Is Your Meat Actually Grass Fed?

In CrossFit nutrition as well as other fields, there is a mantra that, you are what you eat. The lamb or beef you are eating is not just giving you Omega 3s, but giving you additional stuff based on what it ate. Grass-fed beef has been touted to be much better and more nutritious than grain fed. If you have been wondering what the fuss about grass-fed beef is, read on.

• Compared to grain fed beef, grass-fed beef has higher levels of Omega 3s.
• Grass-fed beef has been found to be an excellent source of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). This substance has been shown to protect your body against cancer, diabetes, and cardiac diseases.
• Regarding antioxidant, mineral, and vitamin content, grain fed meat pales in comparison to the grass-fed variety.

What about Grain Finished Beef?

Grass-fed and finished cattle contains healthy pH levels in the stomach which allow fermentation to take place and this leads to high levels of Omega 3 vitamins and minerals. On the other hand, grain feeding leads to a fall in pH levels which produces different fermentation bacteria. The end point is that the production of Omega 3 and CLA is disrupted and instead Omega 6 fatty acid production increases.
Organic beef, on the other hand, is not a guarantee in itself that it is grass-fed and finished. The benefits of organic beef include fewer chemicals and use unnatural methods. This means lesser herbicides, medicines, and pesticides.

Certified Meat and What it is All About

For meat to be labeled as pasture fed, the animals must have open access to graze pasture for their entire life. They must not be confined to intensive feeding arrangements. At the time of slaughter, the meat must be handled according to laid down requirements.
It is imperative as a CrossFit athlete to understand where the meat you use in your CrossFit diet comes from because this will affect your choice. Many animals may be allowed to graze green crops either in their pre-grain state or their crop residue post-harvest. As long as they are controlled, feeding on grain crops may not significantly affect their nutrition composition.
As you know, nutrition is an indispensable part of CrossFit training, and if you do not get the right combination of nutrients, your performance may be significantly hampered. Therefore, the next time you go to the supermarket or butchery, remember to look out for the certification logo and also the color of the fat. Grass-fed meat has a distinctive yellow color while the whitish yellow color is an indication of grain fed.