Today I have the opportunity and pleasure of sharing a guest post by Jordan Anderson, MS, ATC. Jordan is or should I say was a classmate of mine at Illinois State University and is actually graduating this weekend with his Master's in Athletic Training! Congratulations! He is just as passionate about food, running and sports medicine as I am and it shows in his writing. You can find Jordan on Twitter or Google+. This was a great post and I can't wait to see and hear more from Jordan in the future.
Support Your Local Farms!
(and yourself)
As most of you know now because of the news and various other outlets, our food has become riddled with growth hormones, pesticides, preservatives, and other unnatural substances. Sure, this makes most produce look, feel, and sometimes even taste better. All of these things have been developed over many years by bioengineers and has become the norm. These additives are true of both meat and produce. Some recent literature is linking these additives to metabolic disease and the components of such. Not only do these things contribute to the problem, but also the food that animals are fed before they are processed for sale to us plays an even bigger role.
For instance, many beef cattle are fed a combination of grains, animal bi-product, and given growth hormones. This combination makes it inexpensive for large farms to feed their cattle but also produce HUGE amounts of food. The problem is inherent, cattle are not meant to consume these things. Cattle are grazers and survive off of local vegetation, mostly grass. This is where the term “grass fed” comes from when purchasing beef.
The same also applies to eggs and chicken. Chickens that are “cage free” are able to roam the land and search out their natural diet which includes things like insects, vegetation, and fruits. However, some companies will trick consumers into labeling a chicken or eggs with “all-natural” fed with an all grain diet. This is obviously NOT a chicken’s natural choice for food. This all-grain diet taints the chicken’s meat and their eggs.
Eggs are nature’s perfect food when the chickens that produce them eat their natural diet. Yolks are especially high in essential Omega-3 and low in Omega-6 fatty acids, and do not contain much LDL lipoproteins (bad cholesterol, except for the big fluffy molecules which can be protective) and also contains HDL (good cholesterol, it exists!), but when these chickens are fed all grain diets, these things are not as prevalent and higher proportions of LDL and omega-6 fatty acids are found. This gives eggs a bad name when in reality they are great foods.
For instance, many beef cattle are fed a combination of grains, animal bi-product, and given growth hormones. This combination makes it inexpensive for large farms to feed their cattle but also produce HUGE amounts of food. The problem is inherent, cattle are not meant to consume these things. Cattle are grazers and survive off of local vegetation, mostly grass. This is where the term “grass fed” comes from when purchasing beef.
The same also applies to eggs and chicken. Chickens that are “cage free” are able to roam the land and search out their natural diet which includes things like insects, vegetation, and fruits. However, some companies will trick consumers into labeling a chicken or eggs with “all-natural” fed with an all grain diet. This is obviously NOT a chicken’s natural choice for food. This all-grain diet taints the chicken’s meat and their eggs.
Eggs are nature’s perfect food when the chickens that produce them eat their natural diet. Yolks are especially high in essential Omega-3 and low in Omega-6 fatty acids, and do not contain much LDL lipoproteins (bad cholesterol, except for the big fluffy molecules which can be protective) and also contains HDL (good cholesterol, it exists!), but when these chickens are fed all grain diets, these things are not as prevalent and higher proportions of LDL and omega-6 fatty acids are found. This gives eggs a bad name when in reality they are great foods.
So the ultimate question remains. What can we do about this, where can I find these non-modernized foods and go back to the way these plants and animals were meant to be eaten?? And where on earth can I find them for a reasonable price?
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