Grass Fed Beef Less Purines Than Conventional

November 2015 Consequence

Grass-Fed vs Conventional Beefiness
By David Yeager
Today's Dietitian
Vol. 17 No. xi P. 26

Inquiry suggests grass-fed beefiness may exist healthier than its conventional cousin.

Equally the fence about whether Americans should eat less beef rages on, a subdebate most the relative benefits of conventional vs grass-fed beef is taking place.

There'south no question that grass-fed beef is gaining in popularity and market place share, with demand growing at an annual rate of 25% to xxx% per twelvemonth over the past decade.1 In 2013, retail sales of grass-fed beef surpassed $400 million, compared with less than $5 million in 1998.1 Although people who are used to eating conventional beef may non enjoy the "wild" gustation of grass-fed beef or its chewier texture, others prefer it. Taste ofttimes is the superlative consideration, but one question on the minds of many consumers is whether grass-fed beef provides any wellness benefits in a higher place and beyond conventional beef.

Determining the relative health benefits of grass-fed beefiness tin be complicated, and many clients may look to dietitians for answers. To begin comparing, information technology'due south of import to understand the definition of grass-fed vs conventional. Conventional, or corn-fed, beef is the well-nigh widely produced type of beef in the United States. These animals usually spend part of their lives on pasture or range, only they're moved to feedlots at 12 to eighteen months of age, where they're typically separated into groups of 100 animals and live in pens that allow between 125 and 250 feet of infinite per fauna.2 They spend approximately the terminal four to six months of their lives on the feedlots and are fed a closely monitored, grain-based diet.two

To be classified every bit grass-fed, the USDA Grass Fed Marketing Claim Standard stipulates that, after weaning, ruminants must be fed only grass; provender, which are herbs other than grass; and cereal grains in their vegetative, pregrain states, and have continuous access to pasture during the growing season.three They can't exist fed grains, such as wheat and corn or their byproducts.iii Routine vitamin and mineral supplementation in the feed is allowed.3

No stipulations exist within the USDA's Grass Fed labeling programme regarding the use of antibiotics, growth hormones, or GMOs in the fauna feed.4 To brand claims that the beef is costless of antibiotics and growth hormones, or that no genetically modified feed was given to the animals, producers accept to apply for additional characterization designations such every bit "USDA Organic."4 Some organizations, such as the American Grassfed Association and the Nutrient Alliance, take developed grass-fed standards that are more comprehensive than those of the USDA.5,6

What'southward the Beef?
Mary Jo Forbord, RD, a farmer and co-owner of Prairie Horizons Farm in Starbuck, Minnesota, farms 150 caput of grass-fed cattle on 480 acres with her hubby. They've grown both grass-fed and conventional cattle, and Forbord says grass-fed beefiness is significantly less labor- and energy-intensive. Feed for conventional cattle is expensive and must be closely rationed to achieve maximum growth and production. Also, conventional cattle oftentimes are given hormones to stimulate growth or regulate reproduction. The health of the animals is important, but simply as it relates to their ability to be sold. Since switching to grass-fed beef, the Forbords' per capita vet bills for their herd are less than those for their dogs.

"We are enjoying farming a lot more now," Forbord says. "If we had to farm the style we did when we left commodity agriculture, we wouldn't be farming anymore. The focus in commodity agriculture is on quantity more than than quality or health attributes."

The Forbords' farm, like about farms in the Midwest, is situated on the tall grass prairie, which once fed lx million bison. Although conventional farming had stripped away many of the native plants, Forbord says the seed bed of the prairie remained intact and, since she and her husband began raising grass-fed cattle, many native plants and grasses, of which there are hundreds of species, have returned. Forbord also has noticed an increase in the diversity of animals, birds, and insects that live on the land.

The Forbords' cattle graze yr-round and become their food from pastures and the prairie, while helping to keep the perennial woody shrubs that take repopulated the land in check. The Forbords rotate their cattle to fresh pasture daily to stimulate establish diverseness and prevent overgrazing. The animals receive vaccines but aren't fed hormones or antibiotics. Their only supplemental food is hay from the Forbords' country, which they consume during the winter months. The cattle drink fresh water from a portable tank attached to one of several pipes that run from the farm's well to its pastures. The tank is moved each time the cattle motion. Forbord estimates that it takes one to 2 acres to produce a ready-for-market animal. Rather than following a strict timetable, the Forbords rely on visual inspections to decide when an animal is ready to be sold.

Chewing the Fat
Another advantage of raising grass-fed cattle is the healthier fat profile of their beef compared with conventional beefiness. At that place's little scientific literature comparing a human diet of grass-fed beefiness to a diet of conventional beef, but a growing body of research describes the differences in the animals' fat profiles. These differences may accept implications for human health.

"Grass-fed animals have a different muscle composition than grain-fed animals. The difference is mostly in the type and amount of fatty acids," says Artemis P. Simopoulos, Medico, FACN, an endocrinologist; founder and president of the Middle for Genetics, Nutrition and Health; and author of The Omega Nutrition . "For instance, animals in the wild that consume grass accept more than meat, less fat, less saturated fat, and more polyunsaturated fatty acids. And they take, particularly, a higher corporeality of omega-iii fat acids. So, during evolution, when nothing was domesticated, human beings got their omega-half dozen and omega-three polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly EPA and DHA, directly from their diet, and they were balanced almost in equal amounts."

What grazing animals ate didn't change significantly from the time humans started domesticating livestock until the past century, but as agricultural practices became more industrialized, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (EPA, DHA, and alpha-linolenic acid) in livestock began to shift. Charles Benbrook, PhD, a scientist who has studied the bear upon of animal rations on meat quality, says animals fed grain—mostly corn—in feedlots may grow faster, but the growth comes at a price: The grain feed increases the levels of omega-6 fatty acids and reduces the level of omega-3 fatty acids in the animals.

"It moves the nutritional quality of the fatty from highly desirable, with a grass-fed animal, to not terribly beneficial," Benbrook says. "The size of the shift is quite remarkable. A number of studies have documented omega-6 to omega-3 ratios in grass-fed beef on the order of one:i to 3:1, whereas in animals that spend the last portion of their lives on feedlots, the ratios can exist between 5:1 and seven:1. It really is a very substantial shift."

The shift from omega-three fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids is pregnant considering research has shown that omega-6 fatty acids promote a proinflammatory state in the human being body, says Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD, author of The Ultimate Omega-3 Nutrition . Inflammation has been implicated as a correspondent to many chronic diseases.7-9 Tribole says eating foods with higher levels of omega-6 fatty acids interferes with the health benefits of omega-3 fat acids.

"Almost Americans are deficient in [the omega-three fatty acids EPA and DHA] to brainstorm with, and because omega-3s and omega-6s compete with each other, if you lot eat too much omega-6, it creates a proinflammatory state of affairs in the body," Tribole says. "Once they're within the torso, the omega-3 compounds and the omega-vi compounds compete for the same kinds of enzymes. Whichever chemical compound is predominant is going to win the enzymes."

When viewed every bit office of a larger shift in the American diet between the 1930s and 1950s, Benbrook says many scientists believe in that location's cause for concern. In the 1930s, the overall ratio of omega-half-dozen fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids in the American diet was between three:ane and iv:1. By the early 1950s, it had grown to around 10:i, largely due to the widespread introduction of margarine, trans fats, soybean oil, and large-scale livestock operations that relied on feedlots and grain feed.

"There'due south fairly wide agreement that a diet with x parts of omega-6 fatty acids for every role of omega-3 fatty acid is not healthful, and it will exist a run a risk factor for overweight, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and any disease with its roots in inflammation, which would include dementia and the mental diseases of aging," Benbrook says. "Many scientists are convinced that this detail shift in the diet may be as of import equally the full general shift towards excessive caloric intake, and it certainly may exist more important than total fat intake. That'south one of the interesting debates that's going on now in the medical community. Many doctors feel that we've put likewise much focus on overall fat content and not enough emphasis on the quality of the fat."

Although many researchers believe that college levels of omega-vi fat acids in the diet contribute to inflammation and therefore chronic disease, others believe these findings are based on minimal evidence, and that in humans higher intakes of omega-6 fat acids haven't been associated with elevated levels of inflammatory markers.10

Home on the Range
Despite the conflicting evidence, grass-fed beefiness attracts consumers. The Forbords take received the USDA Certified Grass Fed label, but they haven't put it on their beef packaging because need for their products has been growing faster than their supply, and they haven't needed an additional marketing tool. Forbord sells directly to consumers. She estimates that her farm feeds 200 families per year.

Along with the quality of the beef, Forbord says many people are interested in the quality of the animals' lives. Her customers often ask about how the animals are raised. Forbord says assuasive the animals to graze is much less stressful on the animals and on her and her husband as farmers compared with conventional farming. In addition to having more room to roam, grass-fed cattle tend to live longer than conventional cattle. How long they live varies, just the Forbords accept some cows aged 12 and xiii. These older cows have had 10 or more calves, one each year, and they perform an of import function inside the herd: They're teachers. The older cows show the rest of the herd where to graze and which plants to swallow at certain times of the year.

Many of the Forbords' customers too are interested in the environmental impact of the farm. Forbord says grazing helps build the soil and consumes much less energy than conventional farming. The questions most the farming process underscore a trend that Forbord has noticed: More people are taking an involvement in where their food comes from. Some desire to take a relationship with the people who produce their nutrient. Others like the fact that farming grass-fed cattle tends to reduce the miles the food travels, while supporting a local economy and keeping farmers in the region. Even so others see it as a way to promote ecology diversity, protect natural resource, and employ the land sustainably. Whatever the reason, people'southward curiosity about grass-fed beef goes far beyond taste and nutrition.

"I actually similar having a direct relationship with our customers and being responsive to what they want and open to their requests to meet our country, to run into our animals, and to ask whatever question they want about how our animals lived and died," Forbord says. "Nosotros can requite them those answers and have consummate transparency about it."

Forbord also sees grass-fed beef as a potential inroad for the adjacent generation of farmers considering it doesn't crave equally much uppercase as other farming methods. With the average historic period of farmers approaching 60, information technology will become increasingly important to find new farmers.xi Forbord thinks this type of farming has the potential to repopulate some rural areas.

Getting Grass-Fed
Aside from the environmental and potential social benefits of eating grass-fed beef, health considerations shouldn't be disregarded. When advising clients, RDs often encounter people who consume more meat and fewer vegetables than what dietary guidelines recommend. Equally a component of the nutrition, however, grass-fed beef may offer some benefits.

"I recommend, when they're choosing beef, whether it'southward at a restaurant or they're shopping at a grocery store, to choose grass-fed or pasture-raised beefiness because of the better nutritional profile," Tribole says. "It's non just some new age kind of thing; there are nutritional benefits."

Where people find grass-fed beef varies by region. People who live in urban areas may need to do some research. Checking for the USDA Certified Grass Fed characterization on beef packaging is a good place to start.

Another manner to determine whether beef is grass-fed is to inquire the producer. Because of the expense associated with applying for characterization designations, many pocket-sized farms eschew the process, even if they qualify for the designation. To aid these farmers, the USDA has instituted the Grass Fed Program for Minor and Very Small Producers.12 Producers with fewer than 49 caput of calves or lambs from fewer than 99 ewes can qualify for a USDA Certified Grass Fed label for $108 biennially. Farmers' markets are good places to meet pocket-sized producers, and many direct-sales farms advertise.

The cost of grass-fed beef also will vary, but it's typically higher than conventional beef. Sticker price doesn't tell the entire story, though. Simopoulos says most people are attracted by lower prices at the store, merely they need to think most price in the context of their overall wellness. She says the vast majority of people consume more meat and fewer vegetables, which carries hidden costs.

"In the current food supply, unless yous eat fish regularly, y'all tin can have days on end without whatever [EPA or DHA] omega-3s. That'due south why omega-3s are depleted, and that's why Western diets are proinflammatory diets," Simopoulos says. "So I recommend that people swallow a diet where they get their omega-three fat acids practically in every meal they eat. They can eat less meat. They tin can eat 100 grams per day—or three oz—rather than 6 oz, if the meat is loftier in omega-iii fat acids. If you eat half as much, the grass-fed beef is healthier and less expensive. People need to recollect not only nigh how much the nutrient costs but how much they should swallow. Get your money'southward worth for your health."

— David Yeager is a freelance author and editor based in southeastern Pennsylvania.

References
1. Williams AR. Financial analysis shows grass-fed beefiness is adept for producers. Organic Broadcaster. July/August 2014. https://mosesorganic.org/farming/farming-topics/livestock/grass-fed-beefiness-is-good-for-producers/. Accessed September 8, 2015.

2. Corn-fed beef and grass-finished beef. Nebraska Corn Board website. http://www.ncga.com/uploads/useruploads/corn-fedgrass-fedbeef.pdf. Accessed September eight, 2015.

3. Grass fed marketing claim standard. USDA Agronomical Marketing Service website. http://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/beef/grassfed. Accessed September 8, 2015.

4. United States standards for livestock and meat marketing claims, grass (forage) fed claim for ruminant livestock and the meat products derived from such livestock. Regulations.gov website. http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=AMS-LS-07-0113-0001. Updated Oct 1, 2007. Accessed September viii, 2015.

five. Our standards. American Grassfed Clan website. http://www.americangrassfed.org/near-united states of america/our-standards/. Accessed September 8, 2015.

6. Ofttimes asked questions: grassfed label. Food Alliance website. http://foodalliance.org/grassfed/grassfedfaq. Accessed September eight, 2015.

7. Egger G. In search of a germ theory equivalent for chronic affliction. Prev Chronic Dis . 2012;nine:E95.

viii. Galland L. Diet and inflammation. Nutr Clin Pract . 2010;25(6):634-640.

nine. Inflammation in chronic disease. Canadian Institutes of Health Research website. http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/43625.html. Updated April 21, 2015. Accessed September eleven, 2015.

10. Willett WC. The role of dietary north-6 fat acids in the prevention of cardiovascular affliction. J Cardiovasc Med . 2007;8(Suppl ane):S42-45.

11. Ag 101: demographics. U.s. Environmental Protection Bureau website. http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/ag101/demographics.html. Updated April 4, 2013. Accessed September sixteen, 2015.

12. Livestock, poultry and seed program: grass fed program for pocket-sized and very modest (SVS) producers. USDA Agronomical Marketing Service website. http://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/Grass%20Fed%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf. Accessed September 9, 2015.

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