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The Nutritional Benefits of Grassfed Animal Products

Grassfed animal products are far better for your health than grainfed products. Specifically they are lower in fat and calories but higher in key vitamins such as beta-carotene and vitamin E. What's more, they are a rich source of "good" fats such as omega-3 fatty acids and "conjugated linoleic acid" (CLA)---nutrients which may reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and other debilitating conditions.
When cattle are raised on pasture, their meat is naturally very lean. When meat is this lean, it actually lowers your cholesterol levels. Now you can enjoy meat again--with your doctors' approval.
Because grassfed meat is so lean, it is lower in calories. If you eat a typical amount of beef (66.5 pounds a year), switching to grassfed beef will save you 17,733 calories a year- without requiring any willpower or change in eating habits. If everything else in your diet remains constant, you'll lose about six pounds a year.

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A Bounty of Good Fat

Although grass-fed meat is low in "bad" fat (such as saturated fat), it has two to six times more of type of good fat called "omega-3 fatty acids." Many people are unaware that some kinds of fat can be good for your health. They've gotten the idea that all fat is bad. Omega-3 fatty acids are not only good for you, they play a vital role in every cell and system in your body. People who have ample amounts of omega-3s in their diet are less likely to have high blood pressure or an irregular heartbeat. Remarkably, they are 50 percent less likely to have a serious heart attack.

1. These good fats are essential for your brain as well. People with a diet rich in omega-3 are less likely to be depressed or to be afflicted with schizophrenia, attention deficit disorder (hyperactivity), or Alzheimer's disease.
2. Omega-3s protect you against cancer as well.
   The reason that grassfed ruminants and pastured pigs and poultry are a good source of omega-3s is that these essential fats are formed in the green leaves (specifically the chloroplast) of plants. Sixty percent of the fat content of grass is a type of omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic or LNA. When cattle are taken off grass and are fattened on grain, they lose their valuable store of LNA. Each day that an animal spends in the feedlot, its supply of omega-3s is diminished.
3. The universal practice of raising ruminants in confinement is one of the reasons our modern diet is so low in omega-3 fatty acids. Only 40 percent of Americans consume a sufficient supply of these nutrients. Twenty percent have levels so low that they cannot be detected.
4. When chickens are housed indoors and deprived of greens, they, too are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids. Their meat and eggs are also unnaturally low in vitamin E, vitamin A, and beta-carotene. Unfortunately, buying "organic" chicken is not the solution. Most organic poultry producers raise their birds indoors and deny them access to greens. Although the products from these birds will be free of undesirable drugs and chemicals, they won't be rich in omega-3s and other key nutrients. For maximum nutritional benefits, you need to seek out "pasture" chickens and turkeys.

Essential Fat Comparison Graph

This Graph shows that grain-fed beef has a much higher ratio of omega-6 fatty acids than wild game or grass-fed beef. A high ratio of omega-6 fatty acids has been linked with increased risk of cancer,cardoivascular disease, depression, obseity, and auto-immune disordered. (Simopoulos and Robinson, The omega Diet, published by HarperCollins in1999.) A ratio of four or lower is considered ideal. The ratio in grain-fed beef is more than 14 to 1. In grassfed beef, it is approximately two to one.
(Data for graph comes from G.J. Miller, "Lipids in Wild Ruminants Animals and Steers." J. of food Quality, 9:331-343,1986.)

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Vitamin E Comparison Graph

In addition to being higher in omega-3s, CLA, and beta-carotene, grassfed beef is much higher in vitamin E. The graph above shows vitamin E in meat: 1 feedlot cattle, 2 feedlot cattle given high dose supplements of vitamin E (1,000 IU per day), and 3 cattle raised on fresh pasture with no added supplements. The meat from the pastured cattle is four times higher in vitamin E than the meat from the feedlot cattle and, interestingly, almost twice as high as the meat from feedlot cattle given vitamin E supplments. The reason for the very high vitamin E content in the meat of grassfed cattle is the high vitamin E content in grass.
("Dietary supplementation of vitamin E to cattle improve shelf life and case of beef for domestic inernational markets." G.C. Smith Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1171)

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Endnotes
1. Siscovick, D. S., T. E. Raghunathan, et al. (1995. " Dietary Intake and Cell Membrane Levels of Long-Chain n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and the Risk of Primary Cardiac Arrest." JAMA 274(17): 1363-1367.
2. Simpopous, A. P. and Jo Robinson (1999). The omega Diet. New York, HarperCollins. My previous book , a collaboration with Dr. Artemis P. Simopoulos, devotes an entire chapter to the vital role that omega-3s play in brain function.
3. Ducat, S. K., D. G. Wagger, et al. (1993). "Effects of time on feed on beef nutrient composition." J Animi Sci 71(8):2079-88.
4. Dolecek, T. A. and G. Grandest (1991). "Deity Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Mortality in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MFR.." World Rev Nut Diet 66: 205-16

Excerpted from www.eatwild.com the home page for Jo Robinson's new book, Why Grassfed is Best! For more information about the benefits of grassfarming, visit her site, or call (206) 463-4156.

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