The Grass Fed Difference

A big question in today's nutrition circles is whether you should choose foods from grass or grain-fed cattle. Here in the United States, we think very little about the types of feed the animal products we consume have eaten. Up until the 1940's almost all cattle in the U.S. ate grass. That changed as the demand increased to improve efficiency of beef and dairy production. In modern day conventional dairy farms, cows will be given a grain-based diet and treated with growth hormones to fatten them quickly so they can be used for meat or dairy as quickly as possible. This strategy may be profitable to producers but creates an unhealthy dynamic within the cow. Meat and dairy from cows that are grain-fed have been found to be significantly different in nutritional quality from grass fed cattle.

RESEARCH OVER THE PAST FEW DECADES SHOWS THAT THE FEED A COW CONSUMES DOES IMPACT THE NUTRITIONAL CONTENT OF THE COW'S MEAT AND DAIRY BY ALTERING FATTY-ACID COMPOSITION AND ANTIOXIDANT LEVELS.

Cows traditionally are natural grass eaters, and there is a reason for this. The four chambers of their stomach allow them to best extract all the nutrients from difficult to digest grass. The good bacteria in the four stomachs of the cows work best at an optimal pH. Grass fed diets promote this more favorable pH environment and may explain the difference in nutritional content between grass and grain-fed dairy. Due to the acidic environment that is created in the stomach of cows when they eat only corn, their guts are not as strong and are more susceptible to various health issues.

Fat is still a seemingly offensive word to some traditional dieters. However, we know there are some types of fat that are absolutely crucial to health of our bodies and brains. One of the best advantages of eating grass fed meat and dairy is the powerful fatty acid profile it provides us. As mentioned earlier, it provides health promoting omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3’s are critical anti-inflammatory fats, and the research about Omega 3’s promoting overall heart health has been well documented.*

Another important component to the quality of your diet is you ration of Omega 6 (inflammatory) to Omega 3 (anti-inflammatory) fats due to its influence on your overall health. The ratio has drastically increased over the last 50 years as diet quality has worsened with some estimates that it is now 15:1 (Omega 6 to Omega 3) The ideal range is suggested to be closer to 1:1- 3:1. By eating grass fed, your fatty acid profile is shifted toward a much more favorable profile by boosting your Omega 3 intake.

The optimal pH created by a grass-based diet along with the good bacteria in the gut of the cow creates a potent healthy fatty acid called conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA. CLA is impossible to produce within the human body, meaning that it has to be consumed entirely from outside sources. The best possible sources for CLA are beef, dairy, and whey protein from grass fed cows. This ability to create CLA and other important healthy fats is diminished in cows that are fed a grain-based diet.

CLA has been shown to have many potential benefits, including several for athletes and people wanting to reduce their body fat. CLA can enhance muscle growth and metabolism while positively impacting your body composition by helping to burn fat while preserving muscle. Cow's meat and dairy have the most concentrated source of dietary CLA.*

In addition to the better fatty-acid profile, grass fed cattle produce meat and dairy with other nutritional benefits including higher antioxidant content, increased levels of precursors for vitamins A and E, as well as glutathione. Grain-fed cows also have less vitamin E present in their meat and dairy products than grass fed cows.*

Glutathione is one of your body's most powerful antioxidants. It is commonly known as GSH, which is synthesized by the body and comprised of cysteine, glycine, and glutamine. Glutathione protects us against oxidative damage and enables the immune system to better respond in distress. In athletic performance maintaining a healthy level of glutathione has been shown to decrease muscle damage, strength, enhance muscle development, and aid in speeding up recovery time.*

Nutrology's undenatured grass fed whey protein powder is the perfect choice to help you maximize your glutathione as it has all the key amino acids required and is a better choice compared to a regular denatured whey protein powder. Additionally, the immunoglobulins, lactoferrin, and alpha lactalbumin in grass fed whey all work together to create an ideal metabolic environment to help boost your glutathione levels.*

Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) is a synthetic growth hormone that has been used in dairy cows since the Food and Drug Administration approved it in 1993. Growth hormones produce cell growth and lactation within cows. Scientists formulated rBGH to increase milk production and enhance the profit of dairy farmers. In recent years, the practice of treating cows with growth hormones is under increasing scrutiny, and its effect on human consumers has been questioned.

THE FUTURE HEALTH OF YOUR OWN BODY CAN BE GREATLY AFFECTED BY THE FOOD CHOICES YOU MAKE TODAY!

Another concern with the use of rBGH in dairy farming is that it is detrimental to the health of cows, namely, causing infections within their udders. These infections are treated with strong antibiotics. Today over eighty percent of all antibiotics are used in the production of food. Overuse of antibiotics in cows is leading to the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which will prove to be a challenge to our entire health industry in the future. Without the ability to treat bacterial infections, both humans and animals will be impacted. Recent research has shown that the level of a hormone called "insulin-like growth factor-I (IFG-I) are elevated in those dairy products produced from treated cows which can survive digestion and be passed on to consumers. Since many dairy farms inject their cows with the genetically engineered hormone rBGH to boost production, make sure you purchase your dairy and whey products with a label that indicates rBGH or hormone free.

Annual worldwide consumption of artificial sweeteners has reached 7.5 million metric tons. Artificial sweeteners may contribute to carbohydrate cravings, which can lead to overeating. More research is consistently showing potential negative consequences of artificial sweetener consumption. It's important to eat a diet that is as close to nature as possible.

Whey protein powder is one of the most popular supplements used today, but they are not all created equal. Whey is a dairy protein and a by-product of making cheese. Many people have the misconception that you want to choose whey protein isolate when picking the best protein powder. The truth is, when choosing a grass fed whey protein, whey concentrate is better than whey isolate.

While whey protein isolates might boost a higher protein level, most are acid-processed proteins, and many of the nutrients have been stripped away in this processing. Grass fed whey protein concentrates preserve more of the nutrients and valuable immune-boosting alpha lactoglobulins and lactoferrins that are removed during the filtering process in whey protein isolates. Grass fed whey protein concentrates have similar biological values to whey protein isolates, and supply high amounts of essential amino acids and branch chain amino acids from grass fed cows.*

Unlike many whey protein isolates, Nutrology's grass fed whey protein concentrate is not exposed to changes in pH (acid) that alter the protein structure. The structure of a protein, or its folding conformation, determines the protein's function. Once the protein structure is altered, it becomes inactive. Since whey proteins are sensitive to changes in pH and can denature easily, it is important to consider the effects of processing on the quality of the protein overall. During the process of making whey protein isolate, essential fats and immunoglobulins are removed. This extraction process further alters the structure of the whey proteins, destroying some of the protein function.

WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATES PRESERVE MORE OF THE NUTRIENTS AND VALUABLE IMMUNE-BOOSTING ALPHA LACTOGLOBULINS AND LACTOFERRINS THAT ARE REMOVED DURING THE FILTERING PROCESS IN WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATES.

Another important difference between protein powders lies in the different forms of processing. Most commercial whey proteins are processed using high-heat treatment, and acid washing to rid whey proteins of impurities. Many times this leads to the whey being contaminated with synthetic additives or chemicals, creating an "acidic" product that is lower in nutrients.

COLD PROCESSING ON THE OTHER HAND, USES LOW TEMPERATURES TO ALLOW FOR RETENTION OF NUTRIENTS, AMINO ACIDS, AND MINERALS IN THEIR NATURAL STATE TO OPTIMALLY FUNCTION AS A WHEY PROTEIN POWDER. COLD PROCESSING ALSO PROTECTS BIOACTIVE PORTIONS OF IMMUNE BOOSTING WHEY PROTEINS: IMMUNOGLOBULINS AND LACTOFERRIN.

In clinical studies, researchers at McGill University in Montreal, Canada showed that cold-processed whey protein concentrate boosted glutathione levels in the tissues of mice, and we know higher glutathione levels can boost the immune system. They found that whey can best impact glutathione when it is under low temperature and low acid conditions that will not "denature" the protein. The whey protein concentrate that underwent heat treatment contained damage in the proteins that are responsible for forming important bonds that enhance glutathione levels.*

The commercially processed versions of whey protein concentrate still contain adequate amounts of protein, but they are lower in the key components that boost glutathione, which can optimally enhance immune function. Grass fed, cold processed whey protein concentrate contains the added benefits of maintaining antioxidant capacity through the preservation of immunoglobulins and lactoferrin. The molecular structure of the molecules is preserved and not denatured throughout the entire process of filtering. *

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