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| Img source: Grass-fed beef |
The top-notch beef usually bears the endorsement of the American Heart Association and is lean meat in the true sense of the term.
The meat is rich in key nutrients like vitamins, antioxidants and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which is a beneficial fat with anti-inflammatory and immunity improving properties.
As compared to standard beef, ‘grass-fed’ beef contains 50% more omega -3 fatty acids even though the amount is much less than the content of omega-3 fatty acids in fishes like salmon.
Most importantly, grass-fed beef is not antibiotic resistant that makes it safer for human health.
Now, let us look at the health benefits of grass-fed beef or lean beef.
- Fights cancer
Conjugated linoleic acid or CLA is a must have in food today because of its high potential in fighting cancer. Moreover, it is also effective in treating diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease.
Studies have shown that CLA has several anti-carcinogenic effects on humans as it revealed that women with high level of CLA in their diets had reduced risk of breast cancer as compared to those with lowest levels of the fat. Since CLA comes from an animal source and most people prefer a non- vegetarian diet, its benefits are more widespread.
- Improves blood sugar
Grass-fed beef is the choice of most people because of its ability to keep blood sugar at a healthy level due to the presence of CLA that constitutes healthy fats.
Research carried out in 2016 to study the effect of the healthy fat on insulin sensitivity in children who suffered from obesity showed that there was a 37% improvement in insulin sensitivity treated with CLA. The study on children is a clear pointer to the fact that adults too would also benefit from it to keep blood sugar under check.
- Reduces risk of heart disease
Lowering heart disease risk becomes easy by consuming lean beef because the CLA in grass-fed beef protects the heart which is just one of many other benefits to the heart done by the healthy fat.
No other variety of beef can offer these benefits. Grass-fed beef is good for the heart because it contains a lower level of dietary cholesterol, less total fat and less unhealthy fat but plenty of omega-3 fatty acids and CLA together with vitamin E, other vitamins and antioxidant.
- Free from antibiotics and hormones
Unlike grain-fed animals, the grass-fed bovines feed on organic food only without injecting hormones and antibiotics which ensure that there are no traces of these substances in the meat.
The animals have access to green pastures and feed on their mother’s milk and grass only. There is no fear of developing antibiotic resistance in humans when consuming grass-fed beef which is an invaluable health benefit.
The label of the American Grassfed Association (AGA) is an added assurance of the quality of lean beef.
