Although red meat and beef have been vilified for decades, a recent study indicates that only red meat that is processed could have a detrimental impact for your cardiovascular and diabetes risk, according to a May 2010 article in "Science Daily." Moreover, beef is often cited as being rich in saturated fats, but about two-thirds of the fat it contains are actually unsaturated. Among the unsaturated fats found in beef, the majority corresponds to monounsaturated fats and a varying proportion, depending on how the animal is fed during its life, corresponds to omega-3 fatty acids.
Grain-fed Beef
Most of the beef you can find at your grocery store was not raised on pasture, but rather was raised in factories and fed grains. This grain-fed beef contains more total fat, more omega-6 fatty acid and less omega-3 fat, which corresponds to less than 1 percent of its total fat. Both omega-6 and omega-3 are important for human health, but a ratio of no more than 4-to-1, or no more than four times the amount of omega-6 compared to the amount of omega-3 you eat, is preferable for optimal health, according to Mercola.com, a natural health website run by Dr. Joseph Mercola, a New York Times best-selling author practicing at The Natural Health Center in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Unfortunately, grain-fed beef has an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio above 20-to-one and contributes to skewing your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in the wrong direction.
Grass-fed Beef
If the beef you purchase comes from an animal that has been grass-fed all of its life, you will be getting a lot more health-protective omega-3, which corresponds to about 7 percent of its total fat content, according to Mercola.com. Because of the increased omega-3 fat content in grass-fed beef, its ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is down to 3-to-1, which is in line with the optimal ratio for human health.
Beef and Your Health
Choosing grass-fed beef can help you increase your omega-3 intake considerably. Omega-3 fats decrease the levels of inflammation in your body, reducing your risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancer and arthritis. Moreover, grass-fed beef contains more vitamin E as well as more conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, which can both help you improve your health and prevent diseases. Grass-fed or pastured beef is also free of hormones, antibiotics and other contaminants in addition to being better for the animal and environment.
Ask For Grass-fed Beef
Go to your local's farmer market to find good-quality pastured beef or demand grass-fed beef at your grocery store. Don't be afraid to ask how the animal was fed and treated, because the omega-3 content of your steak depends on it. Make sure no grain was added to the diet of the animal at any time. Some beef labeled grass-fed can actually be finished on grains, which could reduce the omega-3 content of your beef.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Omega-3 Fatty Acids; 2011
- Mercola.com: Why Grassfed Animal Products Are Better For You
- EatWild.com: Health Benefits
- PlaeoApproved.com; PaleoApproved Standards; 2011
- Science Daily; Eating Processed Meats, but Not Unprocessed Red Meats, May Raise Risk of Heart Disease and Diabetes, Study Finds; May 2010
- USDA National Nutrient Database: Nutrient Data Laboratory
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