Grass-fed beef is one of the newest trends in the world of healthy eating, and you have probably at least heard the term. The basic premise is that cows are supposed to eat grass (as nature intended) and that grass-fed beef is, therefore, healthier and more nutritious. Although this might sound like marketing hype, there is actually some science to confirm the health benefits of grass-fed beef.
We looked over some of the evidence so that we could give you a complete explanation. When choosing whether to eat grain-fed beef (i.e., most of it) or grass-fed beef, you need to make an informed decision. According to gtameats.ca, these are the five proven benefits that come from eating grass-fed beef.
1. Grass-Fed Beef Is Leaner
Although this is not an absolute rule, grass-fed beef does tend to be less fatty than the standard options. To understand why you have to understand the process by which meat animals are slaughtered. For most of its life, a cow lives in a pasture eating grass and wild plants. In this regard, nearly all beef is "grass-fed" to one extent or another.However, several months before slaughter, the animals are moved to a feedlot. As the name implies, this is a place where they are deliberately fattened. This allows the producers to get more meat per cow. This fattening is achieved through a food mix that mostly consists of grains. Corn is, by far, the most abundant ingredient in these feeding mixes. Cows that are not subjected to this last-minute stuffing are going to produce slightly less meat, but it will be leaner and higher in quality. This study confirms that grass-fed cattle are less fatty and that their fat is more nutritious due to beta carotene content.
2. Higher Omega-3 Fatty Acid Content
Contrary to popular belief, some types of fat are actually good for you. Chief among these "good fats" are the omega fatty acids. Omega-3 and Omega-6 are the two most common forms, and both are associated with a huge variety of health benefits including:- Eye health
- Brain function
- Heart health
- Mental benefits
- Anti-inflammatory
When it comes to Omega-6 content, grass-fed beef doesn't have any particular benefits. It has about the same amount of Omega-6 that you would find in grain-fed beef. However, there is a pretty significant difference when it comes to the Omega-3 fatty acids. According to this study, grass-fed beef contains up to five times the Omega-3 fatty acids found in standard grain-fed cattle.
3. Higher Nutritional Content
The study that we examined in section one brings up another interesting benefit. Grass-fed beef will generally be more nutritious than that which has been raised on grain. As the Calibre control study confirmed, the fat from these animals has a yellowish colour due to the beta carotene found in most grasses. Beta carotene, by the way, is the substance that gives carrots their distinctive colour and flavour. More importantly, beta carotene is an important precursor that your body uses to make vitamin A. Thus, you will definitely get more vitamin A from this type of beef.Want to know what omega fatty acids, beta carotene, and vitamin A all have in common? They are all antioxidants. These substances are known to have anti-ageing properties and many health benefits in general. In fact, we don't even have the space here to cover that subject...that's how many benefits there are! So, instead, let's see if we can get a general picture.
We found this study to be the perfect fit for our needs. It is a comparison of the antioxidant effects of both grain-fed and grass-fed cattle. Instead of measuring the levels of the various antioxidants (which would take forever), they measured the antioxidant effects that resulted from eating said meat. As you can see, they found the grass-fed cattle to be significantly higher in antioxidants.
4. Less Contaminated With Medical Products
Unfortunately, the government allows people to pump their cattle full of antibiotics and growth hormones, and this practice has come under fire for good reason. Thankfully, some laws in recent years have limited these practices, but they remain pretty common throughout the nation. Those laws didn't really do much except restricting the use of certain specific antibiotics that were also important for human use. The people who made these laws were more concerned about preventing "superbugs" than they are about providing you with quality meat.Grass-fed beef might be a little more expensive, but these kinds of farmers are a lot less likely to use extensive antibiotics, growth hormones, etc. In order to be certified as "organic," their meat likely has to be tested periodically. As such, grass-fed beef is a lot closer to what nature intended. The animal might have some limited medical care on an as-needed basis, but they probably haven't been pumped full of them like those poor animals in the factory farms.
