To eat or not to eat...

Michael Pollan really hit the nail on the head with this one in his 2006 best seller the Omnivore's Dilemma when he asked the big question "what should we eat?" Eating at its most basic and primal level, that is for survival purposes, should be as instinctual and require as much thought as say, should I breath in on the next breath, or breath out... so why then are we a nation of unhealthy malnourished pharma-dependent ticking time bombs?

The truth is our healthy relatively disease free hunter gatherer ancestors did not spend time quandering over this very basic question while lost somewhere between the aisle of frozen packaged science projects and that of prepackaged artificial everything at their local grocery store. No, instead they walked twenty-thirty miles a day in search of something to hunt while possibly gathering along the way. The concept, not necessarily the act itself, was as easy as they come... We see something moving up ahead, so we kill it in order to feed ourselves (our bodies) the protein, saturated fat, and fat soluble vitamins we desperately need to survive... end of story!

Yet modern industrialized civilizations have made satisfying this most basic of urges as difficult as deciding which crook to vote into office.

So back to the question at hand, how do we decide whether something should be part of our healthy diet or not?

Unfortunately the healthy more "perfect world" of hunting and gathering does not exist in our modern society. Sure people hunt; deer season, pheasant season, duck season, Wabbit season... ok that last one might be lost on anyone whose cartoon watching years was post 1980s but I digress... very few hunt as their sole source of protein/fat intake, and the only gathering being done is in the grocery store aisles I mentioned above, and we all know where this kind of diet gets us... copay after copay, doctor visit after doctor visit, prescription after prescription with an inevitable disease ending.

So what to eat?

I think we can come to an easy answer by asking these two simple questions before putting whatever it is in our mouths.

1. Does the food promote or inhibit inflammation? As we should have learned by now, the root cause of EVERY disease is inflammation of some kind. This goes for the obvious ones like crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and other chronic inflammatory disease, all the way to the less obvious ones like autoimmune diseases, heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. So job one in maintaining a healthy diet has to be making sure our bodies are not a fertile breeding ground for inflammation. This means drastically limiting or eliminating anything that promotes inflammation. Easier said than done possibly... our industrialized factory farmed food system promotes an unhealthy lethal ratio of Omega-6:3 of nearly 20:1, where a healthy ratio of Omega-6:3 should be 2:1, 1:1, or anything where we have more Omega-3 in our bodies than 6. So why is this so hard? We live in a world where 90% of the meat available to us is of the grain (corn) and legume (soy) fed verity, and these foods are high in Omega-6 (inflammation). Oh but the "experts" will tell you to eat more fish, but much of the store bought fish is either farmed (fed corn) or depending on the type of fish and the waters it was caught in is so full of mercury and PCB's that they should be avoided on that basis alone. So the question is asked again, what to eat? Simply put, all locally raised organic grass fed and free range meets, eggs, and dairy products have healthy 'inflammation inhibiting' ratios of Omega-6:3, and therefore our diets should consist of only these types of purchased animal food sources. This means avoid all factory farmed animal products. Oh but the "experts" will tell you a healthy diet should consist of plenty whole grains. This would be true if by healthy we meant 'promotes inflammation', but since we know this is not true we should drastically limit or avoid these types of foods (grains and legumes) for the very same reasons the animals we consume should avoid them.
2. Does the food promote a healthy gut? The 'gut' or digestive tract is the gateway to our immune system; as a matter of fact just as we can substitute inflammation and disease, I think we can safely substitute and healthy gut and a healthy immune system. In order to maintain a healthy gut (immune system) we need to make sure our diet provides and promotes healthy flora and a balanced ph for the environment for which they thrive. This means our diet should consist of foods high in digestive enzymes, healthy bacteria, and a healthy neutral ph. Avoiding foods that are difficult and in some cases impossible to completely digest (such as grains) will go a long way in promoting a healthy gut. I also believe that we should incorporate more fermented foods in our diets; my wife and I do this by making our own sauerkraut. Fermenting foods eliminates anti-nutrients, increases the levels of nutrients in the food, and adds a healthy dose of healthy bacteria. I'm itching to try fermenting milk but I will hold off until I can find a readily available source of raw grass fed milk; not yet legal in my home state.

So the next time you are deciding what to eat, ask yourself the two questions above.

Fresh Organic Free-Range Eggs (part 1)

Part one in a series of many....

About 3 months ago my wife and I decided that we wanted to contribute to this "organic sustainable" lifestyle that we so passionately and actively support. Although I would love to have a farm similar to that of where we get our lamb and chicken (table birds) from, as my wife reminds me 1.25 acres is not enough land to have a ruminant (cow, sheep, etc.). So I (we) settled for chickens, and a better choice we couldn't have made!

Up until now we have been buying our eggs locally from some of the farms in our area, and although we strongly support our local organic farms we have always felt that eggs seemed to be an afterthought in most cases; something that they provide, but not their area of expertise for lack of a better word. So what better of a way to contribute to this lifestyle we live, 'local food raised right', then to raise laying hens... and so we did.

The benefits are many; fresh organic eggs every day, a highly nutritious food packed with vitamin D and Omega-3, some of the best natural fertilizer around, and the joy of knowing you are doing something right.

With the past 5 years or so of knowledge in the area of health and diet that I've gained from research, experience, and my own trials and tribulations, I wanted to make sure that we entered this venture of 'man and farm animal' with the same motto I like to live (eat) by; "You are what your food eats!"

Although the past 3 months or so that we've had the chickens (4 hens and 5 pullets) has been a learning experience for us, I have learned a lot and would like to share a few important things with you.

1. Free Range, free range, free range! We currently have 200ft of electric fence surrounding a piece of our property which includes their coop, a mulberry tree, and plenty of grass and clover, and all the bugs they can find.
2. Organic Whole Grains. Just as nutrient rich organic and unprocessed whole grains benefit your body where their processed counterparts fall short, they will surely benefit your chickens as well! I have recently switched, thanks in part to much insight from the local organic farm where we by our table birds, from an organic "layer mash" which is basically ground up grains and grain by products, to a diet consisting of organic whole wheat berries, organic whole corn, and organic whole oats.
   
3. An Open Coop Policy! The bottomless coop we use, which we purchased locally from a retired man who builds them, is 8ft long by 4ft wide by ~5ft high, and aside from the nesting box area which takes up about 1/4 of the coop it is open to daylight and a cool breeze that comes right through the chicken wire that encloses all four sides. We keep the coop door open during the day so the chickens can freely come and go as they please. I plan to make a 2nd coop myself...
4. Fresh grass for grazing daily! It is important that chickens have fresh grass to free range on, and that means grass that isn't covered with their, well, droppings... In the wild a grazing animal will eat and move, contently roaming in search of green pasture. They don't stick around to eat around there poop. If you have enough land (or very understanding neighbors) where your chickens can roam absolutely freely then this is not a problem, but if you contain them to a limited portion of your property then you must take an active role in resolving this issue. That means pasture rotation and or picking up the chicken droppings, I do both. Because I don't rotate the pasture every day, I collect the poop in a bucket (which ultimately ends up in my compost), in both the coop and their pasture.
   
5. This may be the most important thing to remember, Enjoy! You will find that watching chickens do their thing is not only very relaxing but also funny at times.
   

1 in 12 Kids may Have Food Allergies!

A recent headline reads "1 in 12 Kids may have food allergies", and nearly 40 of those affected have severe reactions!

With statistics like this you would think researchers, physicians, and the FDA would put the much needed time, effort, and money into where it's needed the most (our nation's food industry) and fix this broken system that is taking it's toll on an all too trusting public.

I have posted a number of times regarding my thoughts on what I feel is an obvious link between food allergies and the way we (as a society) eat, or more accurately what we're not eating. The average American is an ideal breeding ground for inflammation in all its many forms. This is an indisputable ugly fact with more and more evidence piling up in the form of diseases and disorders; heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, obesity, cancer, food allergies, and basically any other organ/tissue/muscle/tendon related ailment.

The majority of people have 12-20 times the amount of Omega-6 (which promotes inflammation) compared to Omega-3 (one of nature's best anti-inflammatories) in their body, and this equals trouble plain and simple. We live in an a fast paced world of quick and easy ready to eat overly processed pre-made meals that are high in everything that we don't need (saturated fat, sodium, omega-6, and countless cancer causing chemicals) and more or less lacking in anything beneficial to our health.

So what's the answer you ask?

How about this...

1. Eat More LOCAL ORGANIC fresh produce and Eat Less pre-packaged already prepared non-organic "fresh or frozen" vegetables
2. Eat More ORGANIC LOCALLY RAISED PASTURED meats, poultry and eggs and Eat Less of the corn-fed antibiotic and hormone infused non-organic grocery store bought kind.
3. Eat Less processed foods and MAKE SURE those that you do eat are ORGANIC with minimal ingredients.
4. Know Where you food is coming from and DEMAND ORGANIC SUSTAINABLE practices.
5. MAKE MORE meals from scratch and STOP looking for meal shortcuts
   
6. CARE about what you feed yourself and your family and STOP ASSUMING others have your needs and your health in mind.
7. LIVE Happy and Healthy!
   

Allergies and Inflammation

I would like to show the link between Allergies and Inflammation, and give my opinion on why I feel the dramatic rise in allergies (both food and seasonal) reported in the United States has a direct link to this country's food source.

As you know inflammation in one form or another is at the heart of most all of the rising health epidemics in this country; whether its Rheumatoid Arthritis, Tendonitis, Bursitis, cardiovascular issues such as heart disease, Cancer, Alzheimer's, Asthma, and many other diseases and disorders that affect nearly every organ in the body.

But what about allergies? Well we know that when the body suffers an allergic reaction, this reaction is an natural inflammatory response to what your body perceives as foreign, harmful, unwanted intruders within the body. The more severe the threat is perceived to be, the more severe the reaction.

Although this is a natural response by the immune system intended to protect the body, there is nothing natural about the dramatic rise in allergies as well as the severity of these allergies for which our population is suffering from. More and more children and adults alike are being diagnosed with severe allergies at an alarming rate, and its time the medical community sees the connection.

Now we've all been told been told the basics; take an Omega-3 supplement and eat a "Mediterranean" diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, fish and poultry, while limiting your intake of red meat and eggs, depending on what the "latest studies" have shown in a given year... That's where it stops though, and THAT is where the problem lies!

Omega-3 fatty acid is probably one of the most important anti-inflammatories that nature has provided us with, but the problem is we are not getting it naturally. Nature has provided a healthy menu rich in Omega-3 for all of its Herbivores that natural free-graze or free-range to dine from (grass and or plants), on the other hand industrialized farming has conveniently cut this healthy food source out of their diet and replaced it with grains (primarily corn) which are naturally high in Omega-6; this goes for all of the beef, chicken, pork, fish, and eggs that you will find at the grocery store as well as at any fast food joint and at most all restaurants.

So it is no wonder that the healthy ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 that must be maintained within the body (approximately 1:1 omega-6 to omega-3) has been drastically distorted to the extent of 10:1 (to in some cases nearly 20:1) for the average American!

Omega-6 in excess promotes inflammation while Omega-3 has been said to act as microscopic ice packs working from within the body to reduce inflammation.

My point is this, you can't put out a gas fire by sprinkling some water on it. Unless you cut off the fuel the fire will continue to burn, and the same goes for inflammation within the body. You can't simply say take an Omega-3 supplement and maintain a diet of fish and poultry (instead of red meat), if the fish and poultry you are eating are fueling the fire.

Make sure you eat only organic pastured meats, poultry, and eggs, all rich in Omega-3, and stop inflammation at the source!

Omega-3 Search Completed

It's been a long grueling search for a high quality omega-3 supplement that does not contain soy, but I think the search is over. I have come across a company by the name of Renewed Health Supply who carries a product called Blue Ice- Fermented Cod Liver Oil.

Now I know it doesn't sound very appealing, and I admit the taste does take some getting used to, but the truth is this may be the best source of omega-3 on the market. As you probably know by now processing is one of the biggest killers when it comes to the nutritional value of the food we eat, and the same goes for supplements. The more processes a food source undergoes and the more intense these processes are to the original integrity of the food source itself, the less nutritional value the end product has. And that's where fermented cod liver oil rises above the rest! The only process this oil undergoes aside from the initial extraction of course, is a natural process that can actually increase the nutritional value of food... fermentation.

Fermentation is a natural process that actually precedes humans, but since ancient times humans have been controlling this process for their own benefit. Its benefits include the enrichment of food (both in flavor and nutritionally), preservation of food, and the elimination of anti-nutrients making the fermented food healthier and easier to digest. (Wikipedia)

Blue Ice fermented cod liver oil uses this very process to deliver a nutrient rich product not only high in omega-3, but vitamins A and D as well. As listed on their website the benefits include:

1. Unique nutrient profile
2. Serving size is small
3. Cost per dose is excellent
4. Possess variety of enzymes/nutrients absent in industrialized products
5. Does not contain any added vitamin E.

For those of you who are curious about Vitamin D and A levels, for a 2 ml (less than 1/2 tsp) serving size (118 per bottle) the levels equate to:
- Vitamin D 190% of Daily recommended value which equals 760 IU
- Vitamin A 75% of Daily recommended value which equals 3750 IU

(Renewed Health Supply)



Stay Healthy!

Omega-3 Supplements

I've been searching high and low for a good omega-3 supplement ever since I realized that I had a soy allergy. It seemed every brand (pill or liquid) had either soy lecithin or vitamin E (always derived from soy), all of which left me fishing for another brand...

I have recently come across a brand that not only does not contain soy in any way (or so they assured me when I inquired about it), but seems to be (at first glance) a decent supplement; ingredients derived from a good clean source as well as free of artificial additives and fillers. I am still waiting to see what my kinesiologist thinks of it, and only time will tell whether or not I experience any sort of allergic reaction from taking them... as I'm sure the rest of you soy allergy sufferers know, all it takes is a trace of soy to spark a reaction.

The brand name is Salmon Oil Plus and it's distributed by GNLD International. I will keep you posted as to my own personal "testimonial", and I would be very interested in hearing yours.

Stay healthy!

Pigaerator Pork... There really is a difference!

Joel Salatin (Polyface Farm) preaches many things but he continually stresses two major points for organic sustainable farming, and that is he is nothing more than a grass farmer. He'll tell you that if you pay attention to the grass, knowing when to move the animals on or off a pasture, nature will do the rest. He believes that farming is about rotating your pastures of closely herded animals, mimicking a grazer's movement in the wild, at just the right time, not too soon and not too late, and that's all there is to it; not letting the pigs or cows over graze any one area, and letting the chickens follow behind when the grass shoots are only a few days old (when they're the tastiest to the chickens). He says embrace the pigness of the pig or the chickness of the chicken, or in other words let the animals be themselves and not what "man" has turned them into; fat sickly corn fed animals that are doing something far greater than feeding a nation, their killing a nation!

If the cow was designed, biologically speaking (its digestive system), to graze pastures then don't pack them in overcrowded feedlots standing in their own feces feeding them grains (corn and soy) and ground up meat!

If the chicken was designed to be natures clean-up crew, eating bugs hiding within that jungle beneath the blades of grass, as well as eating the grass, then don't clip their beaks, pack them in dark overcrowded warehouses feeding them grains (corn and soy) and bone meal!

If the pig was meant to forage like any well designed omnivore, then respect the pigness of the pig instead of clipping off their tails, packing them into overcrowded warehouses and feeding them... well you get the picture.

One thing he mentioned during our tour was that pork is not suppose to be "the other white meat", instead a healthy pig has dark meat, and like all grass fed animals far less fat and much higher levels of healthy omega-3s than their corn fed counterparts.

So taste the difference for yourself; eat locally raised organic grass fed meats and taste what you've been missing!

A Healthy Oil Spill

Oils can be a very healthy part of your diet, whether its olive oil, canola, coconut, avocado, peanut... But there are a few details (or guidelines) you should try and adhere to.

1. Chooses "organic unrefined first cold pressed" for the most nutritional benefit, and remember that sediment you may see at the bottom of the bottle is the good stuff so give it a shake before you use it.
   
2. Never buy oil that comes in a plastic container; studies show that chemicals from the plastic can and will leech into the oil rendering it an unhealthy and even toxic mess. Choose glass bottles (tinted if possible to reduce light exposure) that seal tightly.
3. Time is of the essence, so make sure the oil is not too old; many oils (the better brands) will print the date in which they were pressed on the label to show you exactly how old they are.
4. Each oil has a different smoke point which makes certain ones better for a particular uses (frying, broiling, baking, marinating, or simply uncooked) so read the label. An important note to remember here is unrefined oils will have a lower smoke point, so if you buy your olive oil unrefined then choose another oil for higher temps such as avocado, or canola.

Just remember to choose the oil based on what you will use it for; avocado for frying or unrefined olive oil for salads and marinates, coconut or peanut for their unique and distinct flavors, or any of them for their health benefits, and then pour it on!

Targeting Inflamation...

A headline in today's Health section reads...

"What if you could be fat but avoid heart disease or diabetes? Scientists trying to break the fat-and-disease link increasingly say inflammation is the key. In the quest to prove it, a major study is under way testing whether an anti-inflammatory drug — an old, cheap cousin of aspirin — can fight the Type 2 diabetes spurred by obesity… Solving that mystery could point to more targeted treatments for obesity's threats than today's effective but hard-to-follow advice to lose weight."

...and as i read it I shake my head thinking, here we go again! It's seems like another case of trying to get around this countries poor health problem without actually addressing the number one cause, a poor diet.

I agree with only one part of this article and that's the severity of inflammation and its link as a possible underlying cause of many of the health issues plaguing our society. That of course is where my agreeing stops, because anti-inflammatory medication (prescription or over-the-counter) is not and will never be the correct approach to addressing this problem.

Society's poor health is a direct effect of today's poor diet choices. This is not something we should leave for some scientist in a lab to solve, unless you want that solution to be a drug manufactured by one of the many money hungry profit driven pharmaceutical companies. It is our responsibility as a society and as concerned individuals to educate ourselves on healthy living and healthy eating.

It is a fact that corn fed beef (the beef you find at any and all grocery stores) is high in Omega-6 and low in Omega-3, and this goes for non-free-grazed chickens and eggs, and farm raised fish as well.

It is a fact that generations of eating this poor unhealthy food has resulted in a society with its Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio to be extremely lopsided; 10:1 to in some cases 20:1 instead of a more balanced 1:1.

It is a fact that Omega-3 is an anti-inflammatory while Omega-6 promotes inflammation, which can only lead to one reasonable conclusion. Our society suffers from chronic inflammation because our poor diets promote this.

So let me give you my solution... Eat organic grass-fed beef, free-grazed chickens and eggs, and wild caught fish, and you may actually find that if you stop promoting chronic inflammation you may actually stop suffering from it.

Omega-3: What They're Not Telling You

We've all heard from one source or another, the importance of Omega-3 fatty acid in the diet, either through supplementation or eating foods rich in Omega-3. Both are viable sources and both should be considered, but what I feel the "experts" fail to mention is that certain foods (when chosen correctly) can actually be a source of Omega-3 within the diet but more importantly when the wrong kinds are eaten are actually high in Omega-6 (the fatty acid that promotes inflammation within the body) .

We've all heard from one source or another the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acid in the diet, primarily it's amazing ability to combat and even inhibit inflammation within the body. Once again though I feel the "experts" have failed to show how the dots have been connected between the dramatic rise in the numbers of those who suffer from chronic inflammation (be it heart disease, arthritis, tendinitis, etc.) and the increasingly lopsided ratio of Omega-3 and Omega-6 within our diets and as a result within our bodies.

The "experts" will tell you to increase your intake of fish (wild caught of course), nuts, seeds, etc., but when is the last time you had someone tell you that when you eat NONE grass fed beef and NONE free grazed poultry and eggs you are actually increasing the levels of Omega-6 in your diet and in turn causing inflammation; or at least giving it a very hospitable environment.

Feed lot cows fed diets consisting of corn (high in Omega-6) instead of grass as nature intended (and go figure, high in Omega-3) along with mass-produced (or raised) chickens fed you guessed it corn and soy instead of allowing them to be nature's clean-up crew following behind the grass eaters of the animal world, once again promoting an Omega-6 rich diet, are the real cause of this nation-wide Omega-3 shortage.

Choose grass fed free grazed animals, and fix this Omega-3 problem once and for all!

The Free Grazed Difference

It is amazing, the difference between eggs from actual free grazed chickens and those fed corn, soy, or other grains.

The visible difference is in the yokes and it's evident the second you crack them open. They are larger, firmer (less watery), a darker yellow in color, and yes they taste better too; but more importantly though they are much better for you. Eggs from free grazed chickens are much higher in Omega-3, as opposed to those from chickens fed corn (very high in Omega-6).

The tricky thing about purchasing free grazed eggs is actually buying free grazed eggs. I bought the "free grazed" eggs from my local food store (found in the organic section), and it's evident the second you crack the egg that these are not eggs from a free grazed chicken. But how is this possible?

If you do some research you will find that for something to be labeled "free grazed" in needs only access to grass... actually eating the grass is not required. From what I've read the chickens from these large food manufactures (organic or not) are kept inside when they are young to protect them from "harm" lurking outside. Tightly packed together indoors they live the first part of their lives; with their beaks clipped (to prevent them from biting each other out of boredom) they spend their days eating corn or other grains. So when they are finally given access to the outside (probably nothing more than a door way leading to a small patch of fenced in grass), they choose what is familiar to them, the tightly packed indoors.

So what to do?

I buy mine from a local farmer, where I know they are actually free grazed. I don't need writing on the carton to tell that, the yokes do all the talking. Now that I have a house my wife and I plan to have our own laying hens, but until that day comes I will stick with the local farmers.

More Grass Fed Proof

I noticed (driving back and forth to work) that many of the local dairy farmers have their cattle out in the fields grazing on what nature intended them to... grass! So I asked myself, why then do dairy farmers opt for free grazing their cattle and many beef farmers choose to feed them corn?

The answer came to me rather quickly... profit, profit, profit! So what's the difference between a dairy farm and a beef farm?

If you have a dairy farm then your major source of income is milk and other dairy products, and in order to be successful you need healthy cattle. They need their cows to live long healthy lives so they provide them with milk for many years to come, and the best way to maintain healthy cattle is to feed them a healthy diet, and that's where the grass comes in.

On the other hand a beef farmer uses their cattle in a very different way. Because the end product (and in turn the profit) is the cows themselves rather than a byproduct of the cow, they have a much shorter life expectancy. In order to make the most profit and compete in the marketplace, a beef farmer needs his cattle to go from calf to slaughter as quickly as possible and be as large as possible, regardless of the consequences to the cows or those who eat the beef. So in order to achieve this "maximum profit" the farmers are less interested in providing a healthy diet and more interested in a diet that can provide them with fat cows quickly, and that's where the corn comes in.

So the next time you purchase beef, ask yourself if a healthy diet (as well as your health) is important to you, and if so then beef from a healthy cow (i.e. a cow with a healthy diet) should be just as important.

Choose grass fed beef and live healthier!

Omega-3, where have you gone?

Heart disease, high cholesterol, and obesity have become three of the hottest topics when discussing the American diet, and much of the blame has been put on our consumption of red meats, or more specifically our over consumption. If this is the case though than why were our ancestors (the hunter gatherers), or even modern day "hunter gatherer" civilizations for that matter not overtaken by this modern day "American" pandemic?

The answer is (and studies show) the research that has connected these diseases with red meats is incomplete. The dots have been connected but Dr.'s have stopped short of the true cause. Instead of putting the blame on the foods we eat, we should look more closely at the food this food is eating. Over the years the diets of many of our favorite foods (beef, chicken, fish...) have changed drastically from what nature intended, the leaf part of a plant (a diet rich in Omega-3's), to a diet that better suits our societies "mass production" needs, the grain or seed part of the plant (a diet high in Omega-6).

We've been told about the importance of the essential fatty acids (Omega-3 and Omega-6) in our diet, but just as most other nutrients within the body the ratio of the two is more important than the amount, and the ratio within the average American diet has gone too far in the wrong direction. We have gone from a more ideal ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 of 1:1 to something much closer to 10:1 respectively, and many believe that this is the cause of many of today's health problems. But what does this have to do with the food we eat, or more importantly the food our food eats?

Most people have either read or heard about the importance of choosing wild caught salmon over farm raised, but Nutritionists and other health experts point to the level of heavy metals as the main reason. Very little has been said about the lopsided ratio of these essential fatty acids. Farm raised salmon are fed a very similar diet to that of feedlot cattle (the beef we eat too much of), and that's a diet high in grains (a diet high in Omega-6) instead of krill a diet high in Omega-3 and the salmons natural food.

The same can be said for the beef most Americans consume. These cows are raised not on green pastures like nature intended, but in feed lots where their diets consisting of grains (primarily corn) work better for our need; that is a cheap food source that is perfect for a mass-produced product. But at what cost?

This lopsided ratio of Omega-3 (a natural anti-inflammatory and aids in helping blood flow) to Omega-6 (a natural inflammatory and aids in blood clotting) has been linked to many of our nation’s top health issues; heart disease, high cholesterol, and chronic inflammation of any type.

Instead of blaming our health problems on the food we eat, let’s take a better look at the true cause of this epidemic...us!

Corn-Fed Cows...Not a Healthy Choice

Omega-3 fatty acid is key to a healthy diet, but Americans get far too little of it. There are many food sources rich in omega-3; fish, nuts, seeds, etc., but the average American diet is not high in any of those foods. Not eating foods high in omega-3 is the obvious part of the problem though, another factor may actually come from a very unlikely source. Have you ever wondered what the difference between grass fed cows and corn fed cows was?

"We've come to think of "corn-fed" as some kind of old-fashioned virtue, which it may well be when you're referring to Midwestern children, but feeding large quantities of corn to cows for the greater part of their lives is a practice neither particularly old nor virtuous. Its chief advantage is that cows fed corn, a compact source of caloric energy, get fat quickly; their flesh also marbles well, giving it a taste and texture American consumers have come to like. Yet this corn-fed meat is demonstrably less healthy for us, since it contains more saturated fat and less omega-3 fatty acids than the meat of animals fed grass. A growing body of research suggests that many of the health problems associated with eating beef are really problems with con-fed beef."

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Omega-3 Supplements

Unless you live your life completely disconnected from the outside world, you've probably heard on the news or read an article pertaining to the importance of Omega-3 in the diet. Whether it's a supplement being pushed or simply foods high in Omega-3, there's no denying this is one hot topic. Now being a health nut myself I couldn't agree more, but being someone who is allergic to soy I have to constantly travel a different path in order to reach my destination.

As I've mentioned before many supplements contain soy due to the added Vitamin E (d-alpha tocopheral) which is usually derived from soy beans, and omega-3 supplements are no exception...especially in the liquid form. Manufactures use it to "help preserve the fish oil freshness", but for someone who has a soy allergy this can be a problem. I've been told by certain manufactures that do to the process used there should be no soy remaining in the end product, but for myself I have found that if Vitamin E is on the label it means soy. This causes us to look for food sources high in omega-3 instead of getting our daily intake through supplements, and there are many out there.

One of the biggest things I've learned since finding out about my allergies, is that there is no substitute to a healthy diet when it comes to getting all of the nutrients our body needs. I'm not saying people should not take supplements, I take some myself, but it is my belief that supplements should not be a substitute for a healthy diet.