Amercans are becoming increasingly better educated about healthy eating. We are slowly easing fats and sugars out of our diets, juicing our hearts out and crafting our fatty acid ratio into a healty omega-3:omega-6 ratio into a healthy 6 to 3. Now, the experts are telling us, we should be eating more grass-fed meat, as opposed to meat from cattle that has been raised on grain, and looking toward elk steaks online as the route to a healthier, more productive lifestyle.
Underpinning the Paleo Diet is the assumption that the human digestive system had evolved to suit a hunter-gatherer diet. The digestive enzymes necessary to metabolize dairy products and grains had not yet evolved nor, apparently, have they to date. The human diet has evolved faster than its digestive system.
Like us animals are what they eat. This is just as true for those lower down the food chain as it is for ourselves. Unlike proteins, which are genetically programmed and do not vary depending on the diet of the organism, the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) fraction of the diet changes with the diet of the animal that is destined to end up on a dining table.
This is important because the ratio of omega-6 PUFAs to omega-3 is far too high (20 to 1) in grain-fed cattle, whereas it is a healthy 3 to 1 in cattle that have been raised on a pasture. Omega-3 fatty acids are important for general cellular health as well as in the prevention and treatment of coronary artery disease, cancer, hypertension, arthritis and other immune system disorders. Because these PUFAs cannot be manufactured within the body, they must be consumed in the diet.
Cattle fed on grass are also more lean than their cereal-consuming counterparts. Compared to their Fruit Loop-munching cousins, pasture fet cows also have a 7% total fatty acid content, compared to a scant 1% in grain-fed creatures.
Sheep, cows and deer can take the nutrients in grass and make them palatable and digestible for human consumption. Human metabolism lacks the necessary enzymes. Eating meat from these helpful animals helps ensure we get the widest selection of nutrients that we require, not just to stay alive, but to live healthily, productively and happily.
There are ethical reasons to choose grass over grain. Animals obtain the grass they eat by being raised on acres and acres of open pasture, where they have the freedom to roam wherever they choose. Grain-eating animals are forced to live in confined areas known as CAFO, or confined animal feed lots. Because they are crammed so close together, CAFO-dwelling cattle get more bacterial infections. Why should you worry about a cow with a cold? Infected hamburger meat can kill you.
Elk meat is naturally low in fats and cholesterol and rich in protein. The meat is dark and red in color. Because it has a strong, beefy flavor of its own and because it is naturally tender, it does not need to be marinated before cooking.
Underpinning the Paleo Diet is the assumption that the human digestive system had evolved to suit a hunter-gatherer diet. The digestive enzymes necessary to metabolize dairy products and grains had not yet evolved nor, apparently, have they to date. The human diet has evolved faster than its digestive system.
Like us animals are what they eat. This is just as true for those lower down the food chain as it is for ourselves. Unlike proteins, which are genetically programmed and do not vary depending on the diet of the organism, the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) fraction of the diet changes with the diet of the animal that is destined to end up on a dining table.
This is important because the ratio of omega-6 PUFAs to omega-3 is far too high (20 to 1) in grain-fed cattle, whereas it is a healthy 3 to 1 in cattle that have been raised on a pasture. Omega-3 fatty acids are important for general cellular health as well as in the prevention and treatment of coronary artery disease, cancer, hypertension, arthritis and other immune system disorders. Because these PUFAs cannot be manufactured within the body, they must be consumed in the diet.
Cattle fed on grass are also more lean than their cereal-consuming counterparts. Compared to their Fruit Loop-munching cousins, pasture fet cows also have a 7% total fatty acid content, compared to a scant 1% in grain-fed creatures.
Sheep, cows and deer can take the nutrients in grass and make them palatable and digestible for human consumption. Human metabolism lacks the necessary enzymes. Eating meat from these helpful animals helps ensure we get the widest selection of nutrients that we require, not just to stay alive, but to live healthily, productively and happily.
There are ethical reasons to choose grass over grain. Animals obtain the grass they eat by being raised on acres and acres of open pasture, where they have the freedom to roam wherever they choose. Grain-eating animals are forced to live in confined areas known as CAFO, or confined animal feed lots. Because they are crammed so close together, CAFO-dwelling cattle get more bacterial infections. Why should you worry about a cow with a cold? Infected hamburger meat can kill you.
Elk meat is naturally low in fats and cholesterol and rich in protein. The meat is dark and red in color. Because it has a strong, beefy flavor of its own and because it is naturally tender, it does not need to be marinated before cooking.
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