Scientific discipline Based

Dr. Amy Myers, MD

Amy Myers, M.D. is a functional medicine doc, trained and certified by The Found of Functional Medicine. Dr. Myers earned her Physician of Medicine (Thousand.D.) at the LSU Wellness Science Center, and completed her Emergency Medicine residency at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Dr. Myers retired from her functional medicine clinic, Austin UltraHealth, where she served thousands of patients, to empower those who were failed by conventional medicine. She's a 2x New York Times bestselling author, and the founder and CEO of the health & lifestyle east-commerce brand, Amy Myers Md®.

There'southward cipher better than sitting on the patio on a warm summer evening with my family unit with the rich odour of steak on the grill in the air. Who doesn't enjoy a juicy steak on occasion? Equally you should! Beef is a fantastic source of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B12 and iron. Nonetheless, choosing grass-fed beef is essential to ensure y'all're getting the highest quality of nutrients in your meat. I will explain why in just a infinitesimal.

Information technology may audio simple but it's worth repeating… food is what fuels your trunk. It is where we get essential macro- and micronutrients. Your body depends on macronutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats for energy. Micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals assistance support all of the body's systems to function optimally.  Food is essentially medicine for your body, so the source of your food is merely as important every bit what you consume.

Finding high-quality grass-fed beefiness can be challenging. Fifty-fifty if you live in an area where you lot have easy access to grass-fed beef and organic fruits and vegetables, information technology can be expensive. If eating all organic doesn't fit in your upkeep, I ever recommend getting at least your meat from organic sources.

I have some nifty news to share with you well-nigh my favorite place to get organic meats, and how you lot tin get organic meats delivered directly to your front door at an affordable cost. Earlier I do that, permit me tell you why eating grass-fed beef matters and what that really ways.

What Does Grass-Fed Beef Actually Mean?

Accept y'all always walked downwards the meat aisle at your grocery shop and wondered what the divergence is between "grass-finished" and "grass-fed beef?" What about "100% organic" or "natural?" It can all be a bit confusing and you might even ask if there'south really a deviation.

The respond is aye, at that place is a divergence between all those labels. And information technology direct relates to the quality of the meat you lot buy. Don't worry. I'm going to break it down for you.

All cows eat grass at some point in their lives. It'southward what they naturally do. However, that doesn't hateful they were fed a diet of grass 100% of the time for their entire lives. That'due south why these labels of "grass-fed" may non mean what you think.

Equally our population grows, modern agriculture uses a diverseness of practices to accelerate growth, increase size, and speed upwards product. Commercially raised cows leave the pasture and are taken to feedlots, where their diet changes to grains total of steroids and other chemicals so they can fatten upwards for quicker product. The idea is to cheaply produce more meat to sell at a higher profit – grain is cheaper than fresh, clean grass. Surprisingly though, the meat for these cows tin can be labeled "grass-fed" since they did eat grass at one signal in their lives.

Grass-Fed Beef vs. Grass-Finished Beefiness

In 2016, The Department of Agronomics (USDA) loosened its standards for the grass-fed beef characterization.1 As long as the moo-cow was fed grass at any indicate of its life earlier it was slaughtered, information technology tin be labeled as "grass-fed" beef. That label does not address the utilize of antibiotics, hormones, or pesticides. It too doesn't mean that information technology was fed grass its entire life. A lot of times cows eat a grass diet while on pasture, only are fed a grain nutrition that includes steroids, growth hormones to prepare them for slaughter.

If the beef is labeled "grass-finished" that means the cow spent 100% of its life on a grass pasture, however that all the same doesn't mean information technology wasn't injected with antibiotics or hormones before it was slaughtered. "Grass-finished" means the moo-cow has reached physical maturity and stayed on pasture. This procedure takes two to 3 years after its maturity, compared to 18 to 20 months with grain-finished cows. This is why grass-fed and grass-finished is a higher quality of meat.

However, the only manner to ensure your meat is free of antibiotics or harmful chemicals is to make sure the characterization says 100% organic grass-fed beef.

Natural or All-Natural

The term "natural" broadly ways the meat was minimally processed and is free of synthetic dyes, coloring, flavorings, and preservatives. The term is largely unregulated by the USDA for most foods except meat, poultry, and egg products. In order to be labeled "natural," the meat must exist minimally processed and free of artificial ingredients. However, the term "artificial ingredients" doesn't include antibiotics, growth hormones, or ingredients that include GMOs. And then while natural sounds bully when you're looking to consume a nutrient-dense diet, you lot can notwithstanding be exposed to harmful toxins.

At present that you understand those terms a little ameliorate, allow me tell you lot virtually another term to look out for when buying beef: "grass-fed and grain-finished." That's right, there is yet another style to label beef!

The Problem with Grain-Fed Beef

What exactly does that "grass-fed and grain-finished" label mean? Basically, information technology means the cow that your beef came from was grass-fed until the terminal few months of its life, and and so it is "finished" with grains. It's a more specific version of just "grass-fed".

If your beefiness is not 100% certified organic, there is no manner of knowing how many toxins are in your meat. The reality is that toxic chemicals are nigh unavoidable in not-organic food.

Modernistic conventional farming practices are now built effectually the widespread use of GMOs, synthetic pesticides and herbicides, and the liberal use of antibiotics and growth hormones to increase the corporeality of meat the processor can get from the cow.

GMO crops are cheaper and more than readily available, therefore they are the first option for animal feed in the Usa. That ways your beef could be cross-contaminated through the nutrient the cow eats. Unless information technology'south labeled every bit certified grass-fed beef and organic, animals are near certainly fed a diet of GMO grains. The same applies to the food you buy at a farmers' market or grocery stores. Stick with pasture-raised, organic meats, and always enquire if the moo-cow was fed GMOs.

Iii Benefits of Choosing Grass-Fed Beef

Non but is grass healthier for cows than grains, it's natural. Grass-fed beef is abundant in vitamins and minerals and is less fatty than conventional beef. Let's take a wait at the benefits of choosing grass-fed beef.

Why Choose Grass-fed Beefiness? – Infographic – Amy Myers MD® Why Choose Grass-fed Beef? - Infographic - Amy Myers MD® https://www.amymyersmd.com/commodity/grass-fed-beef/ Why Choose Grass-fed Beef? – Infographic – Amy Myers MD®

Packed With Vitamins and Minerals

Grass-fed beefiness is an excellent source of B vitamins, especially B12 and B6. Your body cannot produce these vitamins on it'southward own. The only way to get them is through diet.

Vitamin B6, as well known as pyridoxine, supports your body in so many ways from promoting a salubrious inflammatory response, supporting heart health, and reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Vitamin B12 promotes crimson blood cell growth, facilitates healthy bones, and supports healthy hair, skin, and nails.ii Both are water-soluble vitamins, meaning they dissolve in water. These vitamins are carried to your body's tissues and whatever excess is removed through your urine and not stored in your body.

Grass-fed beef is too rich in vitamins A & E. These two fat-soluble vitamins are essential to support a healthy immune organisation response, facilitate cell growth, and promote os health.iii Since they are fat-soluble, your torso uses what it needs and stores what it doesn't in fat cells.

Zinc, selenium and iron are as well abundant in grass-fed beef. These minerals are essential to back up a healthy middle. Zinc and selenium play important roles in reducing oxidative stress from free radical damage.iv Your body uses atomic number 26 to make hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells to carry oxygen from the lungs to all parts of your body.5

Supports Heart Wellness

Grass-fed beefiness is significantly lower in saturated fat compared to grain-fed beef. In fact, information technology essentially has the same fatty content as skinless chicken. Studies take shown that replacing the saturated fat in grain-fed beef with unsaturated fats in grass-fed beef can lower the risk of heart affliction.half dozen Another upside is that grass-fed beef packs in 2 to 6 more omega-three fatty acids than in grain-fed beef. Omega-3 fatty acids support heart wellness and facilitates a healthy inflammatory response.7

Full of Poly peptide

Yous probable know that beef is rich in poly peptide, yet do you know how much protein is in that steak you're eating? Merely 3 ounces of grass-fed beefiness contains about 20 grams of protein. Protein is very important to your overall health! It's more than of import – it's critical. Your body needs high poly peptide intake to perform a wide assortment of functions from growing and repairing its own tissues to supplying your torso with energy. In fact, your body is quite literally made up of protein.

Protein molecules provide structure to many parts of your body including your muscles, skin, organs, and even play a office in your hormone function. Protein is a macronutrient, meaning your body needs large amounts of it for optimal health, equally opposed to the comparatively small-scale amount of micronutrients your body needs like vitamins and minerals.8

A Annotation Most Vegan and Vegetarian Diets

Many people have adopted vegan and vegetarian diets in an endeavour to swallow healthier and get away from the meat-centered Standard American Nutrition. As a functional medicine medico, I don't recommend a vegan or vegetarian diet, including vegetarian meat substitutes.

Avoiding meat tin can make it difficult to go plenty essential nutrients including iron, vitamin B, and even protein. The beans, grains, and dairy vegetarians lean on as a protein source can lead to leaky gut. It tin too increased inflammation throughout your body.

As I mentioned, your torso doesn't produce B vitamins on their own, which are abundant in meat poly peptide. What'south more, atomic number 26 and other of import nutrients such as vitamin B12 deficiencies are common in vegans and vegetarians. It'southward important to get your protein from creature sources to ensure you're getting optimal amounts of the essential nutrients your body needs.

How to Get 100% Grass-Fed Beef

I'm so excited to share with y'all my go-to source for 100% grass-fed beef and grass-finished beefiness. I am likewise going to requite you some actress savings. I become all of my meat from ButcherBox. It is so convenient. I just tell them what I want and they deliver information technology straight to my door. It takes out the guessing of whether or non your beef is completely grass-fed. It as well ensures the cow the beef came from wasn't given antibiotics or whatever other added hormones.

 ButcherBox sources all of its beefiness from pasture-raised cows that were never fed grains that could be sourced with pesticides, GMOs or other toxins.  I believe in ButcherBox and then much that as a gift to yous, I'm giving you lot $10 off your first lodge.

Butcher Box besides delivers organic, free-range chicken and wild-caught seafood, also equally steaks, ground beef, and ribs. Yous can get a variety of meat from one place and guarantee that it is organic. This recipe for BBQ Ribs is a not bad addition to your summer cookout. If y'all're looking for something to feed your unabridged family, I beloved this Easy Beef Roast recipe. Beef tin even exist incorporated into a veggie focused dish such as Veggie Blimp Kabocha Squash with Ground Beef.

Getting loftier-quality nutrients is of import. That'due south why I always recommend eating a diet of organic fruits, vegetables, and meats. However, I understand that buying all organic foods tin be expensive. At the very to the lowest degree, the meat you eat should come up from organic sources.