What a cow eats has a major difference on the nutritional content of beef. Conventionally, cows were raised in feedlots. For the most part, feedlots are really nasty places. Cows are rapidly fattened up with grain-based feeds, usually made up of corn or soy. To speed up the process of growing fast, these cows are given drugs or hormones. In addition, they are likely given antibiotics to survive the unsanitary environment. Contrary, if you look at grass-fed cows, they are raised on grasslands for most, if not all of their lives.
The nutritional content of what a cow eats has a major effect on the fatty acid composition in beef. Grass-fed beef usually contains less total fat than grain-fed beef. What this means, is that gram-by-gram, grass-fed beef contains fewer calories than grain-fed beef.
Also, the composition of fatty acids is very different between the two; grass-fed beef turns out to be better for you. Grass-fed beef generally contains the same amount of Omega-6’s fatty acids. However, the big difference is with Omenga-3’s. Grass-fed beef contains up to 5 times as much Omega-3’s than grain fed-beef. If you recall, Omega 3 fatty acids are good for you and help elevate your good cholesterol (HDL). Omega 6 fatty acids are bad for you because they increase your bad cholesterol (LDL). In addition, grass-fed beef contains up to four times as much conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) as grain-fed beef. CLA has the following benefits:
Increases your metabolic rate, which means for athletes it will help you lose weight and improve body composition
Enhances muscle growth, and muscle burns fat which also contributes to increased metabolism
Lowers cholesterol and triglycerides
Lowers insulin resistance which means a lower risk for diabetes and makes it easier to control your weight
Enhances your immune system which means you won’t get sick as often
However, buyer beware that there is no standard definition for “grass-fed beef.” Therefore, you must trust your local butcher to do the research for you. You definitely want to look for the words “organic,” “grass-fed” and “natural.”
You should also look for the word “local.”
So next time you go to the butch or a restaurant, order with knowledge versus what is cheaper. If you can’t afford grass-fed beef, then it is a good idea to eat more wild caught fish or take a fish supplement with fish oil to make up for the lost Omega 3’s.
