By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Let’s address a topic that isn’t discussed out in the open that much. Menopause. Most every woman goes through this at some point, so it’s important to consider that this passage is not a disease or dysfunctional health. It’s NORMAL but the symptoms can vary widely, depending on several factors—many under your control.

In fact, at this very moment, one-third of the women in the United States are going through some stage of menopause—whether its peri-menopause, menopause or post menopause. Menopause has a wide range of symptoms and those symptoms affect every woman differently.

Some of the symptoms—hot flashes, insomnia, brain fog and mood changes can be severe enough to make it difficult to get on with normal day to day living, and while many women are (understandably) desperate for relief, traditional hormone replacement therapy can have some negative effects on long-term health. And—also very frustrating—is that only 1 out of 5 OB/GYN’s actually ever study menopause issues in medical school, leaving you in the dark when it comes to getting some relief!

There are many things you can do naturally to help ease the symptoms and your best bet is to work on diet and lifestyle changes first, then look for other natural options such as supplements and bioidentical hormone therapy.

The most common menopause symptoms that are bothersome include:

• Hot flashes, sweating
• Mood swings
• Anxiety and depression
• Vaginal dryness, pain with sex, and decreased sex drive
• Weight gain, especially around the midsection
• Insomnia
• Lethargy and loss of energy
• Dry skin, wrinkles
• Breast changes-larger or smaller
• Higher risk for chronic age-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, etc.

Diet, Inflammation and Estrogen

Inflammation can most definitely exacerbate the hormonal symptoms that go along with peri- and menopause—and diet and lifestyle practices can play a huge role in this.

Here is something to consider: Only about 10 percent of women in China, and 20 percent of women in Japan experience hot flashes and the other uncomfortable symptoms of menopause.

Why is that?

While the differences may be due partly to cultural differences, it’s a fact that the majority of Asian women follow very different diet and lifestyle practices than women here in the US, which may be a big part of the reason for the differences in menopause symptoms. Let’s explore some of the reasons for that.

For one thing our Standard American Diet is highly inflammatory. We eat large quantities of meat raised on inflammatory grains, full of pesticides, antibiotics and hormones. Conventional meat is also full of inflammatory omega 6 fats, instead of anti-inflammatory omega 3 fats that are in wild caught fish and grass fed meats. Women on the western side of the globe consume more than twice as much red meat, and four times as much fat (usually in the form of inflammatory omega 6 fats), as women on traditional Asian vegetable, fish and rice based diets.

Most of the meat eaten in this country comes from Concentrated Animal Factory Operations (CAFO’s). The beef, pork and poultry are fed a diet primarily of corn and soy products, creating meat that is high in inflammatory omega 6 fats.

In addition, the feed operations that supply food to our livestock are full of pesticides, and usually genetically modified. Cattle, chicken and pork are given hormones and antibiotics to unnaturally speed up growth. And cows raised for dairy products are pumped full of hormones to create perpetually pregnant or lactating cows.

All of this not only creates higher levels of inflammation in our bodies, but the growth hormone and antibiotics in conventional meat also makes our own hormone go haywire—and that especially affects women in menopause.

Could it Be the Fiber?

Contrast the standard American diet with Asian women eating a traditional diet heavy in vegetables, rice and fish and you will find that only about 10-20% of the Asian women reported menopause symptoms—compared to 80% of American women. As the traditional Asian diet gets replaced with a more Westernized diet heavy in CAFO and processed meats, starchy, sugary foods and processed grain/seed oils, you will find that the incidence of menopause symptoms goes up.

Research is showing that women who eat a high-fat/ low-fiber diet experience higher estrogen levels at all points in their lives. Consequently, as the ovaries slow the production of estrogen, the women on the high fat/low fiber diets have the most dramatic drop in estrogen. Because Asian women eat diets that are far lower in fats and higher in fiber, over the course of their lives, they tend to carry lower amounts of estrogen as well, and they seem to have far less symptoms of estrogen withdrawal because of this.

More evidence of the diet and hormone link comes from a study from the University of California who interviewed Greek and Mayan women about their experiences going through menopause. About three-quarters of the Greek women had hot flashes, but they were considered minor, normal events and did not cause the women to seek medical treatment.

The Mayan women did not even have a word for hot flashes, as they did not normally occur. The Mayan diet of the women in the study consisted of corn, beans, tomatoes, squash, sweet potatoes and a variety of other vegetables, with very little meat or dairy products. In other words, very high in fiber.

The Greek women’s diet contained plenty of vegetables, but also lots of fish, meat and dairy. The difference between Americans and Greeks and other Europeans for whom hot flashes are common, and the Mayans and Asian women on the other hand, for whom hot flashes are rare or unknown, appears to be diet-related. The study’s conclusion was that the higher fiber diets contributed to fewer menopausal symptoms.

What does fiber have to do with estrogen?

Fiber helps regulate and balance estrogen. In one study, researchers found that among 250 women ages 18 to 44, those who reported eating the most fiber had the lowest blood levels of estrogen and other reproductive hormones.

High-fiber diets, they explain, decrease activity in certain intestinal enzymes, leading to less estrogen re-absorption in the colon. Fiber actually causes more estrogen to be excreted from the body in feces. This is a good thing, health-wise. It helps prevent the problems of estrogen dominance which can be detrimental to health.

A low fiber diet actually allows for more re-absorption of estrogen through the digestive system, which is then re-released into the bloodstream. Higher levels of estrogen worsen menopause and peri-menopause symptoms, increase risks of fibroid tumors, but also contribute to higher risks of breast, ovarian and uterine cancers. Higher levels of estrogen also contribute greatly to weight gain.

By contrast, a diet high in processed starches, sugars and unhealthy fats is very low in fiber, AND it also causes weight gain, obesity and inflammation. The more weight gained, the higher the levels of inflammation in the body. It’s a vicious cycle.

Women who consume higher amounts of processed vegetable oils, high sugar/starch diets have the highest levels of inflammatory biomarkers, body weight (BMI) and menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, muscle and joint issues and bladder problems. Women on this type of diet also report far more negative symptoms in the perimenopausal period as well.

Excess fat also produces estrogen, especially as the ovaries slow down during menopause. Higher levels of estrogen indicates a higher than normal risk for postmenopausal breast cancer, according to the Nurses Health Study.

As the drops in estrogen become more dramatic during peri-menopause and menopause, the negative symptoms of menopause become more and more noticeable.

However, this study from Tehran University of Medical Sciences on women, menopause and diet showed that the women who consumed the highest levels of vegetables had the lowest reported menopause symptoms and also lower BMI.

And in one of the biggest studies on diet and menopause, this one-year intervention study of over 17,000 menopausal women, showed that the women who consumed the most vegetables, fruit, fiber and soy experienced an average of 20% reduction in hot flashes compared to the control group. This reduction in hot flahses was attributed to the healthier diet, high levels of antioxidants, plentiful fiber, and weight loss.

In addition to eating more vegetables and (small amounts of) fruit, it is important to include a particular type of vegetables, especially. Cruciferous vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, kale, brussels sprouts, arugula, kohlrabi and cabbage.

One study on cruciferous vegetables showed that increased intake was linked to lower levels of estrone (a more harmful type of estrogen). And this study, it was showed that an increased consumption in the brassica type of vegetables (cruciferous) changed estrogen hormone metabolites to significantly lower the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

Grain, Inflammation Hormones and Weight Gain

Grain of all kinds—whether ‘whole-grain’ or ground into a processed flour and made into breads, pastas, crackers, pizza crust, etc. is highly inflammatory and high-glycemic as well, meaning it raises blood sugar. In other words, any type of grain will raise blood sugar.

Foods that spike blood sugar are not only physically addictive, but they increase inflammation in the body. Grains also do more than raise blood sugar; they also raise insulin levels, cause problems with thyroid hormones, and interfere with optimal levels of leptin (a hunger/satiety hormone), causing people to overeat.

In addition, menopause itself is somewhat inflammatory, and can be a cause of low-level inflammation and elevated CRP, a primary inflammatory marker that is connected to heart disease and other chronic health issues.

An inflammatory diet that includes grain can make this risk even worse. A high-glycemic diet is also associated with oxidative stress in pre-and post-menopausal women. This study of over 117,000 men and women aged forty to seventy found that higher carbohydrate intake (mainly from white rice and refined wheat products) and dietary glycemic load were associated with an increased risk of heart disease in both women and men.

Grains also contain potentially harmful anti-nutrients, along with gluten, a protein in wheat that causes inflammation and autoimmune reactions. These include agglutinins, which is a type of lectin that is associated with leaky gut, inflammation and overgrowth of bad gut bacteria; phytates, which also cause leaky gut, and block absorption of calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and zinc; and digestive enzyme inhibitors which contribute to undigested proteins leaking into the blood and overstimulating the immune system.

And–there’s the gluten issue. Gluten is just one of the proteins in wheat that can cause a variety of symptoms including bloating, nausea, diarrhea, and gut inflammation. Even if you are not having a strong reaction to gluten, it can still be triggering reactions and inflammation. Gluten’s ability to create inflammation, weight gain, digestive issues, and mess with hormone levels should not be overlooked.

While many doctors can test for gluten sensitivity, it may not show up—depending on the test. Standard blood tests for gluten sensitivity only have about 15-20% percent accuracy rate. Gluten has to have significantly destroyed the gut wall for the blood testing to be actually be effective. And in many people, gluten damages other tissues in the body.

Current tests only screen for one component of wheat, alpha gliadin. Yet people can react to at least 12 different portions of the wheat protein. What does this have to do with menopause? It seems during perimenopause and menopause, hormone changes, inflammation and long term sensitivity to certain proteins such as gluten, can suddenly rear its head, so on top of the classic symptoms of menopause can come digestive issues, bloating, weight gain, and diarrhea as well.

All this can cause menopause symptoms to drastically intensify, in addition to being linked to an increased risk of osteoporosis, thyroid disease, anemia, and even diabetes. And it’s not just the gluten in wheat that can be a problem, rye, barley and sometimes oats can cause similar reactions. Corn, and even rice can also have a cross-reactivity reaction as well, so truthfully, you are better off avoiding all grains—even the whole grain ones.

It’s a fact that women with un-diagnosed celiac disease and those who are diagnosed celiac or gluten sensitive but don’t follow a strict gluten free diet, will have a much harder time going through perimenopause and menopause. Women who have gluten sensitivity or celiac disease can also enter menopause earlier, have higher than normal occurrence of osteoporosis, and other serious health issues.

While giving up your bread, pasta, pizzas, crackers, and other baked goods may seem like a huge sacrifice, the rewards of your health, well-being, hormone balance and even weight loss should make it all worthwhile. And fortunately, there are some great grain substitutes available now like tortillas made from coconut flour or almond flour, noodles and pasta made from black beans, breads made from almond flour or garbanzo beans and even pizza crust made from cauliflower.

Diet for Easier Menopause

So, what’s the bottom line for a diet to help with menopause symptoms?

1. Keep the fiber high

Eat plenty of organic vegetables and a couple servings of fruit. Try to get in a pound of veggies a day, which isn’t too hard if you throw some greens in with your eggs or smoothie in the morning, eat a big salad for lunch and have a dinner with healthy proteins and a big serving of veggies. This will help fill you up with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and other phytochemicals—all of which help ease menopause, lower inflammation and help you feel full. Fiber helps to gently lower estrogen levels in the body, and eases the symptoms. This helps with weight loss too! Be sure to include plenty of cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, arugula, etc. And add in some non-GMO, fermented soy such as tempeh or miso to help further balance hormone levels.

2. Avoid sugars and grains completely—especially from processed foods

Keeping your blood sugar stable helps to balance hormones, calm your nerves, give you more energy, and stop the blood sugar ups and downs which sap your energy. Lower glycemic foods and lower blood sugar levels help you continue to burn fat for energy, keep insulin levels lower which helps fight cancer, helps you lose weight and helps to lower levels of unhealthy estrogens.

Lower blood sugar also goes a long way towards lowering inflammation levels which in turn drastically reduce heart attack, diabetes and cancer risks. Avoiding grains also help your body to better absorb nutrients from foods. You will get all the fiber you need from vegetables. Many studies find that the glycemic load of a postmenopausal woman’s diet is a strong predictor of her fat mass. Keep in mind glycemic load basically means carbohydrates and sugars.

3. Eat healthy proteins, naturally raised

Be sure to get in 50-100 grams of protein per day from natural sources. Natural sources include grass fed meats which are high in omega 3 fats, lower in omega 6 fats and high in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which fights cancer, protects the heart and burns fat better. Other natural proteins are pasture raised eggs, also high in omega 3 fatty acids and other valuable nutrients, pastured chicken, and wild caught fish.

Avoid as much as possible any animal products from conventionally raised animals, including dairy, as these foods all contain harmful disrupting hormones, antibiotics, pesticides and unhealthy fats.

What really does seem to work best for menopause is the classic paleolithic diet: naturally raised meats and protein, fruit, nuts, vegetables, eggs, berries, and fish. AVOID grains, most legumes, sugars, dairy, potatoes, and added salt.

Over 24 months, menopausal women on a paleo diet lost more fat, more waist circumference, and lowered their levels of dangerous triglycerides than those on a standard so-called “healthy” diet.

While it may be difficult to stick at first, getting your diet in line, along with a few lifestyle changes like making sure you add in small amounts of exercise daily (outdoors if possible), avoiding smoking, drinking one drink or less per day, and cutting back on caffeine will go a long ways towards easing menopause symptoms. You can take back your life, regain control over your hormones—and your health, lose weight, and start feeling awesome. The next chapter in your life is about to begin!

Check out this next story below if you want an innovative new way to lose weight:

> Do THIS 1 hour before bed to pee out stubborn fat in the morning

References
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/diet-for-menopause/
https://www.verywellhealth.com/can-celiac-disease-cause-early-menopause-562633
http://drflannery.com/why-your-negative-gluten-test-may-have-been-wrong/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-menopause-diet/diet-rich-in-fruits-and-vegetables-tied-to-fewer-menopause-symptoms-idUSKCN1NP2DW
https://www.pcrm.org/news/exam-room-podcast/how-food-affects-menopause
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fiber-ovulation/high-fiber-intake-may-interfere-with-ovulation-idUSTRE5A23KC20091103
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/menopause-diet#menopause
Gottfried, S., 2016. The Hormone Reset Diet, Harper and Collins, New York, NY.

The post Stop Hot Flashes in Their Tracks and Ease Menopause Symptoms—Naturally! appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling, BSN,co-author of the best-sellers: The Fat Burning Kitchen,The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging&The Diabetes Fix

Fake meat sales are soaring, thanks to a couple of new product offerings out there that look and supposedly taste like real meat. Are they better for the planet? Are they better for our health?

Once upon a time there was only Tofurky and Gardenburgers to eat instead of meat. Now ‘fake meat’ is the new trendy food at restaurants that even include TGI Fridays and White Castle.

Fake meat sales have grown because of the growing interest in lessening the environmental impact of climate change, due in part, say the ardent vegans, by the concentrated animal factory operations (CAFO’s) that plague the countryside of the United States and other industrialized countries.

With big celebrities like Leonard di Caprio promoting companies that make fake meat like Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger, droves of people are now purchasing these meat alternatives in hopes of improving both their own health and the planet’s health. And, besides plant-derived meat alternatives, veggie burgers are now facing competition from the real thing—sort of—lab-grown meat. Yes, ‘real’ meat that does not come from an animal. Grown in a lab instead.

But really, are these ‘meats’ good for you—or the planet?

Remember tofu? Every vegan’s favorite meat-substitute. While generally tasteless on its own, tofu absorbed flavors and seasoning to adapt to most any recipe. (Soy products have been shown to not be healthy for you).

Attempts to make meat substitutes have been around forever, but growing increase in demand has increased the products that are now available. Fast forward to today, when plant-based meat is far more sophisticated—looking more and tasting more like the real thing.

Companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger have utilized new research to make their products even more meat-like. Other meatless ‘meat’ companies include Gardein, Tofurky (yes, it’s still around), Fieldroast, Lightlife, Morningstar, Trader Joe’s, and Target’s own brand, Simply Balanced.

Beyond Meat worked with scientists at the University of Missouri to develop pea proteins and other plant-based proteins, along with things like beet juice to create that ‘bloody’ look like a real juicy burger.

Impossible Foods was actually founded by a biologist who has attempted to copy the juice that a real burger contains. Impossible Foods does this by using a type of plant-based ‘blood’ from soy, which has drawn some criticism. More on that later.

Aside from these plant-based meats that are emerging, a new technology has been brewing in a lab. Lab-grown meats are a complex scientific technology to re-create real meat, in a lab. Lab meat is actually grown from cell tissues harvested from real meat. However, growing a group of cells in a laboratory is far different that raising an animal with meat, so the lab meat products are still a work in progress.

One clean meat startup created a single cultured meatball at a cost of around $18,000 a pound. It’s unlikely it will make it to your grocery store shelves for a while yet, although the cost of production is rapidly decreasing as more and more “clean meat” companies appear. A couple companies in the race now predict they may have ‘real’ affordable lab meat by 2020.

So what exactly are we eating when we eat these meat substitutes?

When I eat grass-fed/grass-finished burger raised on an organic farm, I know exactly what I am getting. But eating plant-based manufactured ‘meat’ is a whole different story, and these foods don’t seem exactly like health foods either.

While I cannot list every single ingredient in all the plant-based substitute meats, the (new improved) ingredients of one of the most popular meat-substitutes include: water, soy protein concentrate, coconut oil, sunflower oil, natural flavors, potato protein, methylcellulose, yeast extract, cultured dextrose, food starch modified, soy leghemoglobin, salt, soy protein isolate, vitamins and minerals. How ‘natural’ is that?

Soy has been controversial for our health for a number of years. Why? Well for one, if it is not organic, it has been doused with glyphosate just days before harvest, and no doubt you are getting a load of that toxic substance as soon as you bite into that meatless burger.

Soy also contains goitrogens which block thyroid function, phytates which prevent mineral absorption, and phytoestrogens which can cause natural estrogen to go awry in the body.

Now let’s address the other controversial ingredient in fake meat—leghemoglobulin, which also comes from soy. This is the stuff they put in the Impossible Burger to look and taste like blood.

The key ingredient, designed to look like real blood, actually does not meet the basic FDA, Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) status. This soy ‘heme’ is a bio-engineered protein additive that adds the meat-like taste and color. This GMO product is something that we as humans have never eaten before. Impossible Foods recognizes that SLH has never been widespread in the human diet in a natural or genetically engineered form.

According to this article in Huffpost (Aug, 2017) and several other news articles, Impossible Foods admitted that up to a quarter of the ‘heme’ ingredient in the burgers was also composed of 46 “unexpected” animal proteins, some of which have been identified and none that have been assessed for safety as of yet.

Impossible Foods put this genetically engineered product on the market even though the company has admitted to the FDA that it had not conducted safety tests. Despite the FDA’s warnings, Impossible Foods went ahead and started selling the Impossible Burger in 2016.

Uhh, please pass the REAL grass-fed beef burger…

What about some of the other meat substitutes? While they may not have the controversial GMO soy ingredient in them, most of them are highly processed foods, with lots of filler ingredients like wheat protein (gluten), starches and fillers, pea protein, isolated soy protein, natural and artificial flavors (no one knows WHAT these are), salt, sugars, and MSG. Honestly, those are not healthy ingredients, they are processed food ingredients, and many of those have their own health risks.

While Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods meats have similar amounts of protein, they are full of other UN-natural ingredients. I honestly don’t understand the thought process of wanting to eat a processed fake meat instead of real meat from a grass-fed cow or pasture-raised chicken.

Granted, I understand some of the reasoning to avoid the conventionally-raised, drug-filled, cruelly treated, polluting, CAFO meat from cattle or poultry. And to some extent, eating fake meat gets around some of the methane, CO2 emissions, and toxic runoff issues that surround CAFO meat.

However, synthetic biology has its own issues. What about this new lab-grown meat, otherwise known as “clean meat”. This is ‘Frankenburger’ for sure!

Lab-grown meat comes from stem cells from an animal’s muscle tissue, combined with a serum (usually from the fetuses of dead cows). After the cells are fed sugar and salts, they begin to grow into actual muscle fibers. Sometimes fat tissue is added to the meat to make it seem more ‘real’.

Yes, this so-called ‘clean meat’ is possibly better for the environment and uses less land and water, and the lab-grown meat producers say it will help to provide a solution to the need for meat for a growing population. Little is known about lab-grown meat at this point however; it thus far is extremely expensive to produce.

And what about nutrition? Certainly, meat grown in a petri dish cannot offer the natural health benefits that grass-fed meat does.

While large-scale industrial meat production takes its toll on our health, and the health of the earth, sustainable alternative do exist. Cattle that graze on land that is unusable for crops actually improve the soil quality of the earth by fertilizing it as they graze.

Compare that to all the industrial processing and packaging that goes into a fake meat like Impossible Burger. Mono-cropped grains, pesticides and fertilizers that destroy the natural, living soil, and fossil fuels that are used for large-scale farming and processing, along with factories to produce it, trucks and trains to transport it, and packaging of cardboard, ink and plastic.

If you can get away from CAFO meats, you will find that grass-fed, pastured-raised meats and poultry offer you far more NATURAL nutrition in a one-ingredient product. Naturally-raised meats contain far more healthy omega 3 fats, cancer-fighting conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), real bioavailable heme iron, vitamin A, and health-promoting antioxidants than grain-fed, unhealthy CAFO meat and poultry.

While some think the primary goal of avoiding meat is to stop the suffering of animals, compare a diet of grass-fed meat, dairy and pasture-raised chickens that eat a natural diet based on naturally-growing grass from un-tilled, naturally fertilized soil, that allows other animals to thrive as well.

Animals like gophers, snakes, toads, mice, rabbits, birds, insects, worms, grubs, and fish still live on this land that is alive. Cattle and chickens graze on the grass, leaving behind manure that goes back into the soil and nourishes it.

Compare this to mono-cropped fields, cleared of all natural plants, grasses, weeds, trees and animals, covered in artificial fertilizers, herbicides with genetically modified grains and watered with irrigated soil from a depleted river. Is this natural? Is this humane?

There is much that goes into this equation, and livestock get much of the blame, as do meat-eaters. Eating high-tech, manufactured, processed fake meat will not save us, our health, or the planet.

Here is a great quote from Dana Perls in an article published the The Medium, criticizing food tech:

“Instead of investing in risky new food technologies that are potential problems masquerading as solutions, shouldn’t we be investing in proven, beneficial, regenerative agriculture and transparent, organic food that consumers are actually demanding?”

A big part of the issue here is that we, as a whole, seem to have a total disconnect from nature. We humans are part of nature, and learning to eat NATURALLY, in a more sustainable way, is the answer. Not technologically-created food.

References
https://draxe.com/grass-fed-beef-nutrition/
https://draxe.com/lab-grown-meat-food-technology/
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/beef-of-the-future-is-here-and-its-not-made-of-meat_n_5b158064e4b010565aaeb066
https://sustainabledish.com/fake-burgers-make-no-sense/
https://www.foodandwine.com/news/clean-lab-grown-meat-plant-based-burger

The post Fake Meat vs Real Meat appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

Many hard-core environmentalists, celebrities and even doctors are advising us to eat a “plant-based” diet—or at the very least to give up eating “red meat”.  And if we’re going to eat meat, we’ve been told to eat chicken. But is that actually BAD advice?

Chicken is often considered by many a “clean” meat, and it’s usually boneless, skinless and hardly resembles something that comes from an animal at all.  It’s just…chicken.

The consumption of chicken has risen about 400% worldwide over the past 50 years while beef production has remained the same or decreased. Can we really save the world and our health, by eating more chicken and less red meat?  The answer, as you’ll see below, will surprise you.

People often say they have given up eating red meat out of concern for the animals, the environment, and their health. Those sound like good reasons on the outside… But while cutting out (CAFO) conventionally-raised red meat seems virtuous, eating chicken instead doesn’t do much to address those issues, and can even be worse in most cases.

Most all conventional meat and chicken is produced in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). CAFO meat production is deplorable and we should all definitely do our best to not support this type of agriculture! Animals raised on these factory farms are overcrowded and raised in filthy conditions where the animals have to wallow in a sea of their own feces. CAFOs house anywhere from hundreds to thousands of animals. CAFOs can include open feedlots for cattle and large windowless buildings where chickens are confined in boxes, cages, large crowded areas, or pens.

CAFOs also cause massive pollution to our groundwater and surface water supplies within miles of their operations. CAFO’s produce huge amounts of urine and feces that drain off into the water supply. And because these animals are given antibiotics, growth hormones, and other medications, these chemicals are present in the sewage and runoff the animals produce—which then soaks into the ground or runs off into our water supply.

Don’t Chickens Have a Better Life?

On the surface, eating chicken and eliminating red meat may SEEM like the healthier choice for our bodies, the animals and the planet, but it is not. Chicken is not actually healthier for us to eat, nor are the chickens treated any better, and there’s all of that air, land and water pollution.

Sure, many of us think that chickens run around a farm pecking their feed, clucking and crowing, but unfortunately the vast majority of chickens we eat come from large scale indoor operations. It’s difficult to find pastured, humanely raised, organic chickens to eat, unless you live on a farm or have access to local, outdoor farm-raised chickens.

Animals raised in CAFO’s are treated very badly, especially chickens. Most chicken comes from a CAFO where they are raised their entire lives (On the other hand, even beef finished in CAFO’s spends at least the first year or more of their life outdoors on grass). Chickens are packed into cages or on a filthy floor, where they can barely move around. The poor birds usually have their beaks seared off with a hot blade to avoid pecking each other to death, because they are so packed in so closely. These chickens are bred to grow breasts so big and heavy, they literally can barely walk, are often crippled, and many of them get trampled to death. Most never get outside to breathe fresh air or see the sunshine or eat their natural diets. Large scale organic chicken farms are not much better, unless they are actually pasture-raised, which is rare.

What About Salmonella, etc?

Because CAFOs are so filthy and overcrowded, these chickens are routinely given antibiotics just to prevent all the disease that flourishes in these dirty living conditions. This practice is a big reason there are antibiotic resistant bacteria. And when we eat those chickens, we can often ingest some pretty powerful and nasty bacteria ourselves.

More than 100,000 people were sickened by food-related illness outbreaks between 2009 and 2015, according to a new analysis by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And the food that made more people sick than any other? Chicken.

Chicken is most associated with salmonella poisoning, which causes some pretty serious food poisoning in humans. In addition, the CDC reports that chicken also carries these lovely pathogens as well—which can make you very sick if not killed during cooking:

• Campylobacter bacteria
• Clostridium perfringens bacteria

Then what about consuming “antibiotic-free, vegetarian fed, no animal by-products and cage free” chicken? …Not necessarily any better. This does not solve the problem either. Cage-free does not mean much, because these chickens are all crowded together wing to wing in a windowless facility where they never see the light of day. They may see the light of day through a small open window, but never actually make it outdoors. And, many chicken producers are now promoting antibiotic-free chicken, which is a step in the right direction, but there are many different meanings to the “no antibiotics” sales pitch.

Isn’t Vegetarian Fed Better for Me and Chickens?

Does that conjure up images of happy chickens pecking at their cracked corn in their pen? Chickens are not actually vegetarians; their natural diet includes things like grubs, worms and bugs. Chickens fed a diet of only grain will produce meat high in unhealthy, inflammatory omega 6 fats. Not healthy for anyone—not even chickens.

On top of that, grain for chicken feed is most times genetically modified and grown on huge, mono-cropped farms sprayed heavily with pesticides and herbicides. And many grain crops are doused in cancer-causing glyphosate just a week or so before harvest. So, your chicken is eating glyphosate-laced GMO grain, which you end up ingesting as well–with the all toxic effects on your body.

Mono-cropping for CAFO feed also destroys biodiversity by eliminating the habitat of small animals including birds, toads, insects, worms, rabbits, mice, rats, etc. to clear fields for planting and producing grain.

Did you know that sheep, pigs and cows have regulations for humane slaughter, but not so with poultry… They are killed in pretty inhumane ways. They are often stunned by being run through a vat of electrified water, then their throats are slit. Quite often, however, the electrified water is not effective, so the birds are awake and alert right before they die. At least half of the birds we eat have experienced intense stress and suffering before they reach our kitchen table.

But It’s More Ethical to Eat Chicken, Right?

Some people who are attempting to eat ‘ethically’ say they want to cause the least amount of animal deaths to support their diet and health. OK… So, a typical cow produces almost 500 lbs of edible meat. One person could live off the meat from one cow for almost 2 years if that’s the only meat they ate.  A chicken produces only about 50% edible meat from their 3-5 lb weight. To arrive at the same amount of meat, approximately 250 chickens have to die. That’s about 250x as much suffering and death. Do we really think it’s more “ethical” to kill 250 chickens vs just 1 cow?

What about Nutrition…Isn’t Chicken the Healthier Choice, as most think?

Let’s talk nutrition. Dietitians and misinformed doctors often scold us for eating red meat and try to tell us it’s linked to cancer, heart disease and diabetes, and advise us to eat skinless (white meat) chicken breasts instead. BAD advice!

Chicken contains protein and some vitamins/minerals, but beef (especially grass-fed and finished) has a LOT more healthy omega 3 fats, and far less of the inflammatory omega 6 fats. (Unless you can find true pastured-raised organic chicken, which does contain a good amount of omega 3 fats, collagen and protein.)

Beef also contains twice as much iron, selenium, zinc, and phosphorus—and far more vitamin B6 and B12 than chicken. In fact an average serving of beef will give you 45% of bioavailable B12, while chicken supplies only about 3%.

Beef also contains a good supply of heme-iron, the most absorbable kind of iron. Iron is necessary for red blood cells that carry oxygen in your body, and a shortage of available iron will cause anemia, usually in women. The biggest nutritional deficiency in the world is iron-deficiency anemia. Beef supplies TWICE as much bio-available, absorbable iron compared to chicken.

The other big deficiency, especially in vegans, vegetarians and the elderly is vitamin B12. B12 can only be obtained from animal sources. A lack of B12 also causes a type of anemia. B12 and iron deficiencies cause weakness, dizziness, heart palpitations, fatigue, brain fog, nerve problems like tingling, depression, and even dementia, and often a B12 and iron deficiency anemias are present at the same time. A good serving of healthy red meat will quickly fix this situation!

In addition to the nutrient profiles, RED meat also contains a variety of bioactive compounds that infer health benefits, including:

• Carnosine—an amino acid that has anti-inflammatory, immune regulating properties.
• CoQ10–a vitamin like compound that benefits the heart muscle and other muscles, generates growth, repair and maintenance.
• Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)—a natural healthy fat that helps burn your own fat, builds muscle, helps with weight loss, and strengthens the immune system.
• Glutathione–the “Master antioxidant” helps fight oxidative stress, aids in muscle recovery, and overall performance.
• L-carnitine—an amino acid that helps in fat metabolism, glucose levels and muscle building.
• Taurine—an important amino acid that improves insulin release, allows for better glucose tolerance and is a powerful antioxidant. It is vital for the proper function of the minerals potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sodium.

Beef, when compared to chicken, contains more carnosine (an amino acid), more coQ10, twice as much CLA, twice as much glutathione, 20-30 times more L-carnitine, and more taurine.  Overall, it’s been estimated by nutritionists that beef is 30% more nutrient-dense than chicken, providing significantly more of the nutrients our bodies need to thrive in good health.

Grass Fed/Grass-Finished vs CAFO Beef—Which is Healthier?

The demand for grass-fed beef has skyrocketed over the last decade. It’s often listed on menus at restaurants now and is commonly seen in the grocery store.

The term “grass-fed” can be confusing. All beef is generally grass-fed for the first 12-15 months of their life. Grass-fed and grass-finished meat contains the most benefits. Cattle that are grass-fed and then grain finished have a different nutrition profile, as they are typically finished in a CAFO on grain-based food for the last 4-6 months of their lives, which changes the nutrition of the meat for the worse.

Because grain is not a cow’s natural food, it often gives them indigestion, makes them sick, and makes them more likely to harbor dangerous e.coli bacteria. Another study shows that grain-fed cattle have more liver abscesses than grass-fed cattle (11% compared to 0.2%). Grass-fed cattle are overall, healthier and need less antibiotics and medications.

Grass-fed cattle roam around outside all day with plenty of room to eat whatever they wish, and obtain sunshine and a stress-free environment. As a result, they are healthier and happier. Most grain-fed cattle spend their days crowded inside a filthy pen, wading through their own excrement.

Grass-fed beef contains far more healthier fats including much higher omega 3 fats compared to omega 6 fats, and almost double the conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) compared to grain-fed cattle.  Grass-fed beef also contains significantly more vitamins and minerals than grain-fed beef.

By opting for grass-fed beef, you are supporting small farms who raise their cows in a natural, humane way and getting superior nutrition from healthier, happier cows. Calorie for calorie, it’s the way more efficient at delivering the highest quality protein in an easily digestible form.

Yes, it’s true that grass-fed beef is slightly more expensive than conventional beef, but given that it’s a more nutrient-dense food, it is worth the small extra cost to protect your health. If your budget just does not allow for grass-fed, even conventional beef does offers some nutritional advantage over chicken.  It seems odd to me that so many people will spend $1000 or more on their cell phone, or over $100 per month on their cell phone bill, but refuse to spend an extra $2 to $3 per lb for grass-fed meat that will protect their health.  Seems like an odd prioritization to me.

Speaking of cost, one of the best quality sources of grass-fed meats that I’ve found at a very affordable cost is called ButcherBox, and I use their service myself every month.  Try ButcherBox grass-fed meats here.

Another great source of high quality grass-fed meats is US Wellness meats here.

What About Red Meat and Cancer?

Some studies have been done on the association between red meat and cancer. While there has shown some association between the two, they are not conclusive. The main problem is that these studies do not differentiate between conventional red meat from CAFOs, processed (CAFO) meat with lots of added chemicals, nitrites, fat, antibiotics and growth hormones vs. naturally raised grass-fed beef. In other words, most of the studies on red meat do not differentiate between a grass-fed steak or a can of spam. All very different meats, with very different effects on your body.

Studies done on red meat and cancer are generally considered epidemiological research or observational studies. In other words, researchers study broad groups of people who eat lots of red meat and attempt to make connections to cancer. Remember that correlation does not equal causation. In other words, the association between the two may not be the cause.

It’s virtually impossible to separate out the variables in an observational study. Many people in these studies who consume red meat and processed meats may also be smokers, non-exercisers, and fast food/junk food/processed food consumers, eating few vegetables or fruits. So again, there is no differentiation between a meal of grass fed steak, organic vegetables, and a glass of water or McDonald’s meal of a (CAFO) Big Mac with french fries and a soda.

In other words, eating red meat in the context of a healthy diet and lifestyle is far different from eating red meat and processed meats in the context of an unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle.

There are no randomized controlled trials or clinical trials of any nature that show links between red meat and cancer.

Systematic reviews have more credulity and also have looked at the effects of red meat and cancer.

• Red meat, processed meat, or total meat is not associated with hepatocellular carcinoma
• There is insufficient evidence to confirm a link between red meat consumption as part of a healthy eating pattern and colorectal cancer.
• Consumption of red meat and processed meat was inconclusive as to overall risk of colorectal cancer.
• There is currently insufficient evidence to confirm a true link between the intake of red meat as part of a healthy dietary pattern and colorectal cancer risk.

Obviously, what TYPE of red meat is eaten (CAFO, processed or grass-fed/organic) is the most important consideration here, and we can’t lump meat-eating in with unhealthy behaviors like smoking, excessive drinking, lack of exercise, etc.

The bottom line is red meat—especially grass fed/organically raised and humanely raised meat will NOT cause cancer. For more information on this topic, click here and here.

And for those of you who are concerned about the latest report concerning a substance called TMAO found in red meat, read this. TMAO is a substance found in peoples’ guts who eat red meat that has been theorized to be related to heart disease. However correlation is not causation, and TMAO is also found in seafood in much higher concentrations than beef, yet we know that seafood consumption is good for heart health.  Therefore, most researchers agree that TMAO is not an issue of concern with meat.

But Red Meat is Bad for the Environment, Isn’t It?

Ok, what about red meat’s carbon footprint? Aren’t we destroying the environment if we eat red meat?  Not necessarily…

I will try to answer this in a short summary—but definitely this topic is worthy of a full article. There are so many factors that go into the footprint of our food, and common belief is that a vegetarian diet—or even a diet that excludes red meat has a much smaller carbon footprint, but there are costs to our health and the environment.

As Diana Rogers RD, said so well,

“The main one being that meat itself isn’t evil, it’s the method by which we farm it (feed lots and CAFOs-Confined Animal Feeding Operations) how we prepare it (breaded and deep fried, or served on a white flour bun), and what we eat alongside it (fries, and a large soda).”

Cattle get blamed for using a large amount of water, but that water is measured differently, depending on its use. When researchers analyze water use for agriculture, it is categorized depending on its use and its source. Green water is water that comes from precipitation; blue water is groundwater from aquifers and rivers used for irrigation; gray water is the water required to dilute pollutants to keep water at or above water quality standards.

All beef, CAFO or not, starts out being grass-fed for the first 12-15 months. Green water used for cattle is about 92%. For grass-fed and grass-finished beef, the green water number is 97-98%. Remember green water comes mainly from natural precipitation. However, when studies look at the amount of water cattle use, they also consider natural rainfall. When comparing water usage to chicken, natural rainfall is compared to the amount of irrigated water used grow grain crops. Having a general understanding of how the footprint numbers are derived makes a better case for the amount of water meat red meat actually uses versus grain-fed chickens.

From Diana Rogers:

“According to this study from UC Davis, which used the blue water methodology, “typical” beef requires approximately 410 gallons of water per pound to produce. A pound of rice production also requires about 410 gallons, and avocados, walnuts and sugar are similarly high in water requirements. In Nicolette Hahn Niman’s book, Defending Beef, she explains that the amount of water for grass-fed beef is closer to 100 gallons per pound to produce.

Once you understand how these footprint numbers are derived, you’ll understand how meaningless it is to use them as a critique of meat production. The equations also leave out a lot of critical information like soil type and health… It should also be noted that the nutrition in grass-finished beef is far superior to [chicken], rice, avocados, walnuts and sugar, so comparing “plant products” to “meat” is not really logical.”

For more detailed info on why properly raised grass-fed beef actually benefits the environment instead of destroying it, this article explains that topic more in-depth.

A truly sustainable diet, both in terms of the planet, and in terms of our health, includes grass-fed and grass-finished, humanely raised red meat, which is far more nutrient dense than chicken of any type. If you add in organic vegetables, seasonal fruits and healthy fats, you will have the optimal diet—for your health and for health of the planet. Leave the chicken alone unless you can find a local, truly pasture-raised, organic chicken that were not raised in CAFOs.

References
https://sustainabledish.com/meat-is-magnificent/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/chickens-slaughtered-conscious_us_580e3d35e4b000d0b157bf98
https://www.cdc.gov/features/SalmonellaChicken/
https://sustainabledish.com/10-reasons-stop-eating-much-chicken/
http://www.ecofarmingdaily.com/top-10-reasons-raise-eat-grass-fed-meat/
http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Practical/Health/15Reasons2NotEatMeat.htm
https://sustainabledish.com/protein-better-protein/
https://www.sierraclub.org/michigan/why-are-cafos-bad
https://www.nutritionadvance.com/healthy-foods/red-vs-white-meat/
https://www.nutritionadvance.com/is-grass-fed-beef-necessary/

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