Grass fed beef?

howler

Hey guys, I've been looking for grass-fed beef for a while now with no success. Anyone know of a good source?

Cheers

brianthebard

Your local butcher? Why is this in fitness anyways?

amazingemmet

Pretty much all irish beef is grass fed bar when they're winter feeding on fodder. The only reason you see people reccomending grass fed beef as in the usa most the beef is fed on cornmeal instead of being on pasture.

howler

That's what I thought for a while, but I started looking around for pure grass-fed beef after a friend of mine whose family raise cattle informed me that most of them are fed a good deal of meal all year round. Maybe I shouldn't worry about it, but it's part of my current quest to become one of those hardcore, Paleo Diet nutcases

brianthebard, where would you suggest I post a question like this too? I thought fitness began with nutrition.

brianthebard

I thought the food and drink section would be more appropriate, or even the farming section, since they are the people you need to talk to.

Personally I know that my dad's cattle are fed grass almost all year around, with the exception of some calves, who will get calf nuts soon after weaning and cattle that are inside for a month or two at winter, who get silage. Hay is better, but we don't have the time to harvest hay anymore.

Regards grain fed cattle, so long as you go to a local butcher where you can see the tag number of the animal on sale then there should be no trouble, you will only find that sort of thing in supermarkets.

howler

Talking directly to the farmers sounds like a great idea, I'll have a chat with the buthcer first and see if he knows the score. Thanks.

brianthebard

Well tbh if you are worried about what you are putting inside yourself then shouldn't you think about switching to organic beef? Has to fed organic grass and only three or four antibotics are allowed to be used afaik.

Enright

here is a link, not only does he have grass fed beef, but he also id irelands 1st online butcher and he will deliver

www.jameswhelanbutchers.com

rediguana

Even organic, grass-fed beef beef will be marbled with (saturated) fat, will it not? There are better sources of protein around, and kinds that are more easily assimilated by the body.

That said, I love my red meat. It's just that if you're going on a big health crusade, maybe consider something like whey instead.

It makes sucky burgers though

brianthebard

What better protein sources?

rediguana

brianthebard wrote:

What better protein sources?

Sorry. I didn't mean to be sticking the boot into cows. I know your da farms them.

Better protein sources? I'm not a nutritionist but I do work out and I buy 'Men's Health', whatever that's worth I guess I'm thinking about specialist powders that you get from health shops. They're formulated to give precise amounts of required amino acids etc, and they provide no saturated fat.

Obviously they're no fun to eat. But you can't fault the science. I've never seen it written anywhere that beef is the best way to get your protein. People in third world countries would benefit from eating more meat. People in industrial countries would do better to seriously REDUCE their intake. Too much red meat is a predictor of a number of prevalent cancers.

Anyway, I think I mentioned whey? That IS a better source. And the good news? It comes from cows. I guess you knew that already though.

brianthebard

Nah not annonyed, just ito of "proper" foodstuffs, chicken is the only thing I can thnk of with less sat. fats a fairly good dose of protein. Obviously supplements are the easiest way to go but I don't think the OP is looking for that at the minute.

rediguana

You're probably right. He surely wants 'real' food. Who doesn't? I have a habit of only glancing at OPs. Sometimes my spiel misses the mark then.

Anyway, listen to me berate myself so.

Chicken is great but the skin is Fat-City. Too much breast meat gets tedious quickly though.

Red meat, even, is fine. But a 'portion' is only something like the size of a matchbox. Who eats that? If we could stick to an amount that mean, and only have it twice a week, we'd be alright.

Fish is underrated. It's a more diversified category than people realise, once you have a decent fishmonger close by (an impossible dream for many people). Go to www.seafish.co.uk for a million and one ways to cook fish.

Yoghurt is great when it's not fructified with regular sugar. Try adding honey to natural yoghurt. It tastes outrageously luscious, even though it's a one-pot tonic for everything.

Soya Milk? Almond milk? Rice milk? All quite palatable, once sweetened.

Cheese? Too much fat (33%) and salt.

I'm sure I'm forgetting load. Legumes! Beans & Peas. Again, a surprisingly large group of foods. Usually onerous to prepare (soaking) and somewhat lacking in taste. If you've time to devote to cooking, they can be jazzed up.

brianthebard

Meat is the most easily assimilated food protein afaik (perhaps dairy is, but it doesn't suit everyone) You are right about fish, salmon and tuna,or whatever you like, good fats and tasty meat, what more could you want!

g'em

actually eggs are the most complete natural protein source. Red meat is good also, but lean white meat is better. Pulses, nuts and beans are also great, but being plant protein, are incomplete protein sources. Whey is not necessairly better- yes, it has everything you need, but so do eggs/ lean meat/ most dairy (whey is after all just a by-product of cheese-manufacturing) and they're thermogenic wholefoods. For best results eat a variety of them all- they each have their own unique nutritional benefits aside from being a protein source.

brianthebard

What has the most protein per 100g then? I did a quick google but couldn't find a good table of comparision.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

g'em

brianthebard wrote:

What has the most protein per 100g then? I did a quick google but couldn't find a good table of comparision.

it doesn't necessarily come down to what has the most protein, it's how well we can use the protein which is more important. This is where something called the Biological Values come into it- the method for measuring protein quality and biological utilization rates of protein for human and animal consumption. Our bodies can use different protein sources to varying degrees of efficincy, and eggs come top of that list (BV = 100) - in other words we can use virtaully all the protein that eggs have. Chicken has a BV of around 79/80, beef around 69-70, peanuts 55-57 and soy beans 47. As whey is processed to be extremely digestible it actually has a BV of 104 but practically speaking eggs and whey are virtually equally good as protein sources.

brianthebard

Ok wow I knew that there was a difference between how protein was absorbed/used in different foods, but I didn't realise eggs were the best on that scale. Thanks for the info.

howler

thanks for the link enright, looks like high quality food.

Personally, I'm starting to think it's better to get your protein from as many different sources as possible. Whey might have one of the sexiest amino acid profiles on the face of the earth, but it's obviously lacking all the important mironutrients found in wholefoods.

Once you've trimmed away the rind from meats like beef or lamb, I think the amount of saturated fat you're taking in is a small price to pay for all that easily absorbed iron, zinc, B-12 etc. Oh, and let's not forget the protein.