Health Hotline Magazine | June 2025

NUTRITION

By Geoff Brokx and Katherine McNair

You Are… What Your Food Eats! The popularity of grass-fed beef has grown in part due to its environmental benefits, including improving soil health, but new research suggests that grass-fed beef may also offer distinct nutritional benefits. A 2024 double blind crossover study published in Metabolites examined how the nutritional composition of beef differs between grass-fed and conventionally raised cattle and how those differences influence circulating human metabolites—the small molecules produced during digestion and metabolism. The study included 10 healthy male and female participants who were randomized to consume an equal portion of either grass-fed or conventionally raised beef after a 12-hour fast. One week later, participants switched to consume the other type of beef. After each trial, researchers analyzed plasma samples from participants every 30 minutes for four hours. The beef samples were also analyzed for nutritional differences. The researchers found that a metabolite associated with anti-inflammatory

activity, called calamendiol, significantly increased in the participants after consuming the grass-fed beef. The analysis also found that the grass-fed beef contained significantly higher levels of certain beneficial amino acids, including threonine and serine. Additionally, it had higher levels of DIBOA trihexose, a metabolite studied for its potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The researchers concluded that this study provides evidence that grass-fed and conventionally raised beef have distinct metabolomic profiles, influencing both the composition of the beef itself and the metabolites detected in human plasma after consumption. While the study did not directly establish health outcomes associated with consuming grass-fed versus conventional beef, the presence of several metabolites linked to oxidative stress reduction and inflammation modulation suggests potential benefits. This study gives new meaning to the saying, “You are what you eat”—perhaps it’s time to update it to “You are what your food eats.”

Vitamin D Status in First Trimester Linked to Pregnancy Outcomes and Fetal Growth A recent study from Penn State found that women with low vitamin D levels in the first trimester of pregnancy were four times more likely to have a preterm birth than women with high levels of the vitamin. The study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, analyzed data from 351 pregnant women, including their serum vitamin D levels in the first and second trimesters, markers of fetal growth, and length of gestational period. Women with low vitamin D levels (<16 ng/mL) in the first trimester were 4.35 times more likely to deliver at less than 37 weeks, compared to women with higher levels of vitamin D (>32 ng/mL). The researchers also found that vitamin D status in the first trimester was linked to fetal growth patterns from the second trimester to birth. Specifically, for every 4 ng/mL increase in first-trimester vitamin D levels, there was a small but statistically significant increase in fetal length markers. This measure can be an indicator of fetal skeletal development, an important component of overall fetal health. Interestingly, the study did not find a significant link between the vitamin D status of the women in the second trimester and pregnancy outcomes and fetal growth patterns, only the first trimester. This difference suggests that the first trimester may be a critical timepoint for addressing vitamin D status in pregnancy.

For references, please visit: naturalgrocers.com/issue-95

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