Cholesterol and grain fed beef

[magicre]

we were at a market today and the butcher was selling us scrap....actually, he sold us the scrap that would go into making hamburger 80/20...

what he said to me was interesting, since he feeds his dogs raw.

that i should be careful in feeding beef to my dogs, unless it's grass fed, grass finished, as corn fed beef can cause high cholesterol in dogs, although not as easily as it does in humans....

that i should only feed the dogs a little bit of the grain fed beef and then i should buy grass fed...and not because he was trying to sell me.

my co op sells me grass fed/grass finished...and that's all well and good...

but, when i run out of that...it's supermarket beef, which is grain fed or grain finished or both.

so what is the risk of high cholesterol for dogs, considering red meat is preferred over other proteins?

[chowder]

I would think it would depend if beef is your primary food for your dogs?

I would have to first do some research and find out if high cholesteral is actually a concern in dogs. I don't remember it being a problem and I've never actually had a dog with any heart problems in all my years of feeding them grocery store kibble in the past. I have seen the occasional dog with a heart condition at work, but not that often. Usually there are a lot of other health problems that are seen before any heart conditions come up.

So I don't imagine a raw fed dog that eats regular beef as one part of his diet will develop enough of a cholesteral problem from it to be a concern.

Just my opinion. It might require some more research on the topic. A think a varied diet would take care of any problem.

[magicre]

he wasn't saying that beef was the problem....he was saying what the cows eat is the problem....and also applies to humans...

corn fed vs. grass fed is what gives people heart attacks and beef a bad rap is what he's saying.

and, i would say my dogs eat red meat quite a bit...BUT, having said that,
a meal for them may include some sardine, chicken, beef, pork, lamb...all at once...depending on the day of the week, how much bone they've had or need....

i defrost proteins, rather than bag meals..

[chowder]

he wasn't saying that beef was the problem....he was saying what the cows eat is the problem....and also applies to humans...

corn fed vs. grass fed is what gives people heart attacks and beef a bad rap is what he's saying.

.

I understand.....and unless people or dogs are eating a large quantity of only beef, I really don't think it is a problem. Moderation and variation is the key in everything (in my opinion) and it sounds like your dogs are getting a variety of proteins.

Now, if you were a person eating a prime rib dinner every night and giving one to your dog then I might be concerned

Maybe someone else has some actual data to support the information?

[Doc]

OK, until all this is settled ... please ship all red meat to me. I'll eat grass and grain fed.

[MollyWoppy]

I know that back in NZ, all the beef is grass fed. And, there are still plenty of heart attacks, you believe me! (No idea how many, if any dogs drop dead from the big one though).

[magicre]

chowder....i want some data, too....

i am not a believer that red meat is bad....at all.

red blood cells and bone marrow need red meat...it's one of our biggest nutrients....
it's the comment about the corn and the grass...that bothers me.

didn't we grow up on corn fed beef?

doc....you'll just deep fry it and put sawdust gravy on it. :P

molly.....all kidding aside, that's nice to know? LOL

[RawFedDogs]

so what is the risk of high cholesterol for dogs, considering red meat is preferred over other proteins?

I don't think cholesterol is a problem for dogs. With humans it takes 30 or 40 years of poor eating to cause significant high colestrol usually. Dogs just don't live that long.

At least thats my story and I'm sticking to it.

[magicre]

I don't think cholesterol is a problem for dogs. With humans it takes 30 or 40 years of poor eating to cause significant high colestrol usually. Dogs just don't live that long.

At least thats my story and I'm sticking to it.

i didn't think so either...but what he says about grain fed is not off the wall.

corn is a starch. starches are the bane of our existence, not red meat...

so i guess what he's saying is that because most beef is finished off with grain, then we are at risk....because grain is the culprit.

course, if that is true and chicken is allegedly our salvation, what are they being fed?

[Doc]

I'll fry any of it in my cast iron skillet and pour SAWMILL (not sawdust) gravey over it and serve it over two cathead biskits! Along with some 'tater cakes and hop-n-john.