Health Notes
The Plain and Simple of What You Should and Shouldn’t Eat
PART III
So far we have discussed many of the foods you should avoid. Now let’s discuss some good sources of protein.
Fish, chicken and beef are necessary; however, I want you to understand that beef and chicken are produced on a massive scale, and in order to facilitate this, high quantities of antibiotics and hormones are contained in these meats. These two substances are used to keep the beef cattle and chicken from acquiring many of the diseases which are often times found on feed lot type production facilities. In these facilities cows and chickens are kept in extremely close quarters and a bacterial infection will spread rapidly and decimate a herd or flock in a matter of days.
The hormones are utilized to facilitate rapid growth and weight gain for these animals. By doing this, the production times are shortened, thereby increasing profit margins for manufacturers. My point in all this discussion is that you are better off once again buying organic, range-fed chicken and beef. These animals will have the opportunity to take in more omega-3 fatty acids from the grasses that they are eating. These are the omega-3 fatty acids I have talked about in previous articles. I am sure that I will go into much more detail in future articles about them as well. They are important for our bodies to function correctly. These essential fatty acids are found particularly in fish oils, as well as other foods, including range-fed beef.
The imbalance of omega-3, omega-6, omega-9 fatty acids in our bodies is dramatic and creates health issues for us that could be avoided if we would avoid these substances. Furthermore, statistically, today, kids are reaching puberty at younger and younger ages. One of the culprits implicated in this process are the hormones taken in by the children in the meats that they eat.
Over a hundred years ago, puberty in females occurred from 16 – 18 years. Today the average for the onset of puberty of females is approximately 10 – 12 years. This is a dramatic change and there must be a reason. I am a strong proponent of avoiding hormone laden meats. If we begin this process now, I feel our children will have a longer childhood to enjoy.
Let’s get to the fish issue as well. Many well-intentioned individuals are purchasing salmon at the supermarket because they wish to increase their omega-3’s by eating these cold water fish. Unfortunately, the majority of salmon sold in the supermarket is farm-raised. Now farm raised does not necessarily mean they are in a tank being raised, but farm raised can mean that they are raised in a confined area of the ocean shore waters. They are contained with various forms of netting and fed antibiotic laden and hormone laden fish food. In other words, they are not eating the normal foods they would in the wild to gain the omega-3s. They are not being raised in cold water areas which assists in the production of these essential oils. They are being raised in warm shore waters and are being fed foods they would never encounter in the wild. Therefore, while you feel you might be doing the right thing, you may once again be ingesting antibiotic and hormone laden fish. If you do go to the supermarket, particularly some of the newer, larger, gourmet-style supermarkets, you’ll see the difference in the fish section when you price their Atlantic cold water salmon, for example, and the farm raised salmon. You can see the difference in the price – it is significant. However, I will emphasize to you once again that you can not place price on your health. Those individuals who I have treated over the years who have had these unfortunate diagnosis revealed to them – cancer in any form – are willing to do anything it takes to avoid the onslaught of this devastating disorder.
Next week I will make some statements which you may find challenging regarding cancer in general. I ask you to open your minds to think about it in a different light than you have in the past.
Please visit our website at www.upchiropractic.com for previous Health Note articles.