Saint John’s cows grazing on fresh Spring pasture.
The wise adage “you are what you eat” applies to human health as much as it does to cows. Cows fed a species appropriate, nutrient dense diet will similarly be a rich source of nutrition for our bodies.
There are significant differences in the quality of conventional, grain-fed beef and organic, 100% grass fed beef. Ultimately, these differences in quality amount to differences in our health and the health of our environment.
We’ve written previously about why organic matters, how grass fed beef is beneficial to human health, and how well managed grass fed beef farms can be net positive to the environment. This article focuses on how grass fed beef can lower inflammation and be a huge boon to our health.
Spring is in bloom!
Why Inflammation Matters
Inflammation is the body’s natural response to protect itself from being harmed. When one cuts one’s finger, the area often becomes warm, red, and slightly swollen or raised due to increased blood flow and white blood cells sent to the affected area. In an acute setting like an injury or brief illness, inflammation is good and healing, our body’s wise response.
Inflammation becomes a problem when it becomes chronic. When one’s body senses constant attack, the body will continuously pump out white blood cells and other chemical messengers that tax the immune system. The body thinks it’s constantly under attack, so it keeps fighting indefinitely. This hyperresponsive state causes healthy tissues and organs to be attacked by white blood cells, causing unnecessary damage for no benefit.
Environmental toxins from pollution and cigarette smoke, having excess body fat, eating inflammatory foods, and sedentary lifestyles are all contributors to chronic inflammation. Ample research has shown that chronic inflammation is linked to heart disease (especially atherosclerosis), cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and bowel diseases like Chron’s disease and IBS.
Saint John’s cows curiously looking at the photographer.
Grass Fed vs Grain Fed Beef: Inflammation
A 2012 study compared inflammatory markers and overall health for mice eating a range of foods, including a comparison of grass fed and grain fed beef. The scientists found that the mice eating grass fed meats had the lowest inflammation and overall best health while the mice fed grain fed beef had the highest inflammation. This is a notable find demonstrating the importance of high quality, grass fed beef!
A review of studies on grass-fed beef spanning three decades tabulates statistically significant differences in fatty acid and antioxidant content in comparison to grain fed beef. The findings of the study were numerous; here are some of the highlights.
Grass fed beef contains:
Increased conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)
Increased omega-3 fatty acids
Higher proportion of cholesterol in neutral stearic acid form
Less cholesterol-elevating compounds
Increased precursors for vitamin A and vitamin E
Increased glutathione (cancer-fighting and anti-inflammatory)
The increased CLA and omega-3 fatty acids is significant because these fatty acids are essential to the body’s anti-inflammatory response to inflammation.
The differences between grass and grain fed beef are stark when it comes to inflammation. Our bodies face more inflammatory toxic inputs than ever before, and grass fed beef is part of the solution to inflammation.
Low inflammation is one of many key markers of good health. If you’d like to lower or keep your inflammation low, make the switch to organic, 100% grass fed beef today!
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