Science Behind Grass-Fed-Beef

It’s Easy to Understand
Why Grass Fed Beef is Great for You.

Grass fed beef is great for your health and the environment. Let’s look at the science behind grass fed beef. It has already been proven with many studies and years of research, that it is not only great for you, but also safe too.

Grass fed beef is:

• Mad cow disease free.
• High in Omega 3 fatty acids.
• Has the right balance between Omega 3s and Omega 6s to keep you healthy.

There is a lot of science that shows why grain fed beef is not as healthy.

• Did you know that by eating grain fed beef, you are at risk for eating mad cow diseased meat?
• Did you know that typical beef, which is not pasture raised isn’t approved to be imported into
  Europe, because it is so unhealthy?
• Did you know, beef that is not grass-fed doesn’t contain all of the essential fatty acids that grass fed beef does, so it won’t help keep you healthy?

Mad Cow Disease: Is Any Meat Truly Safe?

What do you know about mad cow disease? You probably know a lot about it now, because it seems like it’s in the news a lot. Let’s get some of the facts straight.

• Mad Cow disease is also known by another name: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or BSE for short.
• The name Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy is a good name, because it describes the illness well.

Bovine = cows; Spongiform = to turn soggy or spongy; and Encephalopathy = something to do with the brain.

So the disease basically turns the brain of cattle into mush.

• Mad cow disease was first discovered in the United Kingdom over 20 years ago. The cause of the disease: bovine cannibalism or cows being fed infected cows.
• Many countries in Europe and some in Asia have found cases of BSE in their cows. Now, most countries prohibit cow and sheep brain and spinal cord tissues to go into making feed for any type of livestock.
• The United States didn’t find any cases of BSE until 2003.
• It can take a long time for an affected cow (or person) to show any signs of the disease. In fact, it can take up to 30 years to show any symptoms at all.
• The USDA kept claiming that the US meat supply was safe and mad cow disease free. The problem with this claim was that they were only testing the cows that couldn’t walk, not testing the cows that were still healthy.
• The extent of the infection in the US is unknown, because regular testing on healthy animals is not done.
• People affected by mad cow disease suffer a long and serious illness.
• Their symptoms often begin by not being able to maintain their balance. Over months or years of time, their symptoms progress to losing control of their body to not being able to swallow.

Because the disease can stay dormant for so long, it’s impossible to say how many people or cattle are infected with the disease. Just because there hasn’t been recent cases in the United States, doesn’t meat that people and animals are safe.

Because we don’t know the extent of infection, it is hard to say what the dangers of eating ordinary meat are. But it’s best to err on the side of caution.

So what meat is safe?  Any meat that is grass fed beef or pasture raised beef should be safe. Why? Because these cattle aren’t fed animal proteins to make them grow faster. These animals are free from eating dangerous foods, because they are eating their natural diet. BSE can’t be transmitted from cattle to
cattle by just being around them, it is transmitted by eating infected cattle. The only way to make sure that you are safe is to eat animals that have not been fed animal proteins.

Let’s talk about some of the dangerous meats to eat. These meats are dangerous, because they contain the parts of the cow that are often diseased with BSE.

Do you like any of the following meats?

You can see from this that the only true meat that is safe from BSE is grass fed beef. Other meats just aren’t safe, and remember, that you can’t cook BSE out of the meat.

Essential Fatty Acids: Who Knew That Fat Was Good for You?

Let’s talk about fat. We were always told that fat was bad for you, and that if you want to become thin or be healthy, that you should cut it out of your diet as much as possible. Well, that isn’t really the case. We know now that there are good fats and bad fats. What are the good fats? They are called ‘essential fatty acids’ (EFA). What do they do? They help to keep us healthy.

One of these essential fatty acids is Omega-3 fatty acids. What is so important about Omega-3 fatty acids? Well, they can help keep you healthy.

The health benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids:

• Brain development in children.
• Help reduce our risk of cancer.
• Inhibit the growth of tumors.
• Makes you less likely to have a heart attack by about 50%.
• Keeps your blood pressure down.
• Reduces the chances of having an irregular heartbeat.
• Keeps your eyes healthy.
• Can help keep depression, anxiety and aggression at bay.
• Can decrease the symptoms of arthritis.

I know what you are thinking. Why haven’t you heard of Omega-3 fatty acids before, and what foods are they found in?

High amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids are found in:

• Fish that is fatty (for example tuna or salmon).
• Grass fed beef and other livestock.
• Grass fed dairy products.

What do fatty fish and grass fed beef or other pasture animals have in common? Well, they don’t really have a lot in common, except for one thing, their diet. They both eat green plants, which is where the Omega-3 fatty acids come from.

Omega-3s are found in green plants and algae. Nearly 60% of the fat in grass is Omega-3 fatty acid. That’s a lot, considering that can cattle eat over 100 pounds of grass each and every day.

Why don’t grain fed beef animals have Omega-3s?  Because their diet is not green. They aren’t eating grasses that contain this essential fatty acid, so their bodies don’t have it in them.

I know your thinking, well, I’ll just eat a salad instead. Well, our bodies can process Omega-3s like other animals can, so we can convert them from green plants. We have to eat something that has eaten Omega-3s first

Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acid - balancing the two

You understand Omega-3 fatty acids, and why your body needs them, right? Well, lets talk about the other Omega fat, the Omega-6 fatty acid.

What are Omega-6 fatty acids?

• We can call them Omega-3s’ sister, because their chemical property is nearly identical. They look about the same.
• In the past 30 years, the amount of Omega-6 fatty acids ingested in America has gone through the roof.
• Unlike Omega-3s, consumption of Omega-6 fatty acids aren’t beneficial to your health.

What? Not good for your health? Why? Well, because they are so similar to Omega-3s, they compete for the same molecular resources, so they can trick the body into thinking that it has all of the Omega-3s it needs. And so the body doesn’t use the Omega 3s.

Which foods are high in Omega-6 fatty acids:

• Anything made from soybean oil.
• Crackers
• Breads
• Processed foods
• Grain fed grass.

Why is grain fed grass high is Omega-6s? Because it is fed grain. And grains naturally contain higher amounts of Omega-6s that beat out the Omega-3s.

So if you want the numerous advantages of Omega-3 fatty acids, switch to pasture raised and grass fed beef. Keep yourself and your family healthy, without making a sacrifice.

The science behind the ban – Why is US beef banned in Europe?

In 1989, the European Union banned meat from the US from entering Europe. Why? The majority of meat in America is injected with hormones twice during the last 100 days of its life to promote a growth spurt.

Why are cattle in America injected with synthetic hormones? The answer is money. The average head of cattle that has these cheap hormone injections brings in about $80 more than a non-injected cow.

Let’s talk about why the use of these synthetic and natural hormones is bad for your health.

• It’s possible to determine how much of these hormones are in the meat, but it isn’t tested for, so no one knows how much hormone is in the meat.
• Standard procedure is to place the hormone injection in the ear. During a surprise USDA inspection to some of the major feedlots found that on average 50% of the hormone injections were injected into the meat. Why? For convenience of the farmer.
• Hormones are bad, because they disrupt the natural hormone balance in people.
• Children are especially at risk for problems from synthetic hormones, because the amount of hormones in their own bodies is constant.
• Adding extra hormones to children can result in puberty beginning at an earlier stage. Children that begin puberty earlier, have a higher risk of breast cancer.
• Hormones can seep into the ground water and affect the fish.
• There have been cases found where the reproduction system of the fish in rivers and lakes have been affected by the hormones.

Organic grass fed and pasture raised beef isn’t treated with hormones, so you don’t have to worry about them affecting your health. If you worry about the health and safety of your children, just switching to grass fed beef can put your mind at ease.

Start buying grass-fed-meats now, for the health of you and your family!