Eating Locally Can Help Northfield Stay Healty

What is the deal with grass-fed?

There is a lot of talk about eating healthy, and still there is confusion. This blog is meant to help clear up one of the many problems that people face when they shop for their food. The question at hand is what is healthy meat, and why do people talk about grass-fed meat? I am going to start with the complex, and hopefully bring it to a practical and reasonable solution.

Chronic inflammation can be linked to heart disease, cancer, obesity, allergies, and more, so it is worth looking into methods to prevent it.

Chronic low grade inflammation comes from a process that that leads to arachidonic acid that is converted by cyclooxegenase (COX) into inflammatory prostaglandins and throboxanes. COX is best known as the enzyme that is inhibited by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). This is a down-stream look at the inflammatory process, but if you look at this process up-stream you can see that there is fuel to this fire. They fuel to this fire is Omega-6 fatty acids.

There is also a process that leads to docosaheaenoic acid (DHA). This is a known anti-inflammatory process. This means it will combat the process previously described. This process is fueled by Omega-3 fatty acids.
Chronic inflammation can be linked to heart disease, cancer, obesity, allergies, and more, so it is worth looking into methods to prevent it. I believe that the most important aspect of healthcare is preventative care and not reactive care.

Now that there is a very basic knowledge of the process involved there needs to be some practicality involved. Why do people try to get organic grass-fed animals to eat? That is because when an animal is grass-fed their ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 goes up. When they are fed corn that ratio goes down. This means that eating a corn-fed animal compared to a grass-fed animal you are contributing to a pathway in your body that leads to chronic inflammation.

It is also shown that eating wild game as opposed to eating domestic animals also brings up that same Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio. However, the most potent Omega-3 contributor is fish. The highest ratio of Omega-3s in fish comes from trout and salmon. However, don’t throw away the skin of these tasty creatures, because this is where a lot of the good Omega-3s are located.

This is the argument for eating a grass-fed animal as compared to a corn-fed animal. It is sometimes difficult to find a local grass-fed animal, so I have found a site to help locate these animals.

However, it would not be responsible post if I did not bring up the most practical of solutions for lowering your Omega-6 levels, and that is to eat tons of fresh vegetables! This is not only going to help you with your ratio it is going to give your body tons of great nutrients that will help detox your system along with antioxidants that will help destroy harmful free radicals. ….by the way corn is not a vegetable, it is a grain.

Call to action: If you are worried about your Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio, then try to eat some grass-fed meat or some tasty fish (pregnant women consult a physician). Also, make a daily effort to replace a lot of your calories to vegetables. These simple solutions can give you a preventative track to your health!