Science and Medicine
Cattle raised naturally and roaming free, as nature intended.
We are what we eat. Corn is mostly starch and sugar, the reason it is currently preferred as the fuel for making ethanol. When fed to cattle those ingredients cause almost instant weight gain and since ranchers are paid by weight which leads to harvest in the shortest amount of time, it seemed like a marriage made in heaven back in the Fifties when feedlots began to dominate and change the American beef industry.
On corn, cattle fatten in 16 months while leaving cattle on a diet of grass in the open pasture takes longer—at least 24 months for good natural marbling—and hence, drives the expense up.
But it’s worth it. Cattle evolved as ruminants grazing on grass throughout the world. They perfected the word, sustainability. The sun and rain cause grass to grow. We can’t eat the grass but the cattle can. They transform it into a protein source that we can eat—beef. If they remain in the pasture, they fertilize next year’s crop of grass and the cycle starts all over again.
This natural digestive machine extracts nutrients from the grass which conform to our own dietary machine that also evolved over hundreds of thousands of years. As Dr. Loren Cordain of Colorado State University has written in The Paleo Diet, “our diet has changed but we have not”. Our body needs nutritive dietary ingredients that have been lost in processed food—ingredients like Omega 3 essential fatty acids in balance with Omega 6 essential fatty acids. There are many more such ingredients which we’ll deal with later.
The following study from the British Journal of Nutrition illustrates how grass-fed beef effectively regulates our fat levels:
Grass-fed meats improve fat levels
“Eating moderate amounts of grass-fed meat for only 4 weeks will give you healthier levels of essential fats, according to a 2011 study in the British Journal of Nutrition.
The British research showed that healthy volunteers who ate grass-fed meat increased their blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids and decreased their level of pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids. These changes are linked with a lower risk of a host of disorders, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, depression, and inflammatory disease.
Interestingly, volunteers who consumed conventional, grain-fed meat ended up with lower levels of omega-3s and higher levels of omega-6s than they had at the beginning of the study, suggesting that eating conventional meat had been detrimental to their health.”
British Journal of Nutrition (2011) Red meat from animals offered a grass diet increases plasma and platelet N-3 PUFA in healthy consumers. Volume 105, pages 80-89.
To further illustrate the numerous health benefits provided by grass-fed beef, we have been joined by some extremely impressive physicians who endorse and underscore the importance of grass-fed beef.
Dr.Scott J. Kolbaba, M.D., is a specialist in internal medicine in Wheaton, Illinois and has been in practice for 30 years. He specializes in preventive medicine. Dr. Kolbaba completed his medical training at the Mayo Clinic and has been honored to be a “Top Doc” as rated by his medical peers in numerous magazines and publication including Chicago Magazine, Chicago Consumer Checkbook and U.S. News and World Report.
As a physician specializing in preventive medicine, I would like to endorse grass fed beef as a healthier alternative. I have reviewed the literature on grass fed beef from independent research organizations, and there are a number of reasons it appears to have substantial benefits.
It is lower in total fat calories. With one gram of fat containing 9 calories and carbohydrate or protein containing only 4 calories per gram, this could make a substantial impact on long term weightcontrol.
Grass fed beef is lower in saturated fat. Saturated fat has been associated with an increase in atherosclerosis, which is a leading cause of death in the United States.
In addition, grass fed beef has a higher concentration of favorable fatty acids including omega-3 fatty acids. These have also been associated with healthier diets.
I have personally tasted the steaks, hamburger and hot dogs produced by the Tallgrass Beef Company. I find the taste equivalent to or better than their higher fat alternatives. My children, who have even stricter standards for taste, have also given two thumbs up on taste and quality.I believe that health conscious consumers should look very favorably on the benefits of grass fed beef for themselves and their families.
Dr. John R. Born, D.O., M.B.A, C.P.E. is a member of the American Board of Osteopathic Family Practitioners certified in family medicine. He has been practicing for over 18 years.
As a practicing primary care doctor, one of my jobs is to insure the best possible preventive health care for my patients and their families. Physicians are challenged to prevent and treat, to the best of their ability, such diseases as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, neurovascular disease, auto-immune disease, andcancer. So, after careful review of the literature and multiple studies conducted by the beef industry, I can only endorse the high quality beef supplied by the natural grass fed beef industry. Compared to corn and grain fed beef, grass fed beef is the healthier choice.
The Tallgrass Beef Company adheres to strict production standards and processing protocols to insure the ultimate highest quality. Meat supplied by the Tallgrass cattle is without herbicides or pesticides. The cattle are raised naturally without antibiotics, growth hormones, or genetic engineering. Tallgrass Beef is healthier because of infection control standards, naturally higher levels of vitamins and minerals, and enhanced levels of organically occurring antioxidants. Tallgrass Beef is also lower in saturated fats, calories and bad cholesterol.
Because Tallgrass beef is leaner, safer and more environmentally beneficial than any other beef available today, I recommend it without reservation for my patients and my family. Tallgrass Beef is the safer, healthier option for all your beef needs.
Dr. Ronald Berger, M.C. , F.A.C.C, F.A.N.C., Northshore University Health System Cardiology, Clinician Educator, Pritzker School of Medicine.
Heart disease remains the number 1 killer in the United States and while we have made great strides we are still losing the battle. One major reason is an unhealthy diet. As a practicing Cardiologist, I deal with the adverse effects of a poor diet on a daily basis. A diet high in saturated fats (bad fats) and low in polyunsaturated (essential or good fats) contributes to coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol. My job is to not only treat heart disease, but to prevent it. That is why when I discuss lifestyle changes with patients I suggest not eliminating beef from their diet, but changing to grass fed beef. Grass fed beef compared to grain fed beef is leaner, lower in saturated fat and calories, has higher concentrations of beneficial omega 3 fatty acids, higher levels of vitamins and minerals, and is free of antibiotics and hormones making it a healthier choice. Additionally grass fed beef is more humanely raised and environmentally responsible.
After reviewing the literature and knowing the benefits of a diet high in omega 3fatty acids and low in saturated fats, I switched to grass fed beef for my family and myself. That is when I came across Tallgrass Beef. Immediately, I was impressed with the taste and consistency of the product, which results from their strict adherence to raising cattle as nature intended. Many mornings at my house now start with Tallgrass hot dogs or sausages for the kids. We are strictly a grass fed beef family, always favoring the Tallgrass products. I am so convinced of the health benefits of grass fed beef that I now routinely recommend it to my patients.
We thank these doctors for their endorsements and will continue to pass along the latest research in science and medicine into grass-fed beef.
Bill Kurtis
Chairman and Founder
Tallgrass Beef Company