Lean red meat has been included in the diet recommendations made by a number of national health organizations, including:
1. The American Heart Association
2. The Surgeon General of the U.S.
3. The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences
4. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health
5. Numerous other private and non-profit organizations.

Good, lean beef is hard to beat as an excellent source of protein, vitamins, and minerals including iron, zinc and several B vitamins. The high nutritional density of beef makes it an essential part of low-calorie diets, especially for women with greater iron requirements. Beef is rich in heme iron, which is more readily absorbed by the body than is iron from many other foods. Heme iron also enhances the absorption of iron from other food sources.

Recent medical research also indicates that grass-fed beef is nutritionally superior. Studies completed by Dr. Raymond Steen at the Hillsborough Research Institute conclude that cattle on pasture had a ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 series four times greater than beef cattle on high concentrate (typical feedlot) diets. An increase of omega-3 to omega-6 series of fatty acids in the human diet is now considered to be important in reducing the incidence of coronary heart disease and other lifestyle related diseases.

"This research has shown that, as well as having a cleaner, greener, environmentally friendly image, beef from pasture is also likely to be a much better product in terms of human health than beef produced from grain," said Steen. Animals raised on pasture tend to produce a leaner product, therby reducing your intake of saturated fat.