Grain Fed vs. Grass Fed Beef
Here are the details:
VITAMIN E: When fed on grass, cattle take in around 15 times more vitamin E per day than they do on a typical concentrate diet, and levels on the meat can be between two and three times higher as a result.
BETA CAROTENE: is an anti-oxidant and vitamin A precursor, and given grass fed beef a rich yellow colored fat rather than Crisco-white colored fat. Grass fed beef contains up to 5.5 times more beta carotene compared to grain finished beef and cattle fed fresh growing grass contained up to 11 times more than cattle fed dried forages. In fact, the levels of beta carotene can decline up to 97% during grain feeding.
CONJUGATED LINOLEIC ACID (CLA) Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a nutrient found in the fat of ruminant animals that feed on green grass. Researchers are excited about CLA because it is anti-carcinogenic at much lower dosages than many other naturally occurring anti-carcinogens. Grass finished beef has three to five times the amount of CLA as grain fed beef.
Research suggests CLA may:
1. Prevent breast cancer especially when present during mammary tissue development
2. Suppress other cancers
3. Inhibit and reduce atherosclerosis (plaque buildup in the arteries)
4. Lower LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood
5. Induce a relative decrease in body fat and increase in lean muscle mass
6. Increase bone health and formation
7. Normalize or reduce blood glucose levels and control and possibly prevent diabetes
8. Enhance immune system function
9. Combat allergies and asthma
OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS: What does grass fed beef and salmon have in common? Both are excellent sources of an essential fatty acid, omega-3, that is in short supply in the modern American diet. Grass-fed beef is not only lower in overall fat and in saturated fat than grain finished beef, but it also has the added advantage of providing more omega-3 fats. When cattle are taken off grass, however, and shipped to a feedlot to be fattened on grain, they immediately begin losing the omega-3s they have stored in their tissues. As a consequence, the meat from feedlot animals typically contains only 15 percent as much omega-3s as that from grass-fed livestock. Additionally, animals finished on grain have a dramatically different fatty acid profile, with an omega-6:omega-3 ratio of 14:1 or higher, compared to that of grass fed beef with an omega-6/omega-3 ratio as low as 1:6.
Table 1. Fatty acids and calories in 100gs of uncooked lean meat
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