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best way to fatten livestock is to feed them carbs (ie corn!) grass fed cows grow much much leaner than those on corn

by lingben 12y ago

a_c_s 12y ago
For cows grass is also predominantly carbs! Grass is mostly fiber, which is converted into carbs by the intestinal flora of the cow. So why does corn fatten them better? Is it the macronutrient makeup of digested grass vs digested corn, or is it simply that corn is more calorie dense than grass?
- cstrahan 12y ago
  My understanding is that it's the difference in glycemic index. Corn has a GI of 60, whereas spinach has a GI of 0 (couldn't find the GI for grass, so...). The higher the GI, the more impact on blood sugar and insulin, and insulin causes the body to use sugars over fat for fuel. So how does corn stack up against, say, table sugar? Table sugar has a GI of 68, so cows (or people, for that matter) that consume a lot of corn will have nearly identical effects on their insulin and blood sugar if they were to instead eat an equivalent amount (in terms of carbs) of table sugar. Though I'm not a doctor, that's my understanding. Edit: Also, there's the compounding effect of insulin resistance. The chronically elevated insulin levels result in decreased insulin sensitivity, which means that the body will require more insulin to move glucose out of the bloodstream, while further preventing the use of fat for fuel.
  - lingben 12y ago
    yes, although I'm not an expert it is my understanding that it is the ease with which a food is converted to simple sugars or the glycemic index because then you get the insulin spike
  - a_c_s 12y ago
    You're still treating cows and people as equivalent: thanks to the microorganisms in their guts, cows break down fiber, which is entirely indigestible for humans. Unless you know the glycemic load of both digested corn and digested grass for cows you can't compare them with the figures for humans. And more importantly, drawing nutritional wisdom from such a comparison is foolish at best.
    - cstrahan 12y ago
      "Unless you know the glycemic load of both digested corn and digested grass for cows you can't compare them with the figures for humans. And more importantly, drawing nutritional wisdom from such a comparison is foolish at best." I agree with what your saying. Given what I know about nutrition in humans, I'm suggesting that maybe there's a similar effect in cows. Perhaps someone can chime in regarding the GI for cows, and if similar, it might be something worth further researching. Definitely not suggesting that what applies to humans always applies to cows.
  - nsxwolf 12y ago
    Wouldn't the glycemic index of spinach / grass be higher than 0 for a cow, though? Because they are able to convert it into sugar?

best way to fatten livestock is to feed them carbs (ie corn!) grass fed cows grow much much leaner than those on corn

by lingben 12y ago

best way to fatten livestock is to feed them carbs (ie corn!) grass fed cows grow much much leaner than those on corn

a_c_s 12y ago

For cows grass is also predominantly carbs! Grass is mostly fiber, which is converted into carbs by the intestinal flora of the cow. So why does corn fatten them better? Is it the macronutrient makeup of digested grass vs digested corn, or is it simply that corn is more calorie dense than grass?

cstrahan 12y ago
My understanding is that it's the difference in glycemic index. Corn has a GI of 60, whereas spinach has a GI of 0 (couldn't find the GI for grass, so...). The higher the GI, the more impact on blood sugar and insulin, and insulin causes the body to use sugars over fat for fuel. So how does corn stack up against, say, table sugar? Table sugar has a GI of 68, so cows (or people, for that matter) that consume a lot of corn will have nearly identical effects on their insulin and blood sugar if they were to instead eat an equivalent amount (in terms of carbs) of table sugar. Though I'm not a doctor, that's my understanding. Edit: Also, there's the compounding effect of insulin resistance. The chronically elevated insulin levels result in decreased insulin sensitivity, which means that the body will require more insulin to move glucose out of the bloodstream, while further preventing the use of fat for fuel.
- lingben 12y ago
  yes, although I'm not an expert it is my understanding that it is the ease with which a food is converted to simple sugars or the glycemic index because then you get the insulin spike
- a_c_s 12y ago
  You're still treating cows and people as equivalent: thanks to the microorganisms in their guts, cows break down fiber, which is entirely indigestible for humans. Unless you know the glycemic load of both digested corn and digested grass for cows you can't compare them with the figures for humans. And more importantly, drawing nutritional wisdom from such a comparison is foolish at best.
  - cstrahan 12y ago
    "Unless you know the glycemic load of both digested corn and digested grass for cows you can't compare them with the figures for humans. And more importantly, drawing nutritional wisdom from such a comparison is foolish at best." I agree with what your saying. Given what I know about nutrition in humans, I'm suggesting that maybe there's a similar effect in cows. Perhaps someone can chime in regarding the GI for cows, and if similar, it might be something worth further researching. Definitely not suggesting that what applies to humans always applies to cows.
- nsxwolf 12y ago
  Wouldn't the glycemic index of spinach / grass be higher than 0 for a cow, though? Because they are able to convert it into sugar?