Millions of bison, or American Buffalo, once roamed the United States, but they were hunted almost to extinction. Around 1900 there were fewer than 1,000 bison in America. Since then, their numbers have grown again with herds estimated to be about 450,000 in 2009. The National Bison Association states that consumer demand for bison was up 10 percent in 2008 as more people came to appreciate it as a lower-fat alternative to beef.
Basic Nutrition
One average-sized patty of raw ground bison weighs about 113 g. The values for basic nutrition, vitamins, and minerals are based on this serving size. A patty of ground bison has 252 calories, 21 g of protein and 18 g of total fat. This represents a great source of protein as this portion provides a full 42 percent of the recommended daily value (DV). Ground bison also contains 26 percent DV of cholesterol.
Vitamins
Ground bison is a rich source of most of the B vitamins. It provides vitamin B12 (34 percent DV), niacin (28 percent DV), vitamin B6 (20 percent DV), riboflavin (15 percent DV) and thiamin (10 percent DV). It also supplies 7 percent of the daily value of pantothenic acid, 3 percent of folate and a trace amount of vitamin E.
Minerals
Bison is equally valuable as a source of minerals, with one serving providing 32 percent of zinc, 30 percent of selenium, 20 percent of phosphorus, 16 percent of iron and 10 percent of potassium. It also provides copper (7 percent DV), magnesium (5 percent DV) and 1 percent of the daily value of both manganese and calcium.
Healthy Fats
While ground bison contains 26 percent DV of cholesterol, it also provides the heart-healthy omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. A patty of ground bison supplies 0.09 g of omega-3 and 0.65 g of omega-6.
Comparison
The total fat value for a patty of ground bison (28 percent DV) sounds high for a meat called the low-fat alternative, but other cuts of bison have significantly less total fat. One hundred grams of ground bison, for example, has 25 percent DV of total fat compared with the sirloin and rib eye cuts, which contain only 4 percent DV. They're all in the same range for cholesterol content, with ground bison having 23 percent, rib eye providing 21 percent and a sirloin supplying 24 percent of the daily value of cholesterol.
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