| A Quick Review of the Fats That Make Up Your Body
All food
fats are a blend of the different types, saturated and
unsaturated. Unsaturated fats include poly- and monounsaturated
fats. omega-3s and 6s are types of polyunsaturated fats,
called essential because we have to get them from food,
our bodies can't manufacture them from other fats.
The Story on the Good Fats
and Bad Fats
Whereas cellular
proteins are genetically determined, the polyunsaturated
fatty acids composition of all cell membranes is to
a great extent dependent on the dietary intake.
There are
many kinds of fats in the body. Some of the most crucial
fats are in the list of compounds that make up the cell
walls for all of the body's cells.
After isolating
these fats scientific experiments determined that if
the ratio of omega 6 fats to omega 3 fats exceeds 4:1,
people have more health problems. This is especially
meaningful since grain-fed beef can have ratios that
exceed 20:1 whereby grass-fed beef is down around 3:1.
Similar ratios
are also found in all grain-fed versus grass-fed livestock
products.
Grassfed products are rich in all the fats
now proven to be health-enhancing, but low in the fats
that have been linked with disease.
If you want
to read a comprehensive review of omega 3 fats along
with 78 references to the clinical literature you can
read Omega 3 Oils.
Why are Omega 3 Fatty Acids
Important For Your Health?
Omega 3 fatty
acids are essential for normal growth and may
play an important role in the prevention and
treatment of:
- coronary artery disease
- hypertension
- arthritis
- cancer
- other inflammatory and autoimmune disorders
Your Body Can't Make These
Fats So You Have to Get Them From Your Diet
Omega 3 and
omega 6 fats are not interconvertible in your body and
are important components of practically all cell
membranes.
Whereas the
proteins in your cell are genetically determined, the
unsaturated fats of all your cell membranes is to a
great extent determined on what you eat.
Therefore
you need sufficient amounts of dietary omega 6 and omega
3 fats and they need to be balanced for normal development.
Your Diet Has Evolved From Your Ancient Ancestors
On
the basis of estimates from studies in Paleolithic nutrition and
modern-day hunter-gatherer populations, humans evolved
on a diet that was much lower in saturated
fatty acids than is today's diet. Furthermore,
the diet contained small but roughly
equal amounts of omega 6 and omega 3 fats.
Plant Fat Ratios
In the past
100 years there has been a rapid and unprecedented
change in our diet. The modern vegetable oil
industry was developed, and it is based on oil from
seeds rich in omega 6 fats. Modern agriculture increased
production by emphasizing grain feeds for domestic livestock,
and grains are rich in omega 6 fats. Therefore, aggressive,
industrialized agricultural management techniques
have decreased the omega 3 fat content in many
foods: green leafy vegetables, animal meats, eggs, and
even fish.
This imbalance
where omega 6 fats levels exceed omega 3 levels can
be seen by comparing wild edible plants and wild animals
and birds with products of modern agriculture. Products
of modern agriculture frequently have drastically lower
omega 3 levels. It is estimated that man evolved with
a omega 6 to omega 3 ratio of one to one from both meat
and vegetable sources.
Today the
vegetable sources have an estimated omega 6:3 ratio
of 10 to one. The
modern diet of meat, fish, chicken, and vegetable oils
has a ratio estimated to be 20
or 25 to one.
Eggs and Beef Fat Ratios
Chickens
that eat vegetables high in omega 3 fats, along with
insects and lots of fresh green grass, supplemented
with fresh and dried fruit, and small amounts of corn
Range fed
eggs have an omega 6:3 ratio of 1.5
to one whereas the "supermarket egg"has
a ratio of 20 to one.
Modern agriculture's
emphasis on increased production has led to the development
of chicken feed that is being reflected in the out-of-balance
ratio of fatty acids in the "supermarket egg."
North Dakota
State University conducted a study on the nutritional
differences between grass-fed and grain-fed
bison. The results of that study closely followed that
of the egg studies. The grass-fed bison had omega 6
to omega 3 ratios of 4.0
to one, and the grain-fed bison had ratios
of 21 to one.
Additional
studies by others clearly show that the longer
cattle are fed grain, the greater the
fatty acid imbalance. For instance, after 200
days in the feedlot grain-fed cattle have omega 6 to
omega 3 ratios that exceed 20 to one. Many cattle are
fed 200 days or more in the United States.
With the
scientific data that has been published concerning omega
6 and omega 3 fatty acids, we must assume grass-fed
beef is far better
for human nutrition than grain-fed beef. If so, then
having access to grass-fed beef can be very beneficial
for one's health.
And since
REAL Beef has been raised naturally,
without hormones, and without having been
fed antibiotics during
the final phase of their lives, they have added benefits.
Why Not Get Your Omega 3 Fats From Fish?
Fish, while
generally a leaner food choice than beef, is heavily
promoted as a good source of the omega-3 fats.
The problem
with fish is that over half of the US burns coal to
generate electricty and 80,000 pounds of mercury is
dumped into the oceans every year as a result.
Nearly all
fish are contaminated with mercury. It has gotten so
bad that even the conservative US government warns pregnant
women to avoid eating fish. Additionally, it is my recommendation
to avoid all fish, unless you
are absolutely certain that it has been tested in a
laboratory and shown not to contain detectable levels
of mercury and other toxins.
REAL Beef is
Grass Fed Beef and a Major Source of Omega 3 fats
When we switch from grainfed to grassfed meat,
then, we are simply returning to the diet of our long-ago
ancestors, the diet that is most in harmony with our
physiology. Every cell and every system of our bodies
will function better when we eat products from animals
raised on grass.
Grass-fed beef is naturally leaner than grain-fed
beef.
Omega 3s in beef that feed on grass is 7%
of the total fat content, compared to 1% in grain-only
fed beef.
Grass-fed beef has the recommended ratio
of omega 6 to omega 3 fats (3:1.)
Grass-fed beef is loaded with other natural
minerals and vitamins, plus it's a great source of CLA
(conjugated linoleic acid) a fat that reduces the risk
of cancer, obesity, diabetes, and a number of immune
disorders.
Beef, in its natural grass-fed state, is
a health food of the highest order.
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