“Why Grass Finished?”
The
bovine was designed by our Creator to live, stay healthy and be totally
sustained on a diet of grass and forage. In doing so, it keeps
the soil fertile, returning native minerals and nutrients. The
bovine was made to be a servant to and for mankind.
Cattle
were not designed to eat grain. The grains force-fed to cattle in
feedlots are loaded with starches which causes added stress on the
digestive system. Stress on the digestive system forces the
bovine to exert more energy in the process. The combination of
stress and excess energy results in a tough, stringy end-product, meat.
Science
has shown that grass-fed and grass-finished beef are higher in four (4)
elements essential to a healthy human diet; (1) Lower in fat calories;
(2) more Omega-3 fatty acid (the good fat); (3) Conjugated Linoleic
Acid and (4) high in vitamin E and CLA and fewer calories than
conventional grain-fed beef.
Lower
in fat and Calories
Grass-fed
Beef is lower in fat and calories than grain-fed beef. For example, a
6-ounce steak from a grass-finished steer has one half to one third the
amount of fat and about 100 fewer calories than a 6-ounce steak from a
grain-fed steer.
Assuming
that you eat a typical amount of beef (66 pounds a year), switching to
grass-fed beef could save you approximately 18,000 calories a year and
if everything else in your diet stayed the same, you’ll lose about six
pounds a year.
Grass-fed
beef has about the same amount of fat as skinless chicken, wild deer or
elk, and like these other lean meats, it actually lowers your LDL
cholesterol levels.
Omega
3s
Grass-fed
beef is also higher in omega-3 fatty
acids. Omega-3s are “good” fats as they are the most heart-friendly
of all fats. People who have ample amounts of omega-3s in their diet
are less likely to have high blood pressure or an irregular heartbeat
and are 50 percent less likely to suffer a heart attack. Omega-3s are
essential for your brain as well. People with a diet rich in omega-3s
are less likely to suffer from depression, schizophrenia, attention
deficit disorder (hyperactivity), or Alzheimer’s disease.
Omega-3s
also may reduce your risk of cancer. Studies show that these essential
fats have slowed the growth of a wide array of cancers and also kept
them from spreading.
Omega-3s
are formed in the chloroplasts of green leaves and algae. Sixty percent
of the fatty acids in grass are omega-3s. When cattle are taken off
omega-3 rich grass and shipped to a feedlot to be fattened on omega-3
poor grain, they begin losing their store of this beneficial fat. It is
estimated that only 40 percent of Americans consume an adequate supply
of omega-3 fatty acids. Switching to meat and dairy products from
grass-fed animals is one way to restore this vital nutrient to your
diet.
Conjugated
Linoleic Acid
Conjugated
Linoleic Acid or CLA is another type of good fat. Grass-fed beef
contains three to five times more CLA than conventionally fed beef. CLA
may be one of our most potent defenses against cancer. In studies,
women who had the highest levels of CLA in their diet had 60 percent
lower risk of breast cancer than those with the lowest levels.
Switching from grain-fed to grass-fed meat and dairy products places
women in this lowest risk category.
Vitamin
E
Grass-fed
beef is also higher in vitamin E. Vitamin E is linked with a lower risk
of heart disease and cancer. This potent antioxidant may also have
anti-aging properties. Most Americans are deficient in Vitamin E.
Healthy Animals = Healthy people!
May
God grant you the wisdom to produce healthy food.
Gearld
Fry