Why Eat Meat The Healthy Way?

The word meat has been around for a long time. It dates back to the old English word mete, meaning food. Today the word is mainly used to describe animal flesh that is used to food. The type of meat we eat and the amount of it can significantly affect our health.

Eating too much meat is never a good thing. Studies demonstrate that this can have adverse effects on our health, especially when eating red meat. Some of these health problems include heart disease, obesity and even cancer. Processed meats as opposed to organic meats have also demonstrated to cause adverse health effects. Some people claim that meat is crucial to our diet because of the protein that we obtain from meat. Recent studies contradict this claim and it should be understood that other foods besides meat are good sources of protein.

Eating meat from animals that have been grass fed as opposed to being fed grain or other food has proven to be healthier. One of these reasons is the type and ratio of omega fatty acids that are found in these different types of meat. Our bodies function best when we have omega 6 fats to omega 3 fats at a ratio of three to one. Most people have far too many omega 6 fats in their diet. It essential for us to obtain omega 3 fats in our diet as our body cannot manufacture them from other fats.

Grain fed animals are known to have omega 6 fats to omega 3 fats at a ratio that exceeds twenty to one. Meat from grass fed animals is much healthier with a ratio of three to one. Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for the health and growth of our bodies. They also help to prevent heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, arthritis, auto immune disorders and other inflammatory diseases.

It is better to eat chickens that have been fed vegetables, fruit, grass and insects. These have also proven to be much higher in omega 3 fats than chicken that is fed other food and kept in a confined space. Chickens that eat vegetables and fruit produce healthy eggs that have omega 6 fatty acids to omega 3 fatty acids of a ratio of six to three. Eggs found in the supermarket often have an unhealthy ratio of 20 to one for omega 6 fats to omega 4 fats. Fish are also a great source of omega three fats. It is best to consume fish that has been caught in the wild as opposed to fish that is farm raised.