To Beef, or Not to Beef?

Beef. A few descriptors that come to my mind when i hear that word are; tender, juicy, delicious, flavorful. I can just picture myself on a warm, summer Seattle day: I'm marinating steaks for the evening dinner and letting them chill for hours, soaking in their juices, leaving the fridge with an aromatic scent of tamari, red wine and garlic. I fire up the grill and cook them to a perfect medium rare, serving them with a heap of caramelized onions and shitake mushrooms. 


Beef is perhaps one of my favorite nutrition topics to date, because it seems to be a meat discussed extensively in American culture. I often hear statements such as, "Well, you must not eat red meat since you're a nutrition major!" Or, "I've stayed away from red meat for years. It's just no good for your heart." When in fact, beef is one of the finest, most guilt-free proteins there is to enjoy. 


What are a few words that come to mind when you think of the quintessential American meat? If you're like many Americans, the thought of fresh, tender flavor doesn't outweigh the health considerations such as; "It's such an unhealthy meat", "I need to stay away from saturated fats" or (the ever so popular), "I'm afraid I'll have a heart attack!" We are constantly being bombarded with the idea that red meat: (a) is NOT good for you, and (b) WILL make you sick, so you should stay away from it. I've dedicated my first blog post to give you some reasons that prove beef... really isn't so bad.

Cows are meant to eat grass.    

Alright, I'm sure in some form or another you've heard the argument that grass-fed beef is better for you than grain-fed beef, but do you know why? There is a plethora of reasons why grass-fed beef can not only be just as tasty as its grain-fed counterpart, but better for your body and soul, and the animal itself. Cows are meant to eat grass. It keeps them from experiencing pain, disease and sickness and also, as I like to call it, it keeps them "happy cows". Grass-fed cows can have up to 80% less e-coli strains in their gut bacteria than grain fed cows, and the tiny amount of e-coli that does survive in their stomach is much more likely to be broken down in our own stomachs, making us more likely to be "happy people" after eating burger that has been cooked medium rare. 






Grass-fed beef doesn't make you sick. 


Okay, it doesn't make you sick... but is it really good for you? In fact, grass-fed beef can have as little as 1/3 the total amount of fat, saturated fat and calories then that of grain-fed beef. Grass-fed beef is also twice as lean as factory farmed chicken and it is shown to reduce your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Grass-fed beef is not only good for your thighs but holy cow, it's good for your heart!


                                                 












I love beef and you should too. Don't be afraid of beef. "Happy cows" are your friends. Throw out your misconceptions about red meat being associated with poor health, because they are not in harmony with one another. 




I plan to continue blogging about the benefits of grass-fed beef, as well as many other foods, but for now I'll say


...to beef continued.