Phytonutrients in Grass-Fed Beef

Groundbreaking research finally proves what my family and other grass-based farming families have been saying for decades, "Grass-fed and finished beef is medicine"!

Utah State University, along with team members from South Carolina, have extensively analyzed and concluded that finishing beef on forages creates a superfood for us humans to enjoy.

While reading the article and research details, I was humbled at how little I knew about phytonutrients, vitamins, and fatty acid profiles. Hippurate, Cinnamoylglycine, Ergothioneine, 4-Ethylphenyl Sulfate, Histidine, Dimethyl Sulfone, Alpha-tocopherol, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B6, Eicosapentaenoic Acid, Alpha Linolenic Acid, Arachidic Acid, Heptadecanoic Acid, Conjugated Linoleic Acid, Omega 3 Acid. Quite the list of goodies those plants have produced from healthy soils, passed to the ruminant grazing animal, and stored in meat and fat, to your dinner table, isn't it?!

Reading from Allen Williams’ article in Graze Magazine, "All disease and disorders start with inflammation in the body. If we can routinely consume foods that are high in phytonutrients, we are able to effectively reduce inflammation and greatly improve our overall health. Phytonutrients provide anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in body cells, scavenge reactive and toxic chemicals from the body, enhance gut absorption of essential nutrients while enhancing their stability in the body, act as selective growth factors for beneficial gastrointestinal bacteria, anchorage and facilitate deleterious(bad) intestinal bacteria." While reading this, I immediately thought about the revelations brought to light over the last five years on how important gut health (microbiome) is and how we also are learning how toxic an environment we are living in. 

Doesn't this make perfect sense?

Looking back, the Native Americans and our earliest forefathers and mothers could stay healthy and nourished by food from the land - in much harder times I might add. Grocery stores weren't stocked with 100 different fruits and vegetables, winters were tough, and calories were hard to come by. But what they did have were animals who were grazing. Meat was highly prized, often smoked and dried for winter eating. Fat was rendered for tallow and was preserved without refrigeration. They were eating their vegetables and didn't even know it....maybe we can too...just don't tell my kids!