HeartBrand Beef

Texas Akaushi cattle are 100 percent pure and are direct descendants of the Mount Aso region's revered Akaushi herds that are a National Treasure and protected breed by the government of Japan. HeartBrand Beef Incorporated has respected the deep Japanese traditions and embraced the healthy results of source-verified herd management in a natural environment.

HeartBrand Beef has developed and implemented a comprehensive vertically integrated quality control and natural production system from conception to consumption that excludes the use of growth hormones. Akaushi cattle in our program are managed with minimum stress and treated in accordance to the USDA Humane Handling Standards and Guidelines.

What's so unique about Akaushi cattle? Akaushi cattle produce meat that has a high amount of intramuscular fat – commonly known as marbling. It is healthier due to its unique fatty acid composition when compared to other domestic beef. Akaushi meat is very tender, juicy and flavorful and it is consider by the Japanese and many beef experts to be the most palatable, and yet healthy, beef in the world. These attributes make Akaushi beef more desirable to western consumers than other U.S. meat.

Akaushi meat contains extremely high amounts of intramuscular fat or marbling with a fatty acid composition that is significantly lower in saturated fat and cholesterol and higher in monounsaturated fat, and Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA). CLA is a very beneficial and essential fatty acid in human nutrition that has been the subject of intensive worldwide research over the last 10 years.

CLA, the acronym for Conjugated Linoleic Acid, is a collective term used to describe one or more positional and geometric isomers of Linoleic Acid, an essential fatty acid for human health. Studies in experimental models have shown CLA to slow the growth of a wide variety of tumors, including cancers of the skin, breast and prostate. Research has also found that CLA can help control insulin levels and reduce diabetes, as well as help to increase weight loss – especially in women's trouble areas, lowered cholesterol, regulated bone loss and reduced risk of heart disease.

CLA occurs naturally in many foods such as beef, lamb, dairy products, poultry and eggs. Typically, an individual would need to consume high quantities of these natural products, or processed safflower supplements, to gain the desired health benefits from CLA.

Now, HeartBrand Beef offers a natural source of CLA that can easily produce desired health benefits with little effort on the part of the consumer. HeartBrand Beef's naturally raised Akaushi cattle are one of the highest sources of natural CLA in beef.

CLA Health Links

Controlling Diabetes New Discovery Helps Reinforce Beef's Nutrition Message – Beef USA

Compound in Meat Prevents Diabetes – Purdue University, Newswise

Updated Listing on CLA literature