Beef has been demonized for far too long. It appears that public perceptions are slowly changing, which is good news for cattlemen who rely on consumers to keep loving and purchasing beef products. Step aside beef naysayers, research is calling “bull” on your negative viewpoints. Here are three ways beef has made the news things week.
1. “Sweden Becomes First Western Nation To Reject Low-Fat Diet Dogma In Favor of Low-Carb, High-Fat Nutrition,” featured in Health Impact News
Gary Sides, PhD, Zoetis beef cattle nutritionist, emailed me this headline. He thought it might pique my interest after a previous conversation in which he noted my use of the word “lean” to describe healthy beef in one of my blogs. Sides believes that when we actively promote “lean” beef, we admit and agree with our misinformed critics that beef fat is bad. Additionally, he says we also sell our customers a product with less flavor, that is more difficult to cook properly, and is actually less healthy than beef with higher levels of fat. I think these are valid points to keep in mind as we promote beef to our consumers. Thanks, Gary, for sending this my way!
According to Health Impact News, “Sweden has become the first Western nation to develop national dietary guidelines that reject the popular low-fat diet dogma in favor of low-carb, high-fat nutrition advice. The switch in dietary advice followed the publication of a two-year study by the independent Swedish Council on Health Technology Assessment. The committee reviewed 16,000 studies published through May 31, 2013.
Swedish doctor, Andreas Eenfeldt, says the following health markers will improve on a low-carb diet:
“…a greater increase in HDL cholesterol (the ‘good’ cholesterol) without having any adverse effects on LDL cholesterol (the ‘bad’ cholesterol). This applies to both the moderate low-carbohydrate intake of less than 40% of the total energy intake, as well as to the stricter low-carbohydrate diet, where carbohydrate intake is less than 20% of the total energy intake. In addition, the stricter low-carbohydrate diet will lead to improved glucose levels for individuals with obesity and diabetes, and to marginally decreased levels of triglycerides.”
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2. “11 Nutrition Lies That Vegans Will Tell You” by Kris Gunnars, Authority Nutrition
While numbers show the Meatless Monday trend is losing momentum, my sister Kaley, age 17, came home from school on Monday to report that Meatless Monday has been introduced in her public school cafeteria.
“Amanda, they served vegetarian rice bowls,” she whined to me. “It was so gross."
She said there was no prior notice; nor was there any propaganda hanging up in the cafeteria. I called the school to find out more information and visisted with Sean Moen, the school district's food services director. While he was uncertain if other schools were introducing meatless options, he said he was following mandates from the new school lunch program, which now requires a meatless option for one lunch and one breakfast each week. By next year, the hot breakfast program will have zero meat options, although cheese and yogurt will still be available. He shared his frustrations with me as a steakhouse owner and told me complying with these new standards has been a big challenge.
You can read more about what's happening in our local schools here.
I would like to know how your kids have been impacted by the school lunch program changes. Do your kids have Meatless Mondays in their schools? Let me know.
Fitting for this topic, I ran across an article about the misinformation that the vegan crowd spreads to gain more followers. Kris Gunnars points to the 11 lies that vegans spread about animal fats and proteins. Here is an excerpt:
“Some vegan proponents claim that it is possible to obtain all necessary nutrients without animal foods. However, this is easier said than done and it seems that many vegans are having problems. Nutrient deficiencies are much more common among vegans. Vitamin B12: 83% of vegans are deficient in B12, compared to 5% of omnivores. Iron: In one study, vegetarians had only a third of the ferritin (a marker for iron levels) of omnivores. Vitamin D: Levels of Vitamin D are 74% lower in vegans, compared to omnivores. Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Vegans have 53% lower levels of EPA and almost 59% lower levels of DHA, compared to meat eaters.”
Gunnars also debunks myths about saturated fats, vegan studies, low-carb diets, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and human’s ability to digest animal proteins. Read the entire article here.
3. “No Link Found Between Saturated Fat And Heart Disease” by Sarah Knapton for The Telegraph UK
Obviously the theme for today’s blog is beef health news, and there has been an overwhelming amount of positive news lately. It’s hard not to share it all. Keeping with the theme that animal fats and proteins are good for your health, researchers at Cambridge University have found that giving up fatty meat, cream and butter is unlikely to improve your health.
According to the article, “For the health-conscious reader who has been stoically swapping butter for margarine for years, the next sentence could leave a bad taste in the mouth. Scientists have discovered that saturated fat does not cause heart disease while so-called ‘healthy’ polyunsaturated fats do not prevent cardiovascular problems.
“In contrast with decades-old nutritional advice, researchers at Cambridge University have found that giving up fatty meat, cream or butter is unlikely to improve health. They are calling for guidelines to be changed to reflect a growing body of evidence suggesting there is no overall association between saturated fat consumption and heart disease.”
What do you think about these headlines? Share these positive news articles about beef on your social media sites today. Let’s help these beef-related items go viral on Facebook and Twitter today and give beef the momentum it needs to become a high-demand health food.
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