That is the question that many are asking – again – after a new study claims “RED meat will kill you DEAD.”
I think the crucial distinction to make is what kind of red meat we are talking about. When it comes to meat, one important factor that determines whether you are eating a healthy food plan is the quality of the meat. The other factor is the amount.
In terms of quality, meat from pastured, grass-fed, grass-finished animals is heads above any other choice you can make. Animals raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) make up the majority of the protein in American diets. CAFO beef (and poultry) are lacking in most of the valuable nutrients found in organically raised meats because these animals are not being fed a diet that will sustain their health. Animals meant to graze and eat worms and bugs that are fed a diet of GMO corn and soy will never be well animals. The soil these crops are grown in have been over-fertilized, over- sprayed, killing all the life-giving organisms the soil requires to grow a nutritious food supply. In addition, because the animals don’t thrive on this CAFO diet, they are contaminated with hormones, antibiotics, beta-agonist drugs** and pesticides. The animal is what it is fed. You are what you eat. We have no idea how these Round-Up Ready GMO grains might impact the meat itself and us for consuming it. Fat is the storage place for hormones. The fat in the animal carries all the injected hormones and toxins that animal has been exposed to. Our bodies have to deal with getting rid of those toxins when we eat CAFO proteins.
** (Beta-agonists are medications that refocus energy spent on feed conversion to adding fat to animals in the finishing period.) http://www.bovinevetonline.com/news/industry/226319541.html
Some animal protein is beneficial in everyone’s food plan.. It needs to be organically raised (grass-fed or pastured). Not only does this produce a cleaner, more nutritious protein, but it is a more humane way of raising an animal. Even the butchering process is more humane compared with the commercial process.
The study referred to in the first sentence was based upon data collected from ‘food frequency’ questionnaires filled out once every four years, starting in the 1980s and ending in 2006. The lifestyle and medical data came from additional questionnaires administered every two years. This requires a memory like an elephant and the honesty of George Washington, who could not tell a lie. Some people would rather talk about their sex life than be honest about what they eat!
Red meat has been vilified since the inception of the anti-saturated-fat scare and propaganda. The Nurses Health Study stated that the more meat and fat women ate the healthier they were.
Many people become vegan or vegetarians based upon religious or humanitarian reasons. It’s hard to argue with those that eschew meat on these grounds. That is a personal choice made based upon reasons other than nutrition. It is more difficult to get all the nutritional components of a metabolically sound food plan without some form of animal protein.
If, after you examine all the data, meat is still in your food plan, you need to know where you can get grass-fed protein. In Texas, here are some sources: www.grasslandbeef.com/ Missouri farms who will ship to Texas http://eatwild.com/products/texas.html The Cross Creek Cattle Company http://www.beefmaster-ranch.com Darby Farms http://www.darbyfarms.com
One way to get over a fear of eating too much red meat, is to institute a Rotation Diet. This is used mainly for clearly the body of food allergies and intolerances. Rotation diets require that you don’t eat foods from the same genetic family more than once every four days. For example, if you ate lamb on Monday, you would not eat it again until Friday. How to Eat Move and Be Healthy! by Paul Chek has a sample Rotation Diet plan on page 236.
I am a fast oxidizer, so I just want to know where’s the beef?
