Author: nick bedrosian

In todays modern world, living a healthy life may seem like a tall order – juggling exercise and nutrition, all while working a full-time job. You have been told that all those delicious foods that you begin to crave as dinner approaches, T-bone steaks and ribeye’s, are not the healthiest for you. It seems like the only “healthy” foods nowadays are bland salads and other, yawn, boring greens. But what if we told you that the most delicious, mouthwatering umami-flavor in the world IS healthy? Yes, believe it or not Fullblood Wagyu can be just as healthy as that chopped salad you got at that trendy new salad place downtown. Buckle up, today’s topic is a throwback to the chemistry of why Wagyu beef is healthy for you.

First things first, lets talk energy. Your body needs energy in the form of calories to function daily. Everytime you jump out of bed, leave the house, or breathe (respiration), your body is using calories to power those functions. Now, this brings us to our next topic, how do we get those calories?

You guessed it – food, food, and more food. All the food we eat provides us our fuel source, calories. Now, not each food source is identical. Food can be broken down macro nutritionally into: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. All three of these macronutrients can be broken down into calories in the human body and serve important physiological roles. Meat contains fats and protein, amongst many other essential vitamins such as Iron, Zinc, VB3 and more. We already know the benefits of protein, so let’s talk fats.

While normal angus beef contains saturated fats, did you know that Wagyu beef has a completely different fatty acid profile? Yes, Wagyu has a higher percentage of monounsaturated fats because it contains an enzyme called delta 9-desaturase, which takes stearic acid (saturated fatty acid) and converts it into oleic acid (an unsaturated fatty acid). This gives Wagyu similar health benefits to what you would find in Salmon!

So, what makes monounsaturated fats healthier you ask? Monounsaturated fats lower your LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol and increase HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol. HDL cholesterol can be filtered through the human liver while LDL cannot. As LDL circulates through your body it accumulates on your artery walls. The gradual accumulation of LDL is what causes plaque build up and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Enough science for one day – the moral of the story is that certain foods can be both delicious and healthy. So next time you savor a mouthwatering Fullblood ribeye or gourmet fullblood burger, rest assured you are getting the best of both worlds.

Interested in learning more about the amazing world of Wagyu? Subscribe to the Wagyu Republic email list for interesting updates and explore the “Learn” section of the site!

So, you know a thing or two about Wagyu. You’ve enjoyed that rich umami flavor Wagyu beef is so famous for. You’ve scoured the internet, exploring all of the varieties of Wagyu beef that you could find. But how did it all begin? How did Wagyu become the cultural phenomena it is today? Today’s topic is going to dive deep into the history of Wagyu and give you a comprehensive understanding how Wagyu got to where it is today.

Our story begins in Imperial era Japan. For hundreds of years, eating meat had been considered a taboo practice due to strong Buddhist influence in the country. Cattle were bred and selected purely for their physical traits. However, these taboos slowly begun to fade away under the Meji government of the 1860s and 1870s. Japanese society became focused on adopting western practices and technology as quickly as possible.

Over the next fifty years, countless breeds of foreign cattle would be imported into Japan with the goal of creating a new culture of beef consumption. The interbreeding of these many cattle breeds (including the indigenous cattle of Japan) ultimately created what we know as “Wagyu” today.

These amazing animals were methodically reared by cohorts of Japanese ranchers in almost every region of the country. The finest Wagyu cattle raised in the Hyogo prefecture would go on to be known as the now famous “Kobe beef”. The Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures would also become meccas for the Wagyu breed. Seeing the success of the breed across the country, the Japanese government would go on to not only ban the import of foreign breeds into Japan but also ban the export of Wagyu as well.

Let’s fast forward to 1976. After nearly one hundred years of isolation in Japan, the Wagyu breed would finally make its mark in the United States with the now historic export of four Wagyu bulls to the University of Colorado. This brief period when these animals could be freely exported to the US lasted until 1997. In that time, roughly 200 Wagyu animals would be imported by American ranchers, creating the original seed stock of Wagyu found in the US today.

That original seedstock has now ballooned up to 26,000 animals according to the American Wagyu Association. While still making up a tiny proportion (about 0.029%) of the total US cattle population, Wagyu continues to grow more mainstream every year.

As consumers become increasingly interested in learning where their meat comes from, we believe the golden era of Wagyu in the United States is on the horizon. At Wagyu Republic, we only source beef from small-scale ranchers that not only have a great reputation in the well-connected world of Wagyu ranching but have also shown a passion for rearing Wagyu just like the ranchers in Japan have for so many decades.

Interested in learning more about the amazing world of Wagyu? Subscribe to the Wagyu Republic email list for interesting updates and explore the “Learn” section of the site!

Fullblood Wagyu Collection