Thursday, April 4, 2013

Health Benefits of Grass Fed Beef - Guest Post

'Grass fed' means that the cattle that your beef comes from have eaten only grass and other foraged foods during their lifetime. It makes sense that what the cow eats makes a significant difference to the beef that it gives. The old adage 'you are what you eat' isn't just for children. Compared with traditional grain-fed beef, grass-fed beef has a much higher content of good fats, and much lower instances of bad fats. Understanding the difference between good and bad fats is a very important thing for your all-round health and well-being. It can be thought of as knowing the difference between what your body needs and what it doesn't. Omega-3 fatty acids and linoleic acid, antioxidant vitamins like vitamin E, are all found in high numbers in grass-fed beef, and are all indispensable elements to good health. For example, omega 3 fatty acids are essential for normal growth, and they play a big role in the prevention and treatment of nasty things like hypertension, coronary artery disease, arthritis, and cancer. Grass fed farming techniques are now practised and promoted by butchers like Cannings butchers, because there has recently been a big media discussion about the health elements of meat eating within the health industry.
Tests have shown us that when the ratio of omega 6 fats to omega 3 fats exceeds 4:1 in the food we eat habitually, health problems are likely to occur. To be healthy and have a strong healthy heart, this ration should be kept low. Grain-fed beef can have ratios that exceed 20:1 and grass-fed beef is  down around 3:1, it's a big difference! This ratio of omegas can be easily overlooked, even though it's a very important health indicator.  That means that lovely lean meat can actually lower your cholesterol levels!  What's more, grass fed is that it is less likely to give a nasty food sickness, because levels of e coli are dramatically lower in grass fed cattle stomachs. Basically, you're much better off spending those extra few dollars on your grass fed beef. The cost is nothing compared with the benefits. Grass fed is the future.

This article was written by Danielle McAnn.  You can find here in the following places
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*Disclaimer: I have been compensated for posting this article.  All opinions expressed here are those of Danielle McAnn.




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1 comment:

  1. Thank you for this post that so clearly outlines the benefits of grass-fed beef. Not only is it good for you, but we think it tastes great. We buy ours directly from a farmer we find on www.homegrowncow.com. That way we know it was raised in a way we think is humane.

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