Meat-grass Vs. Grain Fed?

[mzcippy]

One topic of interest that I have seen nothing on the message boards about-is has anyone noticed a difference in meat that they have eaten which should be safe? My BIL was told by his holistic dr. that beef/chicken ect that has been fed grains can contain gluten and cause reactions compared w/ grass-free range type meats/animals.

My son is newly diagnosed and hearing this just made my head spin that much more!! Anyone hear about this? Any validity? I hate to say it does make sense but I have not seen anything written on it- thanks

[elonwy]

I'm pretty sure that as long as you're not eating the intestines you're fine. I buy organic free range grass fed non-antibiotics/growth hormone treated well and killed humanely meat because it tastes better and its better for me (and the environment), but the gluten aspect really hasn't come up with this specific issue.

[home-based-mom]

Lately I've been buying organic grass-fed beef because I think it tastes better and is better for me. I get it at Costco.

As far as the logic goes, yes it does makes sense that it would matter. It has been proven that gluten - along with whatever else the mother ingests - gets into breast milk and I don't know how else it would get there except through the blood stream. Therefore it is only logical that cows who are fed wheat, barley, or rye would have gluten circulating in their bloodstreams.

==>HOWEVER<==

I have seen absolutely nothing to demonstrate that eating any grain-fed meat or poultry has any effect whatsoever on anyone intolerant to anything the animal might have eaten while still alive. People in this forum have not reported any problems as far as I know, and there are some really sensitive folks who post in here!

I haven't seen any explanation as to why gluten seems to travel to breast milk through the bloodstream and becomes problematic and yet does not seem to be problematic when meat containing that same blood is consumed. If anyone has one, I'd love to read it..

In the meantime, feed your kid organic grass fed beef because it's just healthier from an overall perspective and don't worry about the gluten aspect of this issue.

[Rachel--24]

  home_based_mom said:

In the meantime, feed your kid organic grass fed beef because it's just healthier from an overall perspective and don't worry about the gluten aspect of this issue.

I agree 100%

I try to stick to grass fed organic as much as possible...and it has nothing to do with gluten.

[lovegrov]

Grain-fed meat does NOT contain gluten.

richard

[taweavmo3]

Grass fed beef is ideal, for many reasons. I just read Nina Planck's book "Real Food" and Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food"......which gives the low down on what is really in our food supply, and what is the healthiest diet, etc. Both were excellent reads by the way!

Anyway, both cited the vast advantages to grass fed beef......but reality is that it is expensive. I've tried, but we just couldn't afford it. I have a really sensitive daughter, who reacts violently (to the point of needing IV fluids) to small amounts of gluten, and she has never reacted to regular meat. So honestly, if it's not in your budget, I wouldn't worry too much about regular meat.

We tend to only eat red meat about once a week....other times we eat chicken, a veggie meal, or fish. We eat alot of fish. A cheap way to get wild salmon is to buy it in the can. I make salmon patties quite often....great source of Omega 3's and good fats, and kids like them. Good luck!

[Elastigirl]

  On 7/16/2008 at 5:09 AM, mzcippy said:

One topic of interest that I have seen nothing on the message boards about-is has anyone noticed a difference in meat that they have eaten which should be safe? My BIL was told by his holistic dr. that beef/chicken ect that has been fed grains can contain gluten and cause reactions compared w/ grass-free range type meats/animals.

My son is newly diagnosed and hearing this just made my head spin that much more!! Anyone hear about this? Any validity? I hate to say it does make sense but I have not seen anything written on it- thanks

My son had a bad reaction to Tyson chicken...which started me thinking what was different between Tyson or Foster Farms (which the latter is our usual choice). I read on Tyson's page that they feed their chickens wheat. Foster Farms does NOT. They are primarily fed corn (which turns their skin and featers yellow--showing that what they do eat, does indeed go throughout their system, even stores in their fat cells). When we switched off Tyson, his reaction went away. We have since stopped buying any animal products (lunch meat included) that come from animals that are fed a gluten diet (and often that diet can be mixed with eggs and dairy, so if you, like my son, have that issue as well, there's a tripple threat in feed).

[salexander421]

I know this is an old thread but just replying for anyone else who may be wondering. I've always known that me and my youngest daughter do not tolerate grain fed beef. I thought it was all beef until we tried grass fed and had absolutely no problems with it. Well, the store was out of the applegate farms turkey hotdogs that I normally buy so I opted for the beef one's since they label them as gluten free and we've never had problems with the turkey dogs. Weird poop and a flare of DH is what the results were. So, in my opinion, yes...grain fed beef can cause a gluten reaction.