Beef
Beef
Believe me, beef is included in Dr. Dan’s meal plans. It’s both delicious and nutritious. Remember pillar #5: a diet must be sustainable. This is a lifestyle change, not a temporary fix. One important caveat: grass-fed. If possible, restrict your beef consumption to grass-fed, grass-finished beef. I love the ranchers who bring their pride and joy to farmers’ markets. Grass-fed beef is more expensive than corn- or soy-fed beef, but avoiding corn and soy is important. You can easily spot grass-fed beef versus corn-fed beef at the market. Grass-fed beef has less marbling and is a darker shade of red. It also has a stronger flavor. I originally switched to grass-fed beef for its flavor and only later learned about its nutritional benefits.
Inflammation from beef?
You have probably heard conflicting reports about beef and inflammation. This is confusing because the difference between grass-fed and corn-fed beef is often not disclosed. Corn-fed beef is more inflammatory due to the corn in its diet. However, there are also some issues with grass-fed beef that we need to discuss. The animal protein is often A1 casein. You may remember this from our discussion about milk in the “NOT” food section. I am seeing more and more A2-labeled beef products, and there are A2 ranches, just not nearly as many. A1 cows grow bigger and faster, so farmers and ranchers prefer them. If grass-fed beef is unavailable, the next best option is pasture-raised beef.
neu5Gc molecule
Another issue is the discussion about the Neu5Gc molecule, which is found in animals but not in humans. This molecule is concentrated in organ meats and has been reported to cause inflammation. I need more information on this topic. The data I’ve seen remains unconvincing. The data fails the “rubber meets the road” test because humans and our ancestors, including Homo erectus, have eaten meat for over a million years. If meat were that harmful, it likely wouldn’t still be part of our diet. For your two-week elimination diet, if you want to eat only beef, head on over to the sous vide section and get started. Once you try sous vide dry-brined, flash-finished beef, you’ll be hooked.
Mail order Grass fed beef
I’ve found a couple of good online sources of beef for the West. There is a limit on how far they can ship. Here are a couple of my favorite sources:
Wellness Meats from Missouri has grass fed beef, soy free chicken from a sister farm.
Slanker Grass-Fed Beef out of Texas.
Brady’s Idaho Beef, from yes, Idaho.
My favorite site for recipes is AmazingRibs.com. While not all of the recipes align with Dr. Dan’s low-inflammatory diet, if you’re looking for cooking times and temperatures for different cuts of meat, or if you want to learn about smoking or sous vide cooking, this is one of the best sites I’ve found.