LivingWell Integrative Healthcare

    Most people are so far removed from their food sources that they have no idea what I'm talking about when I say this.  I often hear people say, "Oh, I don't eat red meat, I only eat chicken and fish". Well, here's the shocking truth. If you are buying commerially raised chicken and fish, it more than likely has more fat than the beef that I buy. "How can that be?", you say. Here's the facts.   

    If an animal is fed it's natural diet, you will get omega 3 (good fat) from the product. That goes for the meat, as well as the eggs, milk, cheese, butter or anything else you consume from that animal. On the other hand, if an animal is fed something other than it's natural diet, such as corn or other grains, you will get omega 6 (bad fat) from the product you consume.  Commercially raised animals are usually kept in confinement and continuously fed grain (usually corn because it's cheap) because it bulks them up quickly. Often chickens and cows never see daylight and their feet never touch grass. Fish are being raised in ponds or in cages in  rivers and also being fed grain (which we all know can't possibly be their natural diet).  All of these animals are given antibiotics because they are unhealthy and would otherwise die. The cows and salmon are being injected with hormones and the chicken are being fed food laced with arsenic to make them grow faster (the FDA doesn't allow hormone injections in poultry). When salmon raised this way are harvested, the meat is white, so it is dyed pink; and the darker they dye it, the more they charge per pound! If you've ever had fresh, wild, Alaskian salmon, you can taste the difference right away.

    Another benefit to consuming dairy products from a cow raised on pasture is a fat called CLA or conjugated linoleic acid.  CLA is a good fat that helps fight certain cancer cells such as breast and colon cancer; AND it will help you lose weight! Stressed cows raised in confinement will not produce CLA, even if you fed them nothing but hay. But you have to be careful when you're navigating the grocery store. Just because a brand of milk may say "organic", that doesn't mean the cows were allowed to graze and eat grass.  Organic simple means that the food the cows were given had no chemical fertilizer or pesticides, and the cows probably were not injected with hormones. However,they could still have been fed organically raised corn which means you are getting omega 6 fat and no CLA.  You have to know what they animal ate to know if it's ok. That's why I have chosen to get my meat and dairy products from local farmers that I have a direct relationship with. Farmers that understand God's plan and go with it rather than trying to alter it for the sake of money.