Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[mdnagel@verizon.net]

As always, it DEPENDS!

The fats from CAFO meats have a high ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids.  This IS really bad!  Meats from grass-fed animals have a lower ratio of Omega 6 to Omega3: this is also true of eggs! (and I'm sure dairy etc...).

It's all cumulative.  One of the best discussions I've run across is this video presentation by Dr. David Servan-Schreiber:

http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=18160

This is a short article focusing only on the subject of Omega 6 and Omega 3 in meats and eggs:

http://www.texasgrassfedbeef.com/omega_3_fatty_acids.htm

NOTE: I realize that not all grass-farmers have access to an abundance of purslane.


-Mark Nagel
Everett, WA


Jul 5, 2010 09:28:38 AM, livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org wrote:
> >
> >[and this adds great support to the move to grow your own, cook from basic foods, 
> >and eat low on the food chain]
> >
> >   "Through their direct effects on insulin and blood sugar, refined carbohydrates, 
> >starches and sugars are the dietary cause of coronary heart disease and diabetes. 
> >They are the most likely dietary causes of cancer, Alzheimer's disease and other 
> >chronic diseases of modern civilization."
> >-- Dr. Andrew Weil
> >
> >
> >Fat or Carbs: Which Is Worse? 
> >Dr. Andrew Weil
> >Founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine
> >Posted: July 2, 2010 08:00 AM
> >http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-weil-md/healthy-eating_b_629422.html
> >
> >In my home state of Arizona, a restaurant named "Heart Attack Grill" 
> >does brisk business in Chandler, a Phoenix suburb. Waitresses in nurse-themed uniforms 
> >with miniskirts deliver single, double, triple and quadruple "bypass burgers" 
> >(featuring one, two, three and four hefty patties, respectively) dripping with cheese, 
> >to patrons who wear hospital gowns that double as bibs. The motto: "Taste Worth 
> >Dying For!"
> >
> >Now, there is much for a medical doctor (as opposed to "Dr. Jon," 
> >the stethoscope-wearing, burger-flipping owner) to dislike in this establishment. 
> >If you visit, I implore you to steer clear of the white-flour buns, the sugary sodas 
> >and the piles of "flatliner fries" that accompany the burgers in the restaurant's 
> >signature bedpan plates. This is precisely the sort of processed-carbohydrate-intensive 
> >meal that, via this and other fast-food establishments, is propelling the epidemic 
> >of obesity and diabetes in America.
> >
> >But the Grill's essential, in-your-face concept is that the saturated fat 
> >in beef clogs arteries, and hamburger meat is consequently among the most heart-damaging 
> >foods a human being can consume. As the Grill literature puts it, "The menu 
> >names imply coronary bypass surgery, and refer to the danger of developing atherosclerosis 
> >from the food's high proportion of saturated fat..." Aimed at a certain 
> >crowd, this is clever, edgy marketing. Some people enjoy flirting with death.
> >
> >The problem? It's not true. The saturated fat lauded in this menu won't 
> >kill you. It may even be the safest element of the meal.
> >
> >Saturated fat is made of fatty acid chains that cannot incorporate additional 
> >hydrogen atoms. It is often of animal origin, and is typically solid at room temperature. 
> >Its relative safety has been a theme in nutrition science for at least the last 
> >decade, but in my view, a significant exoneration took place in March of this year. 
> >An analysis that combined the results of 21 studies, published in The American Journal 
> >of Clinical Nutrition found that "saturated fat was not associated with an 
> >increased risk" of coronary heart disease, stroke or coronary vascular disease.
> >
> >Although this was not a true study, it was a big analysis. It aggregated information 
> >from nearly 348,000 participants, most of whom were healthy at the start of the 
> >studies. They were surveyed about their dietary habits and followed for five to 
> >23 years. In that time, 11,000 developed heart disease or had a stroke. Researcher 
> >Ronald M. Krauss of the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Center in California 
> >found that there was no difference in the risk of heart disease or stroke between 
> >people with the lowest and highest intakes of saturated fat.
> >
> >This contradicts nutritional dogma we've heard repeated since 1970, when 
> >a physiologist named Ancel Keys published his "Seven Countries" study 
> >that showed animal fat consumption strongly predicted heart attack risk. His conclusions 
> >influenced US dietary guidelines for decades to come, but other researchers pointed 
> >out that if 21 other countries had been included in that study, the association 
> >that Keys observed would have been seen as extremely weak.
> >
> >Meanwhile, in the years since, there has been increasing evidence that added 
> >sweeteners in foods may contribute to heart disease. Sweeteners appear to lower 
> >levels of HDL cholesterol (the higher your HDL, the better) and raise triglycerides 
> >(the lower the better). That's according to a study of more than 6,000 adults 
> >by Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and published 
> >in April in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
> >
> >People who received at least 25 percent of their daily calories from any type 
> >of sweetener had more than triple the normal risk of having low HDL levels than 
> >those who consumed less than five percent of their calories from sweeteners. Beyond 
> >that, those whose sugar intake made up 17.5 percent or more of daily calories were 
> >20 to 30 percent more likely to have high triglycerides.
> >
> >Science writer Gary Taubes has done more than anyone else to deconstruct the 
> >Keys mythos and replace it with a more sensible view, informed by better science. 
> >I recommend his book, Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional 
> >Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control and Disease. It presents more than 600 pages of evidence 
> >that lead to these conclusions:
> >
> >   1. Dietary fat, whether saturated or not, is not a cause of obesity, heart 
> >disease or any other chronic disease of civilization.
> >
> >   2. The problem is the carbohydrates in the diet, their effect on insulin 
> >secretion, and thus the hormonal regulation of homeostasis -- the entire harmonic 
> >ensemble of the human body. The more easily digestible and refined the carbohydrates, 
> >the greater the effect on our health, weight and well-being.
> >
> >   3. Sugars -- sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup specifically -- are particularly 
> >harmful, probably because the combination of fructose and glucose simultaneously 
> >elevates insulin levels while overloading the liver with carbohydrates.
> >
> >   4. Through their direct effects on insulin and blood sugar, refined carbohydrates, 
> >starches and sugars are the dietary cause of coronary heart disease and diabetes. 
> >They are the most likely dietary causes of cancer, Alzheimer's disease and other 
> >chronic diseases of modern civilization.
> >
> >My point here is not to promote meat consumption. I've written here previously 
> >about humanitarian and ecological reasons to avoid a meat-centric diet, especially 
> >if the meat comes from factory-farmed animals. Instead, my purpose is to emphasize 
> >that we would be much healthier as a nation if we stopped worrying so much about 
> >fats, and instead made a concerted effort to avoid processed, quick-digesting carbohydrates 
> >-- especially added sugars. The average American consumes almost 22 teaspoons of 
> >sugars that are added to foods each day. This obscene amount is the principal driver 
> >of the "diabesity" epidemic, sharply increases coronary risks and promises 
> >to make this generation of children the first in American history that will die 
> >sooner than their parents.
> >
> >My Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid emphasizes whole or minimally processed foods 
> >-- especially vegetables -- with low glycemic loads. That means consuming these 
> >foods keeps blood sugar levels relatively stable, which in turn lowers both fat 
> >deposition and heart-disease risk. If you make a concerted effort to eat such foods 
> >and avoid sugar, you'll soon lose your taste for it. The natural sugars in fruits 
> >and vegetables will provide all the sweetness you desire.
> >
> >While saturated fat appears to have no effect on heart health, eating too much 
> >can crowd out vitamins, minerals and fiber needed for optimal health. So I recommend 
> >sticking to a "saturated fat budget" which can be "spent" on 
> >an occasional steak (from organic, grass-fed, grass-finished cattle, see LocalHarvest 
> >for sources), some butter, or, as I do, high quality, natural cheese a few times 
> >a week.
> >
> >Andrew Weil, M.D., invites you to join the conversation: become a fan on Facebook, 
> >follow him on Twitter, and check out his Daily Health Tips Blog. Dr. Weil is the 
> >founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and the editorial 
> >director of www.DrWeil.com. 
> >