Grass Fed Beef | simmonscattlecompany

Grass Fed Beef Program:

My wife, Christa, and I realized after the birth of our daughter that we wanted the best nutrition for our family. We had been raising the leanest beef breed of cattle in North America... Texas Longhorns, and after a little trial and error, we began a grass-fed-only program for our weaned calves, which yielded the most flavorful beef we had ever tasted. With such excellent beef in our freezer, it wasn't long before we shared it with friends and the word got out. Knowing that it also posessed superior nutrition put us at ease and gave us a sense of pride, knowing that we were raising some of the leanest, most nutritious beef on the planet. We don't use any hormones, steroids, or antibiotics in our animals. If a calf needs antibiotics for health reasons, they are treated accordingly, allowed to recover, then sold at the local sale barn. We may lose some money on that animal, but have vowed to guarantee all of our Lean Beef Progam as grass-fed-only and hormone/antibiotic free. Listed below are some of the great benefits of choosing lean, grass-fed, longhorn beef:

Less Cholesterol, Fat, & Calories.

Longhorn beef, which has about 10% less fat than conventional beef, offers a healthy alternative for health-conscious consumers.

According to a study conducted by Texas A&M University (table at left), Longhorn Beef ranked lowest in fat, lowest in calories, and second lowest in cholesterol, when compared to other meat choices.

"Lean beef is good for you - and the key word is lean. A heart patient can eat steak every meal if it is in the right proportions. Longhorn meat on the average, contains 10 percent less saturated fat than that of other cattle. That puts lean Longhorn beef on par with skinned boneless white meat of chicken and that fact may come as a surprise to many dieticians." -Dr. Joseph Graham, Cardiovascular Surgeon at St. John's Medical Center in Joplin, Missouri.

If you consume the American average of 66.5 pounds of beef per year (according to the University of California), and do NOTHING but switch to grass fed beef, you can save 18,000 calories and lose, or prevent the gain of, 6 pounds of body weight in a single year!

More Omega 3 Fatty Acid.

Because many forage plants contain the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), cows that forage in a pasture typically get higher levels of ALA in their diet. This ALA gets passed on to us when we eat beef, drink milk, or consume dairy products from cows like cheese or yogurt. Some recent studies show up to 3.5 grams of total omega-3 fats in 4 ounces of grass-fed beef. That level would provide you with 100% of the daily requirement. Since ALA is the most common omega-3 fatty acid in the plants that cows graze while on pasture, most of the omega-3 content of grass-fed beef comes in the form of ALA. However, just like humans, cows are capable of taking the ALA in their diet and converting some of it into other omega-3 fats, including EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). The graph at left shows the significant decline of both DHA and EPA in cattle which were taken off grass and fed grain over time.

Omega 3 fatty acids are featured prominently in health-conscious periodicals such as Shape and Prevention. These fatty acids are not manufactured by the body and need to be obtained from foods. They're important because they help maintain and regulate brain function, and can also help prevent chronic diseases such as arthritis and heart disease. The right kind of beef can also benefit your diet in terms of your cholesterol level. While many people assume that all red meat needs to be avoided to lower cholesterol, this isn't always true. You can reduce your cholesterol level by focusing on foods with balanced levels of Omega 3 and Omega 6. While the American diet is often too high in Omega 6, grass-fed longhorn beef is higher in Omega 3 and lower in Omega 6 than grain fed beef.

“Adding the healthy, friendly essential fats for cell wall integrity; lowering the bad cholesterol, triglyceride and blood sugar levels; raising the good cholesterol – you’re going to find all of that is possible by adding omega-3s, like those found in pasture-raised longhorn beef, to your diet. By putting good, healthy food into your system, the quality of life of Type II diabetics or people with high cholesterol and blood pressure can improve dramatically. And the best part with Longhorn beef is that it tastes great. With the proper diet and exercise plan, now you can eat beef, totally guilt-free, and really watch your blood chemistry and body composition improve.” -- Cliff Sheats, Ph.D., CCN, DANLA, FRSPH, one of America’s foremost authorities on nutrition, exercise and biological aging as well as a world-renowned authority on effective and permanent weight loss.

More Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA).

Longhorn beef has been found to be higher in CLA than other breeds of cattle, and grass-fed beef, along with grass-fed Bison, has been shown to be far greater in CLA than their grain-fed counterparts.

Noted Doctor Michael Pariza, University of Wisconsin, discovered that CLA interfered with growth of cancer tumors. CLA can not be produced by the human body, but is easily obtained through foods such as whole milk and beef from grass fed cattle. Grass grazed cattle have five times more CLA than those fed corn silage.

Much research has been, and is being, conducted on the use of CLA to increase human health with results showing a positive effect in the on-going fight against the following:

Cancer.
Cardiovascular disease.
High blood pressure.
High Cholesterol and triglycerides.
Osteoporosis
Insulin resistance.
Inflammation.
Immune system invaders.
Food-induced allergic reactions.
Body Composition.

So many wonderful things about CLA have been discovered that you now can take it as a supplement, but nothing beats getting it the way nature intended... by eating grass-fed beef.

More Vitamin E.

Green grass has 20 times more vitamin E than corn, so it may come as no surprise that meat from cattle raised on lush grass averages four times higher in vitamin E than feedlot cattle. In humans, vitamin E has been linked with lower risk of heart disease and cancer. This potent antioxidant may also have anti-aging properties. Most people are deficient in vitamin E.

Summary:

With today's technology, you can supplement vitamins, CLA, and Omega 3 by taking over the counter pills. Feedlots have the ability to add vitamin E to their beef, but continue to implant each animal with hormones and liberally use antibiotics. When you choose grass-fed longhorn beef from a trusted local rancher, you are supporting the local community (instead of a mega-dollar corporation). You are also providing the leanest, healthiest, most nutritious beef possible for your family. Maybe the best news of all is that this healthy beef is available at or below the price of grocery chain hamburger. We would love to help you find the healthiest longhorn beef provider in your area, even if it's not us. Please contact us for more information.