1. GRASSFED BEEF IS SAFER
A study at Cornell University found that grass-fed animals have around 300 times less E. coli than grain-fed animals, and the E. coli they do have is less likely to survive stomach acid. This is because grain-fed cattle have abnormally acidic digestive tracts, which can cause E. coli to become acid-resistant.
Like humans, when cows eat the right food, their bodies are healthy and their digestive systems function properly. A cows rumen is not built to digest grain and when it does the cow is prone to developing severe digestive issues, including imbalanced bacteria levels that make them more susceptible to infections from bacteria like, you guessed it, E.coli. Confined animal feeding operations know this, and that’s why most commercially available cattle feed includes antibiotics. Antibiotic residues then make it into the meat we eat and subsequently damage our normal gut bacteria.
2. GRASSFED BEEF IS HEALTHIER
The word is out, fat is healthy. Even the originators of the diet-heart hypothesis now admit it. These were the “scientists” who propagated the low-fat craze from bias, and poorly analyzed or skewed data. Now, there is a little more to it than just “fat is healthy”. That is partially because there are so many unnatural fat forms existing as a result of decades of misdirected animal fat “hatin”.
So what is healthy? Well, saturated natural fat from healthy animals is healthy. Grass fed beef being in that category, provides up to six times more omega–3 fatty acids than grain-fed beef. Grain fed beef, contains higher levels of omega–6 fatty acids, which are already eaten in surplus in most standard American diets. Why does this matter?
Well, science now tells us that one of the most important factors with regards to fatty acids, is the ratio and balance between Omega-6 and Omega-3. That is along with other things like not heating and consuming unstable polyunsaturated fatty acids like seed oils. Now, beef as nature intends, or in it’s proper form from a healthy cow, not surprisingly contains an optimal ratio of Omega 6 and Omega 3. When this ratio is imbalanced in humans, which for most Americans means overconsumption of Omega 6, we are more susceptible to many forms of disease like heart disease and cancer.
Side note: you see Omega-3 used as a marketing term nowadays, but Omega-3 by itself can cause health problems too. Focus on the balanced ratio, or more simply, eat health fats in their natural form.
