Grow Some Horns! Bison vs. Beef

Bison

Cow

The average US citizen consumes about 67 pounds of beef every year.  That is a huge amount of beef which is most likely not grass fed, but rather corn fed and full of antibiotics and hormones.  The problem that the US has is simply supply and demand.  The beef industry cannot keep pace with the demand of beef in the US so manufacturers (I won't call them farmers) have decided to feed their cattle corn in order to make them bigger within a shorter period of time.  Obviously corn is not a natural and organic source of food in a cattle's diet, so their bodies react differently when compared to eating natural grass.  Since corn is not a natural dietary source of their diets, the cattle become larger and almost deformed when compared to normal grass-fed cattle.  By altering the cattle, disease is increased and manufacturers also inject hormones and antibiotics to help with the growing process and make sure that the cattle don't become sick.  This also adds a huge risks to human consumers because all of the hormones and antibiotics that is injected into the cattle is transmitted into the human consuming the meat.  Corn-fed cattle are also confined in small spaces because there isn't enough room for the massive supply of cattle needed for consumers.  Since they are not allowed to roam and eat natural diets they are reduced to confined spaces and are forced to stand in their own filth.  All of that filth and sewage is transferred to the final meat product and thus, you.

Beware of Recalled Meats

Every few months or so their is a massive recall of tainted beef and those are the only recalls we hear about, there are probably many more that the FDA and the government keeps under the sheets.  You may be asking why would they do that but the meat industry is big bucks, so it wouldn't surprise me in the least.  There is a solution to this mass productive debacle, you can buy grass-fed beef, but grass-fed beef is expensive and difficult to find.  The problem is the government funds these big business corn-fed beef "farms", and thus, it's even more of a challenge to find grass-fed and natural beef.  The best solution that I can present is instead of buying beef, buy bison meat.  Bison is more reasonable in price compared to grass-fed beef and it's also a game meat, which means it's naturally lower in fat and low in calories.  Bison meat is easy to find and purchase, and it's becoming more and more popular in the United States.  Bison is more tender and since it's so lean, you won't feel guilty about having a burger (and it even tastes much better than a dry beef burger).  Bison burger has less total fat than most meat products including pork, chicken and most fish.  Bison also contains more iron than most meat products.  Here is a brief nutritional statistic of a typical 3 oz. serving of bison meat:

• Calories 152, Total Fat 7 grams (3 grams saturated fat)

• Excellent protein with 40 grams, which is 84% of the daily value (DV) in a 2,000-calorie diet.

• 60 milligrams of cholesterol or 20% of the daily value.

• Ground bison is high in vitamin B6 17% DV, B12 35% DV, iron 15% DV, and niacin 25% DV

• Sources: Bisoncentral.com, Nutritiondata.com

Regular ground beef:

• Calories 230, Total Fat 15 grams (6 grams saturated fat)

• 22 grams of protein

• 75 milligrams or 25% of the daily value of cholesterol

• 12% iron for your DV

• Source: Nutritiondata.com

By consuming and purchasing bison meat or grass-fed beef, you can promote the organic and natural farmers in the US and this also promotes and helps the environment because if cattle and bison are allowed to live in open pastures and not in confined spaces, then other elements of the environment can strive and prosper.  So by eating bison or grass-fed beef you can be both eco-friendly and nutritionally sound.

Gigante Beans: Big on Nutrition

I recently found out about a new bean called the gigante bean, or in other words, a large white bean.  Gigante beans are large, flat, cream colored bean that are popular in the Mediterranean.  Beans in general are a great source of vitamins and essential minerals and should be incorporated within your daily diet.  Beans are a nutritional powerhouse containing great amounts of protein, fiber, iron, potassium, calcium, antioxidants, and all beans are naturally low in fat.  Gigante beans are naturally sweet tasting and can be found in many Greek dishes.  There are a few ways to prepare gigante beans and those include soaking them in cold water overnight and then boiling them or simply serving them at room temperature within a vegetable salad.  If you don't want to prepare the beans yourself you can purchase gigante beans already prepared at the antipasto bar at Whole Foods market.  Gigante beans are a great side dish or great served within a Mediterranean style marinated salad along with plenty of other vegetables.

The Whole Soy Bean Fact and Fiction

Raw Tofu and Soy Beans

Soy has always been viewed and categorized as one of the healthiest foods you can eat.  Asian countries have been eating soy beans for centuries and they live some of the longest lives in the world.  The fact is that soy is a great source of protein, essential vitamins and minerals and it is completely fat-free.  The amount of protein alone in soy is 5 times that of vegetables, but the main problem with soy is the way it's processed.  In East Asia where soy originated and has been grown and eaten for years is consumed in it's natural state.  The main problem is the United States sells 90% genetically modified soy (GMO) and the overly processed soy products include soy protein isolates, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), and textured vegetable protein (TVP).

So why should people avoid GMO soy products?  The main reason is that soy contains isoflavones, specifically genistein and daidzein and these substances have similar reactions to estrogen within the body, and with too much estrogen the body is prone to cancers, mood swings and emotionally unstable states, additional fats on the waistline, thighs, and hips (Casanova, Santell).  Soy may be connected with Alzheimer’s Disease and in studies in Japan and Hawai, men who consumed tofu at least twice weekly had more cognitive impairment than those who rarely or never ate tofu. (White, Markesbery).  Soy is also a mineral-deficient food, and contains phytin, which depletes essential minerals such as iron, zinc and magnesium out of the body before they can be absorbed.  This can potentially place soy in the category of a powerful cancer promoter of the breast, prostate, lung and colon (Yu).

Tofurky Products

A lot of people assume that soy is the main food source in Asian countries, but they actually use soy as a condiment rather than a main meal.  Japan and China on average has about 10 grams, which is two teaspoons, of soy per day.  The problem that Americans, especially vegans have is you're not suppose to replace a whole meal (meat products, etc.) with GMO soy products.  Asian countries also consume fermented soy, and like I mentioned earlier 90% of soy products sold in the United States is genetically modified soy.  Soy has been labeled as one of the essential health foods in the world but with so many soy products being overly processed, more risks are proposed rather than potential health benefits.  The best advice in order to get the most nutrients from soy is having fermented soy products or soy beans in their natural state (also known as edamame). 

Resources:

Casanova, M. et al. “Developmental effects of dietary phytoestrogens in Sprague.” Toxicol Sci, Oct. 1999, 51 (2): 236-244.

Santell, L, et al. “Dietary genistein exerts estrogenic effects upon uterus, mammary gland and the hypothalamic/pituitary axis in rats.” J Nutr, Feb. 1997, 127(2) 263-269.

White, L R., Petrorich, H, Ross, G W, and Masaki, K H. “Association of mid-life consumption of tofu with late life cognitive impairment and dimentia: the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study.” Fifth International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease, #487, 27 July 1996, Osaka, Japan.

White, LR, Petrovitch, H, Ross, G w, Masaki, K H, Hardman, J, Nelson. J, Davis. D, and Markesbery, W. “Brain again and midlife tofu consumption.” J Am Coll Nutr, April 2000, 19(2): 242-2555.

Yu, H. “Role of the insulin-like growth factor family in cancer development and progression.” J Natl Cancer Inst, Sept. 20, 2000, 92(18)1472-1489.