Beef Nutrient Comparison: Grass Finished VS Grain Finished
By: Elin Ganschow, Owner Sangre's Best Beef: February 8th 2023
Nutrient Comparison: Life Changing Results
In leading up to your Bulk Beef Deposits opening on MARCH 15TH (aka BULK BEEF DAY!) we wanted to share with you some very useful information, and ask a VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION
When you buy your beef from us, WHAT ARE YOU PAYING FOR?
It sounds like a simple question with a simple answer...
"I'm paying for beef"
But question further...
What is Beef? What's it's purpose?
What's the purpose of any food really? Why do we eat?
Now that is the question, WHY DO WE EAT?!?T
he answer there is simple, TO GET NUTRIENTS
Nutrients are what fuels us, allows us to grow, keeps us alive, makes us strong, etc...
Too often, we only think of food at a macro level. We aren't thinking about what is actually in that food?
And sadly, "Food" today can't be trusted blindly. It's been corrupted by marketing, chemicals, big corporations, goverment subsidies, the FDA and so on...
That's why its so depressing to actually read the food labels (which MOST PEOPLE STILL DON'T DO!!!).
So, in the end, when you buy food, you are PAYING FOR NUTRIENTS.
And it's just a win-win when those nutrients can come in delicious mouth watering beef like ours.
So, to show you what you are really paying for...
Below is a SIDE BY SIDE NUTRIENT COMPARISON of Grass Finished Beef (what we do) and Grain Finished Beef (conventional beef).
Beef Nutrient Battle
Key Highlights
1. Grass Finished Beef has 22.5% LESS CALORIES.
2. If you eat Grass Finished Beef twice a week for a year, you will save roughly 14,144 Calories over conventional beef. That's over a WEEK'S WORTH OF CALORIES.
3. Despite less calories, Grass Finished Beef packs more protein, vitamins, and minerals in the exact same amount of beef.
4. Grass Finished Beef has less of the bad fats and MORE THAN DOUBLE THE OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS (which are the good kind)
More Health Benefits;
Let the Cow eat the Veggies for you!
You are what you eat.
That's true for Cows as well as us.
The more plant material a cow eats, the more beneficial plant nutrients, aka phytochemicals, that cow's beef will have.
So if you're eating Grass Finished Beef, its like getting the health benefits of eating salad, but the taste of eating beef!
The cow did the hard work of eating its veggies for you!
But if you're eating Grain Finished Conventional Beef, you might as well be eating the same ultra processed, chemically caked corn and soy the cow is eating...gross.
Here's some excerpts from Nutrient Comparison studies
*Phytochemicals are plant-derived bioactive compounds with important nutritional and health roles in both animal (Provenza et al., 2015) and human health (Dillard & German, 2000). Benefits of phytochemicals (Phytonutrients) include:
Anti-inflammatory/antioxidant effects in cells
Scavenging reactive or toxic chemicals
Enhancing the absorption and or stability of essential nutrients
Acting as selective growth factors for beneficial gastrointestinal bacteria
Representing substrates for beneficial oral, gastric or intestinal bacteria
Selectively inhibiting deleterious intestinal bacteria
*In Van Vliet’s studies, grass-fed beef samples showed higher levels of many phytochemicals compared to grain-fed beef.
*Hippurate was almost two times higher in the grass-fed beef and is considered a strong indicator of dietary phenolic intake (Lees et al., 2013). Why is this important? Because higher levels of hippurate are associated with improved gut microbial diversity and lower odds of having metabolic syndrome in humans (Pallister et al., 2017).
*Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential to humans and cannot be made in our bodies, so we must consume these in our diets. Grass-fed meat often exhibits a better omega-6 to omega-3 ratio (usually below 3:1) and helps with reduced risk of heart disease (van Vliet et al., 2021).
*Importantly, Triacylglycerol (TAGs) were found to be lower in grass-fed meat, while long-chain acyl carnitines were higher. Lower TAGs, coupled with higher acyl carnitines, are associated with improved heart health.
*The results of comparison between beef finished on grass and beef from feedlots using DDGs in the finishing ration were startling. The American Medical Association (AMA) states that the human diet should consist of an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 4-1 or less. Grass fed beef typically has an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 3 to 1 or less. In these trials, samples were collected and sent to a third-party laboratory for fatty acid analysis. The beef from cattle fed DDGs had omega-6 to omega-3 ratios ranging from 35-1 to a staggering 55-1.
*Research results indicate grass-fed beef is significantly higher in favorable fatty acids, key phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals when compared to grain-fed beef.
2023 Beef Deposits Open March 15th at 7am!
Be sure to get on the list so you don't miss out. Start Planning Today!
Get First Chance at Beef Here!
Join Our Herd to Get All The Info You Need, and First Dibs on Reserving your Beef
Beef Deposits Open March 15th and Sell Out Fast
Thank you all for taking the time to get to know your Beef Source. There's nothing more important to us!
More from Beef University
Official Bulk Beef Guide
Bulk Beef Meal Inspirations
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About Sangre's Best Beef
Meet Your Rancher, Elin Ganschow
Real Life Cowgirl, Horse Trainer, RancHER, Choir member, Chess Lover, Wife, Mother, and owner of Sangre's Best Beef