Health Benefits of Grass-Fed
Products
Meat, eggs, and dairy products from pastured
animals are ideal for your health. Compared with commercial products,
they offer you more "good" fats, and fewer "bad" fats.
They are richer in antioxidants; including vitamins E, beta-carotene,
and vitamin C. Furthermore, they do not contain traces of added
hormones, antibiotics or other drugs.
Below is a summary of these
important benefits. Following the summary is a list of news bulletins
that provide additional reasons for finding a local provider of
grass-fed food.
The European Union refuses to buy U.S. chicken
Few people realize that the European Union
has banned the import of all US poultry since 1997. This month,
EU agriculture ministers voted to continue the ban despite aggressive
pressure from the United States. The issue? The standard
practice in the US poultry industry is to wash the carcasses in
chlorinated water to kill bacteria.
European health authorities are not convinced
that it’s safe to ingest the small amounts of chlorine that
remain on the meat and concluded that lifting the ban would “threaten
the community’s entire set of food production standards.”
John Bowis from the UK was more outspoken.
He told reporters that “lifting the ban would be “outrageous” and
would degrade EU citizens to the status of “guinea pigs.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of US citizens
are unwittingly playing that role.
“EU Ban Remains on US Chickens” December
19, 2008, Meatprocess.com
Healthy Eggs: What We Knew in 1932
In the 1930s, scientists and food producers
were creating the first plans to take poultry off family farms
and raise them in confinement. To enact their plans, they needed
to create “feed rations” that would keep the birds
alive and productive even though they were denied their natural
diet of greens, seeds, and insects. It was a time of trial and
error.
In a 1993 experiment conducted by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, breeding hens were taken off pasture
and fed a wide variety of feed ingredients. When the birds were
fed a diet that was exclusively soy or corn or wheat or cottonseed
meal, the chickens didn’t lay eggs or the chicks that developed
from the eggs had a high rate of mortality and disease.
But when birds were fed these same inadequate
diets and put back on pasture, their eggs were perfectly normal.
The pasture grasses and the bugs made up for whatever was missing
in each of the highly restrictive diets.
“The effect of diet on egg composition.” Journal
of Nutrition 6(3) 225-242. 1933.
How Spreadable is Your Butter?
Take a cube of butter from your refrigerator,
slice it with a knife, and spread it on a slice of bread. Did it
coat the bread evenly or did it remain in hard lumps? Researchers
have determined that the easier butter spreads, the better it is
for your health.
Why is this? The firmness of butter depends
on its ratio of saturated and unsaturated fat. At refrigerator
temperatures, saturated fat is hard and unsaturated fat is soft,
or even liquid. Therefore, butter that is relatively easy to spread
has less saturated, artery-clogging fat and more (healthier) unsaturated
fat.
In addition, a 2006 study shows that the softer
the butter, the more fresh pasture in the cow’s diet. Cows
that get all their nutrients from grass have the softest butterfat
of all. Butter from grass-fed cows also has more cancer-fighting
CLA, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and omega-3 fatty acids than butter
from cows raised in factory farms or that have limited access to
pasture.
(For more information about the benefits of
dairy products from grass-fed cows, read Jo Robinson’s essay, Super
Healthy Milk. To find a local farmer who raises cows on grass,
go to our Eatwild Directory of Farms
and Ranches.)
Journal of Dairy Science, 2006. 89:1956–1969. “The
Linear Relationship between the Proportion of Fresh Grass in the
Cow Diet, Milk Fatty Acid Composition, and Butter Properties” [Note:
this study is available free of charge at the Journal
of Dairy Science website.]
Be a “Meat and Spinach” or a “Meat
and Red Wine” Kind of Guy
Eating
red meat—but not white meat or fish—is linked with
a moderately increased risk of colon cancer. Why is that? Some
experts believe that the amount of iron in the food, specifically,
a type of iron called “heme” iron, is part of the problem.
Red meat has considerably more heme iron than its paler counterparts.
Iron is essential for survival, but heme iron can irritate the
lining of the colon and set up the preconditions for cancer. Another
possible link with red meat and cancer is the amount of oxidized
fat in the meat. You create oxidized fat when you grill meat, sear
it, or cook it above medium rare.
Do you have to cut back on grilled sirloin
steak and lamb chops to lower your risk of colon cancer? Perhaps
not. Eating foods high in antioxidants along with the meat
could do the trick. Research shows that antioxidants have the potential
to neutralize the ill effects of both the iron and the oxidized
fat. For example, a 2005 study showed that eating spinach along
with red meat eliminated all irritation of the colon. Now a 2008
study reveals that drinking a glass of red wine with your meal
could do the same thing. It is likely that other foods high
in antioxidants will offer similar protection.
Does eating grass-fed meat also reduce your
risk of colon cancer? Meat from pastured animals has more
antioxidants than feedlot meat, so it is a distinct possibility.
To date, no one has studied this hypothesis.
Gorelik, S., M. Ligumsky, et al. (2008). "The
Stomach as a ‘Bioreactor’: When Red Meat Meets Red
Wine." J Agric Food Chem.
De Vogel, J., Denise Jonker-Termont
et al. (2005). “Green vegetables, red meat and colon cancer:
chlorophyll prevents the cytotoxic and hyperproliferative effects
of haem in rat colon.” Carcinogenesis.
Grass-fed Beef Clearly Superior, Says New
German and Canadian study
Yet another study shows that grass-fed meat
is nutritionally superior to feedlot meat. This newest study examined
the differences in fat content between four breeds of cattle that
were either 1) raised on pasture or 2) given grain and other feedstuff
in a feedlot.
As in previous research, the results showed
that meat from cattle raised on pasture had much healthier fats.
The researchers concluded that grass-fed meat is “clearly
superior” and “remarkably beneficial.” They
stated that grass-fed meat “should be promoted as an important
part of a healthy balanced diet.” Read
the study summary.
(Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry,
June 2008, 56:4775-4782.)
Summary of Important Health Benefits of Grassfed
Meats, Eggs and Dairy
Lower
in Fat and Calories. There are a number of nutritional
differences between the meat of pasture-raised and feedlot-raised
animals. To begin with, meat from grass-fed cattle, sheep, and bison
is lower in total fat. If the meat is very lean, it can have one
third as much fat as a similar cut from a grain-fed animal. In fact,
as you can see by the graph below, grass-fed beef can have the same
amount of fat as skinless chicken breast, wild deer, or elk.[1]
Research shows that lean beef actually lowers your "bad"
LDL cholesterol levels.[2]
Data
from J. Animal Sci 80(5):1202-11.
Because meat from grass-fed
animals is lower in fat than meat from grain-fed animals, it is
also lower in calories. (Fat has 9 calories per gram, compared with
only 4 calories for protein and carbohydrates. The greater the fat
content, the greater the number of calories.) As an example, a 6-ounce
steak from a grass-finished steer can have 100 fewer calories than
a 6-ounce steak from a grain-fed steer. If you eat a typical amount
of beef (66.5 pounds a year), switching to lean grassfed beef will
save you 17,733 calories a year—without requiring any willpower
or change in your eating habits. If everything else in your diet
remains constant, you'll lose about six pounds a year. If all Americans
switched to grassfed meat, our national epidemic of obesity might
diminish.
In the past few years,
producers of grass-fed beef have been looking for ways to increase
the amount of marbling in the meat so that consumers will have a
more familiar product. But even these fatter cuts of grass-fed beef
are lower in fat and calories than beef from grain-fed cattle.
Extra Omega-3s. Meat from grass-fed
animals has two to four times more omega-3 fatty acids than meat
from grain- fed animals. Omega-3s are called "good fats"
because they play a vital role in every cell and system in your
body. For example, of all the fats, they are the most heart-friendly.
People who have ample amounts of omega-3s in their diet are less
likely to have high blood pressure or an irregular heartbeat. Remarkably,
they are 50 percent less likely to suffer a heart attack.[3]
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.[4]
Another benefit of omega-3s is that they may
reduce your risk of cancer. In animal studies, these essential fats
have slowed the growth of a wide array of cancers and also kept
them from spreading.[5] Although the human research
is in its infancy, researchers have shown that omega-3s can slow
or even reverse the extreme weight loss that accompanies advanced
cancer and also hasten recovery from surgery.[6,7]
Omega-3s are most abundant in seafood and certain
nuts and seeds such as flaxseeds and walnuts, but they are also
found in animals raised on pasture. The reason is simple. 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. Each day that an animal spends in the feedlot, its supply of
omega-3s is diminished.[8] The graph below illustrates
this steady decline.
Data from: J Animal Sci (1993)
71(8):2079-88.
When chickens are housed indoors and deprived
of greens, their meat and eggs also become artificially low in omega-3s.
Eggs from pastured hens can contain as much as 10 times more omega-3s
than eggs from factory hens.[9]
It has been estimated that only 40 percent of
Americans consume an adequate supply of omega-3 fatty acids. Twenty
percent have blood levels so low that they cannot be detected.[10]
Switching to the meat, milk, and dairy products of grass-fed animals
is one way to restore this vital nutrient to your diet.
The CLA Bonus. Meat and dairy
products from grass-fed ruminants are the richest known source of
another type of good fat called "conjugated
linoleic acid" or CLA. When ruminants are raised on fresh
pasture alone, their products contain from three to five times more
CLA than products from animals fed conventional diets.[11]
(A steak from the most marbled grass-fed animals will have the most
CLA ,as much of the CLA is stored in fat cells.)
CLA may be one of our most potent defenses against
cancer. In laboratory animals, a very small percentage of CLA—a
mere 0.1 percent of total calories—greatly reduced tumor growth.
[12] There is new evidence that CLA may also reduce
cancer risk in humans. In a Finnish study, women who had the highest
levels of CLA in their diet, had a 60 percent lower risk of breast
cancer than those with the lowest levels. Switching from grain-fed
to grassfed meat and dairy products places women in this lowest
risk category.13 Researcher Tilak Dhiman from Utah State University
estimates that you may be able to lower your risk of cancer simply
by eating the following grassfed products each day: one glass of
whole milk, one ounce of cheese, and one serving of meat. You would
have to eat five times that amount of grain-fed meat and dairy products
to get the same level of protection.
Vitamin E. In addition to being
higher in omega-3s and CLA, meat from grassfed animals is also higher
in vitamin E. The graph below shows vitamin E levels in meat from:
1) feedlot cattle, 2) feedlot cattle given high doses of synthetic
vitamin E (1,000 IU per day), and 3) cattle raised on fresh pasture
with no added supplements. The meat from the pastured cattle is
four times higher in vitamin E than the meat from the feedlot cattle
and, interestingly, almost twice as high as the meat from the feedlot
cattle given vitamin E supplements. [14#]
In humans, 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.
Data from: Smith, G.C. "Dietary
supplementation of vitamin E to cattle to improve shelf life and
case life of beef for domestic and international markets."
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1171
Click
here to read Super Healthy Milk, an article about the health
benefits of dairy products from grass-fed animals.
Summary References—
See below
Free Range Eggs Nutritionally Superior
As it turns out, all those choices of eggs at your supermarket
aren't providing you much of a choice at all.
Recent tests conducted by Mother Earth News magazine have
shown once again that eggs from chickens that range freely on pasture
provide clear nutritional benefits over eggs from confinement operations.
Mother Earth News collected samples from 14 pastured flocks
across the country and had them tested at an accredited laboratory.
The results were compared to official US Department of Agriculture
data for commercial eggs. Results showed the pastured eggs contained
an amazing:
- 1/3 less cholesterol than commercial eggs
- 1/4 less saturated fat
- 2/3 more vitamin A
- 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
- 7 times more beta carotene
Full results of the tests are available in the October/November
2007 issue of Mother Earth News, or on their website at
http://www.MotherEarthNews.com/eggs.
Check Eatwild's Pastured
Products Directory to find free-range eggs near you.
Lambs raised on pasture
are higher in protein, lower in fat
A team of scientists from the USDA compared
grassfed lambs with lambs fed grain in a feedlot. They found that "lambs
grazing pasture had 14% less fat and about 8% more protein compared
to grain-fed lamb." The researchers acknowledged that "consumer
desires for healthier meats have shifted the emphasis to leaner,
trimmer carcasses.."
and that raising more sheep on pasture will "benefit our economy
by reducing reliance upon expensive grain supplements..." For
more information, refer to Autumn-grazed
Orchardgrass-white Clover Pasture: Nutritive Value Of Herbage And
Lamb Performance.
Why Grassfed Cheese
Is Better
Cheese from grassfed cows is more than four
times richer in conjugated linoleic acid—a cancer-fighting,
fat-reducing fat—than cheese from standard, grain-fed cows.
(Dhiman, T.R., "Conjugated linoleic acid: a food for cancer
prevention." Proceedings from the 2000 Intermountain Nutrition
Conference, pages 103-121.)
Why Grassfed Butter
Is Better
Because living grass is richer in vitamins
E, A, and beta-carotene than stored hay or standard dairy diets,
butter from dairy cows grazing on fresh pasture is also richer
in these important nutrients. The naturally golden color of grassfed
butter is a clear indication of its superior nutritional value.
(Searles, SK et al, "Vitamin E, Vitamin A, and Carotene
Contents of Alberta Butter." Journal of Diary Science, 53(2)
150-154.)
Two new studies suggest
that grassfed meat and dairy products may reduce the risk of breast
cancer
CLA (conjugated linoleic
acid) is a cancer-fighting fat that is most abundant in grassfed
products. Two new European studies link a diet high in CLA with
a lower risk of breast cancer. In Finland, researchers measured
CLA levels in the serum of women with and without breast cancer.
Those women with the most CLA had a significantly lower risk
of the disease. Meanwhile, French researchers measured CLA levels
in the breast tissues of 360 women. Once again, the women with
the most CLA had the lowest risk of cancer. In fact, the women
with the most CLA had a staggering 74% lower risk of breast cancer
than the women with the least CLA.
The most natural and effective way to increase
your intake of CLA is to eat the meat and dairy products of grassfed
animals.
(A. Aro et al,
Kuopio University, Finland; Bougnoux, P, Lavillonniere F, Riboli
E. "Inverse relation between CLA in adipose breast tissue
and risk of breast cancer. A case-control study in France." Inform 10;5:S43,
1999)
Eggs from free-range hens
are higher in folic acid
and vitamin B12
Now there's another good reason to purchase
eggs from pastured poultry farmers: you may be getting more folic
acid and vitamin B12, two very important vitamins. This information
comes from a British study published in 1974. At the time, British
consumers were concerned about the trend toward factory farming.
Specifically, they thought factory eggs might not be as nutritious
as eggs from free-ranging birds. An elaborate study confirmed their
suspicions. The eggs from free-range hens contained significantly
more folic acid and vitamin B12, as you can see by the graph below.
The researchers also looked for differences
in the fatty acid content of the eggs but did not find any. Now
we know why. In the 1970s, little was known about the benefits
of omega-3 fatty acids, so the researchers didn't even bother to
look for them in the eggs.
(A. Tolan et al, "Studies
on the Composition of Food, The chemical composition of eggs
produced under battery, deep litter and free-range conditions." Br.
J. Nutrition, (1974) 31:185.)
The more milk a cow
produces, the more dilute the vitamin content of her milk
The goal of the commercial dairy industry is
to coax the maximum amount of milk out of each cow through a high-tech
combination of selective breeding, confinement housing, synthetic
hormones, and a high-energy grain diet. It has succeeded admirably.
Today's super cows produce as much as 17,000 pounds of milk per
cycle—20 times more milk than a cow needs to sustain a healthy
calf. Unfortunately for consumers, the cow transfers a set amount
of vitamins to her milk, and the greater her milk volume, the more
dilute the vitamin content of the milk, especially vitamins E and
beta-carotene. According to the journal article cited below,
"It follows that continuing breeding and management systems
that focus solely on increasing milk and milk fat yield will result
in a steady dilution in the milk fat of these vitamins and antioxidants..."
Dairy cows raised on pasture and free of hormone
implants produce less milk than commercial cows, but the milk is
therefore richer in vitamin content. This is one of those times
when less is more.
(Jensen, S. K. "Quantitative
secretion and maximal secretion capacity of retinol, beta-carotene
and alpha-tocopherol into cows' milk." J
Dairy Res 66, no. 4 (1999): 511-22.
)
Milk from grassfed cows
has hidden benefits
Until recently, all of the experiments demonstrating
the cancer-fighting properties of CLA (conjugated
linoleic acid) have used synthetic CLA. To see whether the
CLA that occurs naturally in cow's milk has similar cancer-fighting
properties, researchers recently compared the two. They fed one
group of rats butter that was high in CLA and fed another group
of rats an equivalent amount of synthetic CLA. As one would expect,
the natural CLA proved to be just as effective in blocking tumor
growth as the man-made variety. (In both cases, cancer yield was
reduced by about 50 percent.) However, the high CLA butter had
an added benefit: the rats eating the butter accumulated even more
CLA in their tissues than the rats fed an equivalent amount of
synthetic CLA. The reason? Researchers believe that the rats were
converting another
"good" fat found in the butter, trans-vaccenic acid or
TVA, into CLA, giving them a second helping of this cancer-fighting
fat. (Click here for more information about TVA.)
(Ip, C., S. Banni, et
al. (1999). "Conjugated Linoleic Acid-Enriched Butter
Fat Alters Mammary Gland Morphogenesis and Reduces Cancer Risk
in Rats." J Nutr 129(12):
2135-2142.)
New Zealanders
try to satisfy Japanese market and lose valuable nutrients.
Japanese importers place a premium on beef
with ultra-white fat, which is difficult for New Zealand ranchers
to achieve because they fatten their cattle on pasture. (Grass
is rich in the antioxidant vitamin beta-carotene, which lends a
healthy, creamy color to meat fat.) In a recent experiment, New
Zealand researchers experimented with taking cattle off pasture
and fattening them American-style on grain. Because grain is more
expensive in New Zealand than it is in the States, grain-feeding
was limited to less than 2 months. The experiment failed. The fat
color did not change appreciably, even though serum levels of beta-carotene
dropped 97 percent. What's more, 1) the animals weighed less than
animals that were allowed to stay on pasture, 2) their meat was
tougher, and 3) the meat lost more moisture when cooked.
The scientists concluded that animals need
to be fed grain for a longer period of time to use up all the beta-carotene
stored in the fat. Also, longer grain-feeding is required to overcome
the initial weight loss of cattle that are switched from pasture
to a feedlot diet. The increased toughness was unexpected and without
explanation.
("Short-term Grain Feeding and its Effect
on Carcass and Meat Quality." Proceedings of the New Zealand
Grasslands Association 1997. 57:275-277. )
Pastured Poultry Get
a Bounty of Vitamin E from Grass
Standard poultry feed is supplemented with
small amounts of vitamin E. But as you can see by the graph below,
it doesn't come close to the bounty of vitamin E that chickens
glean from fresh pasture. This vitamin E gets passed on to the
consumer. An egg from a pastured hen has 30 percent more vitamin
E than the kind you buy in the supermarket.
(Lopez-Bote et al, "Effect
of free-range feeding on omega-3 fatty acids and alpha-tocopherol
content and oxidative stability of eggs." Animal
Feed Science and Technology, 1998. 72:33-40.)
Grassfed meat has a
similar fat profile to wild game
When cattle are free to forage on their natural
diet of grass, their meat is almost as lean as wild game. The graph
below shows that grassfed beef has an overall fat content similar
to antelope, deer, and elk.
This second graph shows that grain-fed beef
has a much higher ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids than
wild game or grass-fed beef. A high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3
fatty acids has been linked with an increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular
disease, allergies, depression, obesity, and auto-immune disorders.
(Simopoulos and Robinson, The Omega Diet, published by HarperCollins
in 1999.) A ratio of four or lower is considered ideal. The ratio
in grain-fed beef is more than 14 to 1. In grassfed beef, it is
approximately two to one.
(Data for both graphs
comes from G.J. Miller, "Lipids in Wild Ruminant Animals
and Steers." J. of Food Quality,
9:331-343, 1986.)
Feedlot cattle fattened
on stale gummy bears
Some commercial feedlots feed stale candy to
cattle in an effort to reduce costs. According to a recent review,
milk chocolate and candy "are often economical sources of
nutrients, particularly fat. They may be high in sugar and/or fat
content. Milk chocolate and candy may contain 48% and 22% fat,
respectively. They are sometimes fed in their wrappers. Candies,
such as cull gummy bears, lemon drops, or gum drops are high in
sugar content." The article recommends that
"upper feeding limits for candy or candy blends and chocolate
are 5 and 2 lb. per cow per day, respectively."
As long as beef producers are not accountable
for the ultimate nutritional value of the meat, they will continue
to formulate feedlot diets on a least cost basis and American consumers
will continue to eat meat that is artificially high in fat and
low in vitamin E, beta carotene, omega-3 fatty acids, and CLA.
("By-Product
Feedstuffs in Dairy Cattle Diets in the Upper Midwest."
Randy D. Shaver, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Extension Nutritionist, Department of Dairy
Science, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University
of Wisconsin)
Grassfed Jerky
Beef and buffalo jerky fit well into a busy
lifestyle. Jerky needs no refrigeration and can be easily tucked
into a pocket, purse, or lunch bag to provide a satisfying, high-protein
snack. When the jerky is made from the meat of grassfed animals,
you're also getting superior nutritional value and no questionable
additives.
If you're purchasing grassfed meat in quantity,
consider making your own jerky. Be aware, however, that most traditional
recipes do not specify the high temperatures necessary to eliminate
the risk of E. coli and other pathogenic
organisms. To solve the problem, food scientists from Colorado
State University Cooperative Extension developed three different
recipes for making safe jerky at home. You'll find the recipes
on line at SafeFood
Rapid Response Network.
No time to make jerky? Order it ready made
from one of five different suppliers in the Eat
Wild Pastured Products Directory (Click on the directory and
then use your browser to search in the page for the word "jerky.")
Feed them grass, not
grease!
In yet another short-sighted experiment, researchers
at Washington State University are feeding recycled restaurant
grease to feedlot cattle in an attempt to raise the CLA levels
of their meat. Although grease will indeed enhance CLA levels,
it cannot compete with grass when the total nutritional value of
the meat is taken into consideration. Meat from cattle raised on
grass and legumes is not only five times higher in CLA than meat
from feedlot cattle, it is also higher in vitamin E, beta carotene,
and omega-3 fatty acids. Also, restaurant grease is high in a type
of fat called "linoleic acid"
or LA that is known to stimulate tumor
growth. Although grease-fed cattle will have more of the cancer-fighting
CLA, they will also have higher levels of the cancer-promoting
LA, perhaps canceling out the anticipated benefits.
Comments: As long
as researchers focus on artificial ways
to raise CLA levels in animals, we will continue to have beef that
is nutritionally inferior in other areas. We will also be plagued
with all the problems linked with the feedlot industry including
nutrient leaching, odor, diseased animals, and the indiscriminate
use of growth promoting hormones and antibiotics.
Grassfed bison —
the original "Happy Meal?"
Martin Marchello at the Carrington Research
Extension Center has found that grassfed bison have as much as
four times more selenium (an essential trace mineral) than grainfed
bison. Eating just three ounces of grassfed bison, for example,
can give you over 100 mcg. of selenium, which is several times
the daily minimum requirement.
Most of the selenium research has focused on
its potential to reduce the risk of cancer, but a 1990 study found
that selenium also promotes a sunnier disposition! In this study,
volunteers were given either 100 micrograms of selenium or a sugar
pill. Those who were given the selenium noticed an improved mood
in just two weeks. Eating a small portion of grassfed bison on
a daily basis should produce the same results.
(Benton, D. and R. Cook
(1990).
"Selenium supplementation improves mood in a double-blind
crossover trial." Psychopharmacology 102(4):
549-50.)
New findings on
CLA clarify the benefits of meat and dairy products
Conjugated linoleic acid
or CLA has demonstrated a multitude of benefits in animal
studies, including fat reduction, increase in lean muscle mass,
reduced risk of diabetes, reversal of arteriosclerosis, and a
marked reduction in tumor growth.
Many people do not realize, however, that there
are 16 different types of CLA, each with a slightly different molecular
shape. New research reveals that each type of CLA has a different
set of benefits. The type of CLA most abundant in meat and dairy
products (referred to by chemists as "cis-9, trans-11, CLA")
appears to be the champion cancer fighter. Compared with another
common type of CLA (trans 10, cis 12, CLA) it was a third more
effective in blocking the growth of human cancer cells. (78% versus
58% reduction)
But the type of CLA found in meat and dairy
products does not appear to reduce
fat or increase lean muscle mass in humans. (That property is linked
with trans 10, cis 12, CLA)
It will be some time before researchers match
each type of CLA with its particular benefits.
(Information gleaned from
abstracts presented at the 91st American Oil Chemists Society
April 25-28, 2000 annual meeting. Special
supplement to Inform, vol 11, no 5, 2000)
French cheese has
more CLA than ordinary American cheese
French cheeses are among the most carefully
crafted and coveted in the world. Now there's another reason to
seek them out: they're especially high in cancer-fighting CLA .
A 1998 survey found that CLA levels in French cheese range from
5.3 to 15.8 mg/g of fat. American cheese from conventional dairies
has half this amount, with levels ranging from 2.9 to 7.1. The
reason? Typically, American dairies raise their cows in confinement
and feed them a grain-based diet. French dairies are more likely
to raise their cows on pasture, resulting in naturally high levels
of CLA
Fortunately, cheese from American pasture-based
dairies has the same CLA advantage as French cheese. Search the Eat
Wild Pastured Products Directory for cheese suppliers and treat
yourself to an extra helping of CLA.
(JAOCS 75, 343352
(1998))
TVA — yet another
good fat in grassfed products?
Evidence is mounting that dairy products from
grassfed cows supply yet another "good" fat to our diet---trans-vaccenic
acid or TVA. Technically, TVA is classified as a "trans-fatty
acid,"
a type of fat nutritionists tell us to avoid. But TVA appears to
behave differently from the man-made fat that comes from the hydrogenization
of vegetable oil. Unlike the trans-fatty acids found in fast foods
and margarine, TVA is not linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular
disease and may help inhibit tumor growth and obesity.
Interestingly, TVA may perform these feats
by being converted into CLA in our own bodies. In fact, dairy scientist
David Schingoethe from South Dakota State University suggests that
eating diary foods high in TVA may be a more effective way to increase
CLA levels than ingesting CLA itself.
Schingoethe and colleagues are experimenting
with increasing TVA in dairy cows by feeding them fish meal and
soybeans. But raising cows on fresh pasture and withholding all
grain may prove just as effective. In fact, grassfed cows produce
milk that is naturally high in both CLA and TVA, a potentially
lifesaving combination. Stay tuned!
(To learn more, read "Making
Milk Better," by Jamie Lammers.)
The Irish are making
the most of their "unfair" advantage
Milk from grassfed Irish cows is 2–3
times higher in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) than
milk from grainfed American cows. Experiments are underway in Ireland
to increase this CLA advantage. Recent experiments show that feeding
oilseeds to grassfed dairy cows boosts their CLA production even
more. Rapeseeds (the seeds that make canola oil) increase the CLA
content of the milk an extra 60%. (To read more, refer to "Milk
and Dairy Products for Better Human Health," by D. McDonagh, et
al.)
The Irish get added health benefits from their
grassfed beef as well, according to a soon-to-be-published study.
Compared with animals fed supplemental grain, meat from cattle
raised on pasture alone was lower in saturated fat, but higher
in the "good fats," including monounsaturated fats, omega-3
fats, and CLA. Commented the researchers,
"These data indicate that many Irish beef producers, due to
their grass-based production systems, have a natural advantage
in producing beef that is more beneficial to human health than
beef produced from concentrate-based systems."
(For study details, refer to R&H
Hall Technical Bulletin Issue No. 4 ~1999)
(French, P., Stanton,
C., Lawless, F., O'Riordan, E.G., Monahan, F., Caffrey, P.J.
and Moloney, A.P. 1999a. Fatty acid composition, including conjugated
linoleic acid, of intra-muscular fat from steers offered grazed
grass, grass silage or concentrate-based diets. Journal
of Animal Science. Submitted)
The deadliest
form of E. Coli is more common than
originally thought. Fortunately, grassfed animals are much less
likely to transmit the disease.
A study in the March 28th, 2000 issue of the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports
that as many as one out of every three cattle may play host to
the deadliest strain of E. coli bacteria
( 0157:H) This is ten times higher than earlier estimates.
As explained in more detail in Why
Grassfed Is Best!, feeding cattle their natural diet of
grass instead of grain greatly reduces the risk of disease transmission.
Why? First, it keeps the overall bacteria count low. Second,
it prevents the bacteria from becoming acid resistant. Acid-resistant
bacteria are far more likely to survive the acidity of our normal
digestive juices and cause disease. The first graph below illustrates
the absolute numbers of E. coli bacteria
found in grassfed versus grainfed animals. The second graph shows
how many of the bacteria are likely to withstand our gastric
juices. (Note: Grassfed animals have so few acid-resistant bacteria
that the number fails to register on the scale of the graph.)
One of the lead researchers on the project,
USDA microbiologist James Russell, told a reporter for Science
Magazine,
"We were absolutely shocked by the difference. WE never found
an animal that didn't agree with the trend."
You should still take the normal precautions
when handling and cooking grassfed meat, however. As few as ten
E. coli bacteria can cause disease
in people with weakened immune systems.
(Diez-Gonzalez, F., et
al. (1998). "Grain-feeding and the dissemination of
acid-resistant Escherichia coli from Cattle." Science 281,
1666-8.)
Consumers are searching
for healthier eggs
Pastured poultry producers take heart: Consumers
are finally getting the message that some eggs are better than
others. In 1999, sales were up 50% for "all natural" eggs
and 37.5% for
"organic" eggs, according to Alan Andrews, an industry
analyst. The fact that specialty eggs cost about twice as much
as ordinary eggs ($2.20 versus $1.09 a dozen) has not been a deterrent.
Andrews predicts that "this segment will see accelerated growth
in 2000 and may hit 50MM units."
("Retail
Fresh Eggs: Which Came First, Increased Consumption or Increased
Sales?"
by Alan Andrews, Pactiv Corporation.)
Switching to grassfed
products helps balance the essential fats in your diet
There are two types of fats that are essential
for your health—omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. The typical
western diet is overloaded with omega-6 fatty acids and deficient
in omega-3s, upsetting a critical balance. Look at the graph below
and you will see that fresh pasture has two times more omega-3
than omega-6 fatty acids. Grain and soy, on the other hand, have
far more omega-6s than omega-3s.
Therefore, when you switch to grassfed products,
you are helping to correct the gross imbalance in the western diet.
Eating a balanced ratio of essential fatty acids is linked with
a lower risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and mental
disorders. (To learn more about this essential balance, read The
Omega Diet by Simopoulos and Robinson, HarperCollins 1999.)
( US Dairy Forage Research Center,
1995 Research Summaries.)
Some types of cheese
have more CLA than others
The way that cheese is made influences its
CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) content. In general, the longer
cheese is aged, the lower the CLA. Thus, hard cheeses such as Parmesan
and Romano tend to have less CLA than softer cheeses such as cream
cheese, cottage cheese, feta, farmer's cheese, ricotta, and Brie.
In addition, cheese that is aged through "bacterial surface
ripening" (Brick and Muenster) has more CLA than cheese that
does not go through this process. Finally, a serving of high-fat
cheese will have more CLA than a similar serving of low-fat cheese.
(The CLA is measured in terms of grams of CLA per gram of total
fat; the more total grams of fat in a serving of cheese, the more
CLA it will have Reduced fat swiss is an anomaly, for unknown reasons..)
The table below shows CLA levels in cheese
purchased at a grocery store in 1992. In all likelihood, the milk
came from confinement dairy operations. If the milk had come from
grassfed animals, the CLA content would have been five times higher.
TYPE OF CHEESE |
CLA (mg/gram of
fat) |
Brick |
7.1 |
Reduced Fat Swiss |
6.7 |
Natural Muenster |
6.6 |
Colby |
6.1 |
Blue |
5.7 |
Ricotta |
5.6 |
Velveeta |
5.2 |
Medium Cheddar |
4.1 |
Sharp Cheddar |
3.6 |
Parmesan |
3.0 |
Romano |
2.9 |
(Chin et al, "Dietary
Sources of Conjugated Dienic Isomers of Linoleic Acid, a Newly
Recognized Class of Anticarcinogens." J.
of Food Composition and Analysis 5:185-197
1992)
Switching from
grainfed to grassfed meat is a healthy, natural way to lose weight
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in
the United States, with one out of every two adults burdened by
excess weight. To help trim the fat, Procter and Gamble has given
us Olestra, "the no-fat cooking oil with the full-fat flavor." There
are a couple of problems with Olestra. First, it cuts down on your
body's absorption of beta-carotene and vitamin E. Second, it can
cause "bloating, cramping, nausea, and loose stools or diarrhea."
Nature has given us a healthier alternative
to weight control—eat meat from animals raised on fresh pasture.
Meat from grassfed animals has about half the fat as meat from
grainfed animals and significantly fewer calories. It also gives
you a bonus supply of vitamins E, A, D, and beta-carotene.
(Burton P. Koonsvitsky et
al, "Olestra Affects Serum Concentrations of Alpha-Tocopherol
and Carotenoids" J of Nutrition,
Vol. 127 No. 8 August 1997, pp. 1636S-1645S)
Chefs from fine restaurants
pay a premium for grassfed poultry and meat
If people haven't tasted grassfed meat, they
wonder how it's going to taste. "Terrific!" say a growing
number of chefs. Kerry Engel, a rural development specialist, surveyed
executive chefs from six, high-end hotels, restaurants and catering
businesses. He reports that "a few meat products that the
chefs specifically inquired about include free-range poultry and
grassfed meats and ducks. They're especially interested in unusual,
exciting and new specialty products."
He found that the chefs were also committed to supporting local
farmers.
"They'll pay 10 per cent more for regional products if the
supply meets their specifications."
Help spread the word. Ask for grassfed (range-fed)
meat the next time you're dining out!
Grassfed lambs
have more lutein
The more that nutritionists learn about naturally
occurring antioxidants, the more they like lutein. Lutein is closely
related to beta-carotene, but is absorbed more readily. Lutein
reduces the risk of macular degeneration (a leading cause of blindness)
and may also help prevent breast and colon cancer.
Meat from sheep raised on pasture has twice
as much lutein as meat from grain-fed sheep—yet another nutritional
advantage of raising animals naturally.
(Kruggel, W.G., "Influence
of sex and diet on lutein in lamb fat." J
of Animal Science 54: 970-975, 1982.)
Not so fast, FDA!
In 1993, when the Food and Drug Agency approved
the use of synthetic hormones to increase milk production in dairy
cows, the FDA assured a worried public that recombinant bST would
not diminish the nutritional value of the milk. In an interview,
Commissioner David A. Kessler, M.D., stated that "there is
virtually no difference in milk from treated and untreated cows.
In fact, it's not possible using current scientific techniques
to tell them apart."
Seven years later, there is new evidence that
synthetic hormones reduce levels of conjugated linoleic acid or
CLA in beef, depriving consumers of a naturally occurring and potentially
lifesaving substance. It is not known at this time whether bST
has a similar effect on milk products. Nonetheless, this is yet
another example of researchers altering a natural product before
fully understanding its many benefits.
(Fritsche S, Rumsey TS, Yurawecz
MP, Ku Y, Fritsche J. “Influence of growth promoting implants
on fatty acid composition including conjugated linoleic acid
isomers in beef fat. Eur. Food Res. Technol. 212:621-629 (2001))
Afternoon hay may
be better than morning hay, but fresh grass is best!
Nothing beats fresh pasture for nutritional
value. Once the grass is cut and dried, there is a dramatic decline
in vital nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, and
the carotenes (beta-carotene and related antioxidant vitamins.)
The graph below shows the difference in carotene content between
fresh Bermuda grass and the same grass that has been field dried.
In the winter months or other times of year
when the grass is dormant, even grassfarmers must rely on stored
forages such as hay. But, typically, the animals are harvested
in the early fall when the animals are fresh from green pasture.
This insures that their meat will have its full allotment of health-enhancing
vitamins. Feedlot animals never eat living grass.
(Bailey, C.A. and B.H.
Chen,
"Research Note: Carotene and Zanthophyll Changes During Growth
and Processing of Turf Burmudagrass." Poultry
Science, 1988. 67:1644-6.)
Egg yolks are the
richest known source of lutein and zeaxanthin, essential vitamins
not found in your multi-vitamin tablet
Eggs are gaining new respect from nutritionists,
partly for their abundance of two carotenes --- lutein and zeaxanthin.
These antioxidant vitamins are essential for the protection of
the macula, an area of the retina that provides our best central
vision. Eggs are the richest known source. "Macular degeneration," the
term for damage to this area of the retina, is the leading cause
of blindness in people over 55 years of age. Lutein and zeaxanthin
protect the macula from the destructive effects of light. The deeper
the yellow-orange color of yolks, the more lutein and zeaxanthin
they contain and the more eye-protection they offer.
There is also new evidence linking lutein and
zeaxanthin with a lower risk of colon cancer. According to a recent
study, "Of all the carotenoids investigated, only lutein and
zeaxanthin showed a protective effect against colon cancer, with
an enhanced effect in younger people."
(Slattery, M. L., Benson,
J., Curtin, K., Ma, K. N., Schaeffer, D., and Potter, J. D. (2000). Am
J Clin Nutr 71, 575-82.)
Grassfed products
supply much needed vitamin E
Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control
recently determined the vitamin E status of 16,000 American men
and women. Twenty-percent per cent of white Americans, 41 per cent
of African Americans, and 28 per cent of Mexican Americans were
deficient in vitamin E. Vitamin E deficiencies have been linked
with diabetes, immune disorders, AIDS, muscle damage in exercise,
Parkinson's disease, eye diseases, and lung and liver diseases.
As you can see by several of the posts below, switching to the
products of animals raised on grass (which is far richer in vitamin
E than grain) would help prevent this widespread deficiency. (Ford,
Earl S. and Sowell, Anne. "Serum alpha-tocopherol status in
the United States population: findings from the Third National
Health and Nutrition Examination Survey." American
Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 150, August 1, 1999, pp. 290-300.)
Medical "experts"
promulgate the myth that eggs from pastured poultry are no better
than supermarket eggs
Many people turn to internet websites for their
health information, and few sites are as highly regarded as the
Mayo Clinic Health Oasis site which professes to offer "Reliable
information for a healthier life." (http://www.mayohealth.org/index.htm)
In a recent posting, the Mayo Clinic experts proclaimed, "Whether
hens are raised free-range or in cages has no effect on the nutrients
in the eggs they lay,"
and, then later on in the same article, "Feed and yolk color
don't alter the nutritive content of the egg."
The experts should be more thorough in their
research. As you will see by the posts below and by reading Why
Grassfed Is Best!, eggs from pastured poultry are higher
in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, and vitamin A. Meanwhile, they
are lower in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. In addition,
there is a direct relationship between feed, yolk color, and the
nutrient content of the egg. The more orange the yolk, the higher
the level of health-enhancing carotenoids. Compared to supermarket
eggs, eggs from pastured poultry are a vivid yellow/orange—proof
of a richer store of disease-fighting carotenes.
(Bornstein, S. and I.
Bartov (1966). "Studies on egg yolk pigmentation. I. A comparison
between visual scoring of yolk color and colorimetric assay of
yolk carotenoids." Poult Sci 45(2):
287-96.)
How researchers
determine what we eat
When animals are removed from their natural
habitat, they are at the mercy of humans for everything they eat.
Regrettably, very little research is aimed at recreating what the
animals would normally glean in the wild. Instead, the goal is
to create the lowest cost diet that will maintain the highest possible
production levels. This "least cost production" mentality
will prevail as long as consumers remain ignorant of the many compromises
involved.
For example, a team of researchers determined
that
"the vitamin E requirement norm of laying hens for consumer
egg production is achieved at a vitamin E content of 7 mg/kg laying
hen feed. The supplement of synthetic antioxidant is unnecessary." By
contrast, pastured poultry have the luxury of foraging for greens
that have as much as 200 mg/kg of vitamin E. This extra helping
of vitamin E may not increase egg production, but it does yield
healthier eggs for the consumer. Savvy consumers are becoming more
aware of these invisible differences.
(Richter, G., I. Rodel, et
al. (1985). "Evaluation of laying-hen feed with varied
vitamin E and antioxidant supplementation.." Arch
Tierernahr 35(10): 707-14.)
TLC increases meat tenderness
Many people assume that the degree of marbling
in meat is a major determinant of tenderness. Not so. Marbling
accounts for only 10 percent of the variability in tenderness.
There are numerous other factors involved, including the amount
of stress animals are subjected to prior to slaughter. Researchers
in New Zealand and Australia report that beef is consistently on
the tender end of the scale when pre-slaughter stress is minimized,
regardless of breed. Read
"The Meat Tenderness Debate."
Eggs from pastured
layers are higher in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E
In a recent study, one group of chickens was
confined indoors (the conventional system) and another was allowed
to free-range. Both groups were fed the same commercial mixed diet.
The chickens that were able to add grass to the menu produced eggs
that that were higher in omega-3s and alpha-tocopherol (vitamin
E.) Both omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E have been linked with
lower rates of cancer and cardiovascular disease in humans. (Lopez-Bote et
al, "Effect of free-range feeding on omega-3 fatty acids
and alpha-tocopherol content and oxidative stability of eggs." Animal
Feed Science and Technology, 1998. 72:33-40.)
Red clover increases
CLA levels in the milk of grassfed dairy cows
The type of grasses and legumes growing in
a pasture can influence the amount of CLA in cow's milk. When dairy
cows grazed pasture that contained 20 percent red clover, they
produced 50 percent more cancer-fighting, fat-busting CLA than
cows that grazed on grasses alone. (Search for the study titled, "Paddocks
containing red clover compared to all grass paddocks support high
CLA levels in milk.")
Milk from cows that
graze on intensively managed pasture has fewer undesirable bacteria
Management Intensive Grazing or "MIG" is
the practice of shifting livestock from paddock to paddock on a
frequent basis to enhance the yield and quality of the pasture.
Milk from cows raised under this system was found to be lower in
bacterial count than milk from cows raised in standard confinement
dairies. (Goldberg, J. J., E. E. Wildman, et al. (1992). "The
influence of intensively managed rotational grazing, traditional
continuous grazing, and confinement housing on bulk tank milk quality
and udder health."
(J Dairy Sci 75(1): 96-104).
Cattle are smart
grazers
Canadian researchers compared the nutrient
value of randomly selected grass clippings with the grass the cattle
themselves selected. Invariably, the cattle selected grass that
was higher in protein and mineral content. Judging by their results,
the researchers cautioned that a standard analysis of pasture grasses
is likely to underestimate the actual amount of nutrients that
cattle glean from the pasture. (J. D. Poppet al, "Nutrient
selection by cattle from grass and grass/legume pastures."
(Canadian
Journal of Animal Science 79
(3) 391-5. September 1999)
Pastured pigs
are vitamin enriched — naturally
Pigs raised on pasture have 300 percent more
vitamin E and 74 percent more selenium (a vital antioxidant) in
their milk than pigs raised in confinement, according to Don C.
Mahan Professor of Animal Sciences at Ohio State University. This
bounty of nutrients promotes healthier litters, shorter farrowing
times, and good milk let down. The pigs' meat is enriched with
vitamins as well. Fortifying the pigs' diet with synthetic vitamins,
the standard practice in confinement operations, does not achieve
the same results because the artificial vitamins are more poorly
absorbed.
(Mutetikka, D.B., and D.C. Mahan,
1993. Effect of pasture, confinement, and diet fortification
with vitamin E and selenium on reproducing gilts and their progeny.
J. Anim. Sci. 71:3211.)
Consumers will
pay more for omega-3 enriched eggs
In a survey of 500 Texans, 60% were willing
to pay $1.00 more per dozen if the eggs were rich in omega-3s.
Eggs from pastured hens have 2 to 20 times more omega-3s. (The
amount varies depending on the quality of the pasture and the omega-3
content of the supplemental feed.)
(Elswyk, M.E. et al, "Poultry-based
alternatives for enhancing the omega-3 fatty acids content of
American diets." World Rev Nutr Diet, 1998. 83:102-115.)
The excess fat on grain-fed
cattle costs the meat industry billions of dollars a year
To achieve marbled beef, feedlot cattle are
fed a high-grain diet. This results in a significant amount of
external fat that has to be trimmed away. Consumers trim away yet
more fat when they bring the meat home. In 1973, the cost of "producing,
shipping, and trimming the excess fat on beef alone was more than
$2 billion."
One wonders how much is spent on this superfluous fat today.
(Pierce, John C., "The
Federal Grading System for Animal Products.)
Wild turkeys thrive
on grass, bugs, berries, seeds, and nuts
Turkeys raised on pasture have a diet that
resembles their original diet. Zoologists studying wild turkeys
found that "the youngsters instinctively peck at moving things
- which are usually protein-rich bugs or larvae." While adult
turkeys "prefer grass and other plant leaves, along with berries
and bugs." For more information, read "Turkeys'
Success Won't Trigger A Grouse Egress."
Sheep are the CLA
winners
Dr. Gerhard Jahreis from the Institut Ernaehrung
und Umwelt in Germany has studied the CLA content of human milk
and milk from a variety of animals. He reports that horses have
the lowest CLA content and sheep the highest. Human milk is in
the middle. (Mare's milk <
sow's milk < human milk < goat's milk < cow's milk < ewe's
milk.)
There are fewer than 100 sheep dairy farms
in the United States (we imported 66 million pounds of sheep's
milk cheese in 1994, valued at $118 million.) With this new finding
about CLA, perhaps more US farmers will consider milking sheep.
(Jahreis, G. et al, The
potential anticarcinogenic conjugated linoleic acid in milk of
different species: cow, goat, ewe, sow, mare, woman." Nutr
Res 1999. 19:1541-9.)
Eating eggs does
not appear to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease or stroke
Cutting back on egg consumption has been widely
recommended as a way to lower blood cholesterol levels and prevent
coronary heart disease. Is this valid advice? Recently, researchers
took a close look at the egg-eating habits and heart health of
118,000 men and women. The scientists reported that "we found
no evidence of an overall significant association between egg consumption
and risk of CHD [coronary heart disease] in either men or women." In
fact, they found that people who ate from 5 to 6 eggs per week
had a lower risk of heart disease than those who ate less than
one egg per week.
One wonders what the scientists would find
if they looked at the heart health of those lucky people who eat
eggs from pastured hens?
(Hu, F. B., M. J. Stampfer, et
al. (1999). "A prospective study of egg consumption
and risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women." JAMA
281(15): 1387-94.)
Agribusiness underestimates
the consumer revolt against hormone-implanted meat
Sometimes it helps to look at an issue from
the other side of the fence. Here's a paragraph excerpted from
an on-line publication of the beef industry about the economic
benefits of implanted synthetic hormones. "'There's probably
nothing else we can do chute-side with a critter that is as economically
important as a quality implant job,' says Gerry Kuhl, extension
feedlot specialist at Kansas State University (KSU). For round-numbers
perspective, Kuhl explains implanting calves adds 15-25 lbs. to
weaning weight. A single implant in the stocker pasture is worth
15-40 lbs., while implants in the feedlot routinely serve up an
extra 30-40 lbs. ... 'That's a response we can't afford to ignore,
given the narrowing profit margins," says Kuhl.'"
Grassfarmers have a refreshingly different
approach to encouraging growth in their livestock. Rather than
implant their animals with hormones, they plant their fields with
high quality forage. As in nature, the richness of the environment—not
drugs—determines the growth rate of grassfed animals.
Grassfed animal
products have a bonus supply of vitamin E
The chart below shows the relative amounts
of vitamin E in corn and grass. As you can see, when animals are
raised on fresh pasture, they get considerably more of this important
vitamin. When consumers choose grassfed products, they, too get
an extra helping of this immune-boosting, age-defying antioxidant.
To learn more, read "Vitamin
E Requirements for Protection of Dairy Cows Against Infections
at Parturition."
Soft cheese has
more CLA than aged cheese
All cheese made from the milk of grassfed cows
is rich in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). However, the cheese
making process itself can increase or decrease this amount. In
a comprehensive survey, the highest amounts of CLA were found in
soft cheeses aged approximately three months. Longer aging periods
reduced this highly desirable fat.
(Chin, S. F. et al (1992)). "Dietary
Sources of Conjugated Dienoic Isomers of Linoleic Acid, a Newly
Recognized Class of Anticarcinogens." J of Food Composition
5: 185-97.)
Finishing lambs
on pasture cuts costs and enhances the quality of the meat
According to this North Carolina study, lambs
raised on alfalfa pasture had "higher carcass weight average
dressing percentage, yield grade and carcass value (P<<.05)
than those fed on the grain-based ration. . . The high quality
carcasses were produced at a much reduced cost as compared to traditional
feeding management." All told, the net return for the lambs
raised on pasture was $15.97/head higher. For more details, read Use
Of Alfalfa Pasture For Finishing Lambs.
In a second grazing experiment, meat from lambs
finished on pasture had 14 percent less fat and 8 percent more
protein than grain-fed lambs. Click
here for details of this study.
Turkeys make CLA,
too
CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) is highest in
products from grazing animals on a diet of fresh pasture, and it
is very low in non-ruminants such as chickens and pigs. But turkeys
appear to be an exception, having about 2.5 mg of CLA per gram
of fat. (For comparison, chickens have 0.9 and pigs 0.6 mg. per
gram of fat.) To date, no one has tested the CLA content of turkeys
raised on pasture rather than in confinement, an experiment that
begs to be done. It is possible that turkeys with a significant
amount of greens in their diet will have even more CLA.
(Chin, S. F. et al. (1992)).
"Dietary Sources of Conjugated Dienoic Isomers of Linoleic
Acid, a Newly Recognized Class of Anticarcinogens)
Cows that graze on "ecologically
managed" pasture may have more CLA
Raising dairy cows on fresh pasture instead
of a standard dairy diet increases the CLA content of their milk
five-fold. Now there is some evidence that grazing on organic pasture
may boost the CLA even further. In a study conducted in Germany,
cows on organic pasture had almost twice as much CLA as those grazing
on a nearby, non-organic farm. More research is needed.
(Jahreis, G. et al. (1997).
"Conjugated linoleic acid in milk fat: high variation depending
on production system." Nutrition Research 17(9): 1479-1484.)
Finishing cattle
on fresh pasture increases the omega-3s in their meat more than
fishmeal
Researchers have been laboring diligently to
try to increase the omega-3 content of beef. In a 1998 study, letting
cattle forage on fresh pasture alone resulted in higher levels
of omega-3 fatty acids than feeding them a diet that contained
10% fishmeal for 168 days.
For more information, see: I.B. Mandell et
al, The Return of Omega-3 Fatty Acids into the Food Supply,
World Rev Nutr Diet, 83:144-59, 1998.
Once again, Nature's original plan is proving
to be the better plan.
Raising pigs on
pasture reduces the risk of fostering antibiotic-resistant bacteria
A herd of pigs that had not been exposed to
antibiotics for 126 months was divided into two groups and either
housed on pasture or in standard indoor units. Over a 20-month
period, fecal coliforms from both groups of pigs were tested for
resistance to standard antibiotics. Samples taken from the pastured
pigs were far less likely to be antibiotic resistant. "The
data from this study suggest that exposure to antibiotics is not
the only factor that influences the prevalence of bacteria that
are resistant to single and multiple antibiotics in the feces of
domestic animals and that considerable research is needed to define
the factors influencing antibiotic resistance in fecal bacteria."
Langlois, B. E., K. A. Dawson, et
al. (1988). "Effect of age and housing location on
antibiotic resistance of fecal coliforms from pigs in a non-antibiotic-exposed
herd."
Appl Environ Microbiol 54(6): 1341-4.
Meat from grassfed
cattle is four times higher in vitamin E
In addition to being higher in omega-3s, CLA,
and beta-carotene, grassfed beef is much higher in vitamin E. The
graph below shows vitamin E levels in meat from: 1) feedlot cattle,
2) feedlot cattle given high dose supplements of vitamin E (1,000
IU per day), and 3) cattle raised on fresh pasture with no added
supplements. The meat from the pastured cattle is four times higher
in vitamin E than the meat from the feedlot cattle and, interestingly,
almost twice as high as the meat from the feedlot cattle given
vitamin E supplements. The reason for the very high vitamin E content
in the meat of grassfed cattle is the very high vitamin E content
in fresh grass. (Scan down for earlier postings on vitamin E levels
in animal feed.)
In humans, vitamin E is linked with a lower
risk of heart disease and cancer. This potent antioxidant may also
have anti-aging properties. Most people tend to be deficient in
vitamin E.
("Dietary supplementation
of vitamin E to cattle to improve shelf life and case life of
beef for domestic and international markets." G.C. Smith
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1171)
Summary References
1. Rule,
D. C., K. S. Brought on, S. M. Shellito, and G. Maiorano. "Comparison
of Muscle Fatty Acid Profiles and Cholesterol Concentrations
of Bison, Beef Cattle, Elk, and Chicken." J Anim Sci 80,
no. 5 (2002): 1202-11.
2. Davidson,
M. H., D. Hunninghake, et al. (1999). "Comparison
of the effects of lean red meat vs lean white meat on serum lipid
levels among free-living persons with hypercholesterolemia: a
long-term, randomized clinical trial." Arch
Intern Med 159(12): 1331-8. The conclusion of this study: "...
diets containing primarily lean red meat or lean white meat produced
similar reductions in LDL cholesterol and elevations in HDL cholesterol,
which were maintained throughout the 36 weeks of treatment."
3. Siscovick,
D. S., T. E. Raghunathan, et al. (1995). "Dietary
Intake and Cell Membrane Levels of Long-Chain n-3 Polyunsaturated
Fatty Acids and the Risk of Primary Cardiac Arrest." JAMA 274(17):
1363-1367.
4. Simopolous,
A. P. and Jo Robinson (1999). The Omega
Diet. New York, HarperCollins. My previous book, a collaboration
with Dr. Artemis P. Simopoulos, devotes an entire chapter to
the vital role that omega-3s play in brain function.
5. Rose,
D. P., J. M. Connolly, et al. (1995). "Influence
of Diets Containing Eicosapentaenoic or Docasahexaenoic Acid
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