Farm Fresh Foods throughout Florida

Posts Tagged ‘grass-fed food’

Heart Disease on the Rise: Could Grass-fed foods help?

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

Heart Disease on the Rise:
Is the Prudent Diet of any Help?

There are reasons heart disease in the U.S. has increased dramatically in the last 50 years, and you may be surprised to find that they are not related to the consumption of saturated fat or your blood cholesterol levels.

In the early 1900s, heart disease was practically unheard of. By 1950, coronary heart disease, especially fatal clots that caused myocardial infarction (MI) or heart attacks, was the leading cause of death in the U.S., causing more than 30 percent of all deaths. By 1960, there were at least 500,000 heart disease deaths a year in the U.S. As of 2005 roughly one in five deaths was due to heart disease.

Why the increase?
Americans are living longer giving them more time to develop the disease, have more sedentary lifestyles, and are feeling the effects of years of cigarette smoking, but diet is the main contributing factor.

Back in the 1950s, we gave up our “natural” diets and started eating the way that food conglomerates, the American Heart Association and the government told us we should. Instead of using butter, lard and coconut oil for cooking, we ate the recommended vegetable oils, which contain heart-harming trans fats.

Americans were advised to follow the “Prudent Diet,” in which corn oil, margarine, chicken and cold cereal replaced butter, lard, beef and eggs. (The diet was based on the lipid hypothesis, which states: “saturated fat and cholesterol from animal sources raise cholesterol levels in the blood, leading to deposition of cholesterol and fatty material as pathogenic plaques in the arteries.”)

When asked to support the diet, Dr. Dudley White refused, saying: “Back in the MI-free days before 1920, the fats were butter and lard and I think that we would all benefit from the kind of diet that we had at a time when no one had ever heard the word corn oil.”

To decrease your risk of heart disease, include grass-fed beef, free-range poultry, organic eggs and produce, and raw dairy in your diet.

Sources:
http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/oiling.html

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Benefits OF Fermented Foods

Sunday, July 19th, 2009
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Fermented Foods: Your Gut Will Thank You

Early Americans understood the importance of eating fermented foods. In fact, early American traditions included foods such as pickled beets, watermelon rind, and cucumber relish, which were originally lacto-fermented.

Many cultures around the world still use lacto-fermentation as a healthful method of preserving foods today.

In Russia and Poland, they eat pickled green tomatoes and peppers. The peoples of Japan, China and Korea enjoy pickled cabbage and eggplant, as well as fermented soy products like miso and tempeh. Cultured raw milk yogurts and cheese have been popular in India and Europe for centuries. Fermented sour dough bread, wine, artichokes, olives, sauerkraut and grape leaves are still staples in the European diet today.

What is lacto-fermentation?
Thousands of years ago, people learned to preserve fruits and vegetables for long periods of time using lacto-fermentation. This process creates lactic acid, a natural preservative that inhibits putrefying bacteria. The starches and sugars in foods are converted into lactic acid when combined with lactic-acid-producing bacteria and allowed to ferment, usually with just pure water and sea salt.

Benefits of fermented foods.
Fermented foods are loaded with amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. Fermented milk is a great source of B vitamins and fermented vegetables are a great source of vitamin C.

Lactic acid promotes the growth of healthy flora (probiotics) in the intestines, which aids in digestion and strengthens the immune system. Getting these bacteria from fermented foods is more beneficial than popping a pill or eating commercially prepared foods — and it costs less too.

Unfortunately in today’s Western world we are taught to be afraid of bacteria. Most commercially processed “pickled” or cultured foods are pasteurized, use vinegar for a standardized taste and are not created with the healthful methods our ancestors used.

But that is changing as more lacto-fermented products become available on the market and Americans learn to make fermented foods at home.

Along with naturally fermented foods, be sure to include farm fresh organic grass-fed beef, free-range poultry, organic eggs and produce in your diet.

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Grass-fed Foods and Vitamin B-12

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

The Best Sources of Vitamin B12

Do you get enough vitamin B12? Studies show that as many as one in four adults, or almost 80 percent of people in the United States, may be deficient in this important nutrient.

Known as the “energy vitamin,” B12 is essential for many critical functions in the body. Not only does it help produce energy, but it also supports the immune system and the nervous system, and regulates the formation of red blood cells.

Lack of B12 can result in anemia, nervousness, depression, lack of energy and all around poor health.

There are several reasons for B12 deficiency, but the main one is the modern diet. Since the vitamin is only present in animal sources of food, those who don’t eat animal products are more likely to suffer from low B12. But consuming poor quality animal products from animals that are fed unhealthy grains, or eating pasteurized dairy products, in which the B12 is destroyed, is also a large part of the problem.

So what’s a body to do?

Since our bodies do not easily or efficiently absorb B12 supplements (including those added to foods), and painful, expensive injections are not usually helpful, the best and easiest way to get enough B12 is to eat nutrient-dense animal products naturally rich in the nutrient. Grass-fed beef, fresh pastured eggs, and grass-fed dairy are some of the best natural sources of this important vitamin. And the best way for our bodies to absorb vital nutrients is through natural sources.

Local Central Florida farms offer farm fresh foods loaded with vitamin B12 and other nutrients.

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Local Food in Orlando

Saturday, March 21st, 2009

As many of you might have already noticed, finding local sources of local farm fresh food is difficult.  The Orlando metro area, which once had thriving agricultural enterprises, instead is filled with urban sprawl.  Fortunately, the times are changing.  People in Orlando are searching high and low for free-range eggs, fresh milk, local organic produce, and much more.  Many have formed co-ops and bring in food from around the US.  While commendable, I’m of the opinion that we should support and source food from around Florida and Orlando as much as possible.  There some obvious obstacles of course, chief among them is the price of land.  Second we need suppliers of natural, non-toxic feed for the animals.  Third, we need laws to encourage the growth of local meat processing operations.  I do not mean the large slaughterhouses on an industrial scale but rather small mom and pop operations.  Smaller operations are easier to keep clean and you can build a personal relationship with them.  Can you imagine the return of your local butcher that offers grass-fed meat, lamb and truly pastured chickens?  So what can you do?  Buy local first.  Follow the 80-20 rule.  Try to buy a larger portion of your food locally and the remainder from conventional sources.  Second, write your local, state and federal representatives to make your voice heard.  In these economic troubles, buying locally will have an immediate positive impact.

Please visit these resources below to get started:

Click on Find Local Food

http://www.holisticlivingschool.org/coop

/

http://apmarket.wordpress.com/

http://www.localharvest.org/

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Grass-fed foods growing popularity

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

Americans are awakening to a grass-fed  foods like never before.   It’s growing popularity is due to it’s  nutritional profile.  Lets examine the benefits in depth:

Balanced Omega 3 to Omega 6:

Beef from animals grazing on grass have a very balanced nutritional profile.   New research  now concludes that we consume too much  Omega 6 oils which contribute to increased risks of modern degenerative diseases.  The industrial feed lot system feeds only grain to animals meant to eat grass and in so doing produces beef with a higher omega 6 to omega 3 ratio.  A balanced 1:1 ratio is ideal and the closer the better.  We now know that omega 3’s play a vital role in preventing heart disease, diabetes, arthritis  and the list goes on. Grass fed beef is shown to have 2-3 times more life saving omega 3’s than their grain fed counterparts.

Higher Levels of Vitamins:

These are the vitamins found in greater amount in grass fed animals Vitamins E, D.  New research is revealing the essential role each play in maintaining human health.  Vitamin E has earned it’s reputation as a powerful antioxidant.  This nutrient helps to prevent the inflammation that many researchers now believe to be the cause of our epidemic levels of “heart attacks”.  Vitamin D has gained much popularity as low blood levels are associated with increased risks of osteoporosis, prostate cancer and  multiple sclerosis.

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