingest only the best quality. 

Woohoo!! I just bought 50lbs of Grass Fed Beef. Boy, I forgot how good it tasted. I will never, ever eat any other kind of meat again.

what is the difference.. i find it tastier but more chewy?? could that be possible?

The difference is HEALTHY is beautiful, and FAT is not. hahahahhaha

 
That makes no sense??

haha!! “Healthy is beautiful, fat is not.” That doesn’t make sense? I wasn’t referring to meat. I didn’t have a legit answer so I just made some random comment.
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I have lost 8% Bodyfat and gained 13lbs of muscle since starting to eat grass fed beef a week ago. OK, just kidding. But, it does make it way easier to eat more of it then regular beef.

lol.. yeah i guess i didnt get your humor..
 
another questions..
 
why does grass fed beef make it eaiser to eat then regular beef?? Are you just making thinks up now??

No, seriously. It is really easier for me to eat for some reason. I Don’t know why, but regular beef never sits very well in my stomach and it fills me up reallly fast (Gives me a sort of bloated feeling). The grass fed beef- I barely even feel it. I feel like I could easily eat like 3lbs in a sitting if I wanted and don’t watch myself.

Pretty interesting!!
 
I am sure Pete has the answer to that.
 
Maybe Grass fed beef is more tender, nutritious, and easily digestible due to its nutrient profile…
 
 

I can tell you this: Grass Fed Beef does taste better than regular beef. I had about a pound of it last night and oh my gosh was it good! Maybe it was just how it was cooked but it was delicious. Jared isn’t lying!

I agree .. it does taste better!! more flavor and mroe tender??
What do you think the difference is and why??

I am extremely surprised more athletes don’t eat grass fed beef as opposed to normal beef. It really is shocking to me. The performance benefits are amazing when compared to regular beef.

i guess its not as easy to find and more expensive??
 
Or people dont consider the health benefits and just eat for taste and calories?
 
it is a shame though