Health Alert 49
The meat you are eating may be giving you health problems. It has the wrong kind of fat that’s unhealthy for your heart. But, contrary to what you hear, this is not because it’s red meat. In fact, I regard some beef as among the healthiest of all foods.
Today I’m going to show you how to choose the right beef. You will be able to enjoy the health benefits of quality protein, avoid the health problems and delight in the savory taste of red meat.
* The Problem: Commercial Meat Production *
Cattle, in one form or another have been on this planet for millions of years. They have successfully survived by grazing on grasslands, prairies, and hillsides. Cattle’s natural diet consists of grasses and legumes. Their anatomy and physiology reflect their diet.
Most commercial cattle no longer eat their natural diet. Growers feed them cheap grain and other “feedstuff” in order to fatten them up quickly. The feedstuffs include hormones to make livestock larger. Ranchers even give the animals antibiotics to keep them alive in deplorable living conditions.
What Your Food Eats
Grassfed Cattle Eat: Commercial Cattle Eat:
Pasture grass Grain, pesticides,
and plants hormones, antibiotics,
cement dust, candy,
animal manure,
cardboard, nut shells,
feathers, meat scraps 1
The old saying “you are what you eat” comes to mind. As a result, commercial beef has drastically less nutritional value than their pasture-fed relatives. A study in the November 2000 issue of the Journal of Animal Science found that the more grass cattle ate, the more nutritious their beef became.2
Grassfed products have three to five times more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) than that of commercial animals.3 CLA is an important nutrient that has cancer-preventing properties. Grassfed beef also has 4 times more Vitamin E.4
I’ve talked about how important Omega-3 fatty acids are to your health. Even more important is the ratio of Omega-6 fatty acids to Omega-3 fatty acids. Too much omega-6 fatty acids have been linked to heart disease, cancer and other health problems.
* The Solution Eat Range Fed *
Some grocery stores are starting to offer grass fed beef. You can ask the butcher. The surest way to get grassfed products is through a private farm.
New York Times bestselling author Jo Robinson is an aficionado on grass fed beef. She has compiled a comprehensive list of grass fed farmers in both the U.S. and Canada. You can access the list by visiting her website www.eatwild.com. Or you can search the internet for grassfed farmers. I order mine from grasslandbeef.com. The beef is delivered to your doorstep packed in ice in a matter of days.
But don’t be fooled by beef labeled organic. The organic label only means that the cattle do not have detectable levels of antibiotics or hormones in their body at the time of slaughter. It does not mean that ranchers have never subjected cattle to antibiotics or hormones. Also most organic cattle eat nutritionally deficient grains.
Grassfed meat is a deep red to maroon color, not pink like commercial beef. And grassfed beef is very lean. The flavor is richer and tastes like wild game. I actually gave grassfed beef cuts as Christmas gifts this year. Eat well and enjoy.
Al Sears MD
1 Robinson J. Why Grassfed is Best Vashon Island Press: WA 2000, pg. 10
2 French P, et al. Fatty acid composition, including conjugated linoleic acid, of intramuscular fat from steers offered grazed grass, grass silage, or concentrate-based diets. J Anim Sci 2000; 78: 2849-2855
3 Dhiman T, et al. Conjugated linoleic acid from cows fed different diets. J Dairy Sci 1999; 82(10): 2146-2156
4 Smith G. Dietary supplementation of Vitamin E to cattle to improve shelf life and case life of beef for domestic and international markets. Colorado State University