Back Valley Ranch

Take a cube of butter from your refrigerator, slice it with a knife, and spread it on a slice of bread. Did it coat the bread evenly or did it remain in hard lumps? Researchers have determined that the easier butter spreads, the better it is for your health.

Why is this? The firmness of butter depends on its ratio of saturated and unsaturated fat. At refrigerator temperatures, saturated fat is hard and unsaturated fat is soft, or even liquid. Therefore, butter that is relatively easy to spread has less saturated, artery-clogging fat and more (healthier) unsaturated fat.  

In addition, a 2006 study shows that the softer the butter, the more fresh pasture in the cow’s diet. Cows that get all their nutrients from grass have the softest butterfat of all. Butter from grass-fed cows also has more cancer-fighting CLA, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and omega-3 fatty acids than butter from cows raised in factory farms or that have limited access to pasture. 

(Reference Material from Jo Robinson’s ‘Eat Wild’)

CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) is a cancer-fighting fat that is most abundant in grassfed products. Two new European studies link a diet high in CLA with a lower risk of breast cancer. In Finland, researchers measured CLA levels in the serum of women with and without breast cancer. Those women with the most CLA had a significantly lower risk of the disease. Meanwhile, French researchers measured CLA levels in the breast tissues of 360 women. Once again, the women with the most CLA had the lowest risk of cancer. In fact, the women with the most CLA had a staggering 74% lower risk of breast cancer than the women with the least CLA.

The most natural and effective way to increase your intake of CLA is to eat the meat and dairy products of grassfed animals.

(A. Aro et al, Kuopio University, Finland; Bougnoux, P, Lavillonniere F, Riboli E. “Inverse relation between CLA in adipose breast tissue and risk of breast cancer. A case-control study in France.” Inform 10;5:S43, 1999)

Within the span of two days, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal recommended that consumers who are looking for safe meat choose either organic or grass-fed beef. This is a testimony to the nation’s growing awareness of pasture-based farming. Most of the recent publicity has focused on the safety of grass-fed beef, one of its many virtues.

(The New York Times, “Warily Searching for Safer Beef,” by Marian Burros, December 31, 2003. The Wall Street Journal, “Why Blaming Canada Isn’t Enough: U.S. Mad-Cow Inspections Lack Teeth,” by Tara Parker-Pope, December 30, 2003.)

Topolobampo,a white-table restaurant in Chicago, is reported to be Barack and Michelle Obama’s favorite restaurant.

Several months ago, managing chef Brian Enyart placed grain-fed and grass-fed ribeye steaks side-by-side on the menu. Grass-fed steaks were the clear favorite. On some days, almost twice as many grass-fed steaks came off the grill.

Insiders say that Topolobampo may host a number of inaugural celebrations.  If so, grass-fed steak will be on the menu. Topolobampo’s main supplier is Eatwild’s own Tall Grass Beef.

(compliments of New York Times’ Best Selling Author, Jo Robinon and www.eatwild.com)

Yet another study shows that grass-fed meat is nutritionally superior to feedlot meat. This newest study examined the differences in fat content between four breeds of cattle that were either 1) raised on pasture or 2) given grain and other feedstuff in a feedlot.

As in previous research, the results showed that meat from cattle raised on pasture had much healthier fats. The researchers concluded that grass-fed meat is “clearly superior” and “remarkably beneficial.”  They stated that grass-fed meat “should be promoted as an important part of a healthy balanced diet.”

Study Summary

Extensive Analysis of Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, CLA, trans-18:1 Isomers, and Plasmalogenic Lipids in Different Retail Beef Types

Kraft, Jana, John K.G. Kramer, Friedrich Schoene, Jim R. Chambers, and Gerhard Jahreis.

The objective of this investigation was to provide a comprehensive analysis of the total lipid composition of present-day retail beef meat available at the consumer level and to evaluate the total lipid composition with special emphasis on the nutritional value. For this purpose, 40 beef cuts were
obtained from four cattle farms based on either a natural grazing system (NGS) or an intensive production system (IPS). The total lipid composition was analyzed using complementary chemical and chromatographic procedures. The content of n-3 LC-PUFA, CLA, total trans-18:1, and branchedchain fatty acids was significantly higher in NGS beef than in IPS beef. The trans-18:1 and CLA profiles were affected by the different production systems, whereby they can be utilized empirically to differentiate between feeding regimen and production management. Fatty acid ratios that have health implications (n-6/n-3, LA/RLNA, and AA/EPA) were remarkably beneficial for NGS beef compared with IPS beef. In conclusion, from the human health perspective, beef raised on NGS is
clearly superior with regard to a more favorable fatty acid profile in comparison to IPS beef.

Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, June 2008, 56:4775-4782.

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