Why Eat Grass Fed Meat?

Eating grass fed lamb, pork, and especially beef can be beneficial to your health in many different ways. According to a study done in the U.S by Journal of Animal Science in 2009, these are some benefits of eating grass fed beef:

Lower in total fat
Higher in beta-carotene
Higher in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)
Higher in the B-vitamins thiamin and riboflavin
Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium
Higher in total omega-3s
A healthier ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (1.65 vs 4.84)
Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans-11), a potential cancer fighter
Higher in vaccenic acid (which can be transformed into CLA)
Lower in the saturated fats linked with heart disease

Lower Fat – Meat from grass fed cattle is much lower in fat, and therefore lower in calories. A 170 gram steak from a grass-finished animal has almost 100 fewer calories than the same sized-piece from a grain-fed animal. If, like the average Australian, you eat about 33kg (2) of beef a year, switch to grass-fed beef and you’ll save nearly 18,000 calories a year.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids – Omega-3 fatty acids are fats that are essential to human health. Sixty percent of the fatty acids in grass is omega-3, which is formed in the chloroplasts of green leaves. Grass fed cattle can contain as much as two-to-four times more omega-3 fatty acids than grain-fed animals.

At the same time, a high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids has been linked with an increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, allergies, depression, obesity, and autoimmune disorders. A ratio of four to one or lower is considered ideal, Grain-fed beef has a much higher ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids than wild game or grass-fed beef. In grass-fed beef the ratio is approximately 2 to 1, while the ratio in grain-fed beef is more than 14 to 1.

More Vitamins – In humans vitamin E is linked with la lower risk of heart disease and cancer. Meat from grass fed cattle is higher in vitamin E.; as much as four times higher in vitamin E than meat from feedlot cattle.(3)

Rich source of CLA – Meat from grass fed animals is the richest known source of “conjugated linoleic acid” or CLA. Grass-fed cattle have been found to produce 2 to 5 times more CLA than cattle fed high grain feedlot diets. In laboratory animals, a diet containing even a small amount of CLA greatly reduced cancerous growths.

* Found on: http://www.goodfoodworld.com/2012/01/grass-fed-vs-feedlot-beef-whats-the-difference/

(2) http://www.nff.org.au/commodities-beef-cattle.html

(3) http://www.animalfeedscience.com/article/0377-8401%2895%2900901-9/abstract

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