Modern Caveman: The Complete Paleo Lifestyle Handbook by Brett L. Markham

Author:Brett L. Markham
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Diets, Diet & Nutrition, Healthy Living, Health & Fitness
ISBN: 9781628737158
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2014-04-29T07:00:00+00:00

Omega-6 and Omega-3 Levels in Meat

The importance of maintaining a ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 polyunsaturated fats in the diet was covered in the chapter on fats. This becomes relevant with regard to meat because modern confinement meat production operations generate meat that is higher in omega-6 than the wild meats available during most of our evolution.

One way to solve this problem is to raise meat and eggs yourself or become a very proficient hunter. For my family growing up, both served as the predominant sources of meat, and I still hunt and raise some of my own meat and eggs. But this isn’t practical for someone living in a 400 sq. ft. studio apartment in Brooklyn.

Another option is to purchase grass-fed, free-range, and organic eggs and meat. These types of meat have superior levels of omega-3 fats, and they don’t contribute added hormones and antibiotics to the food supply. Unfortunately, grass-fed, organic, and free-range meat and eggs tend to be expensive—roughly three times the cost of their industrial equivalents. If you can afford these—excellent; please do so. But what if you can’t?

If you can’t, don’t worry. Free-range eggs are affordable. You can buy wild-caught fish that was frozen at sea (and also canned varieties), and canned sardines in water are also affordable. All three of these items are very high in omega-3, and if you eat fish just three times a week, it is sufficient to balance out the omega-6 from industrial meat. Let’s look at an eight-ounce serving of industrially produced T-bone steak.

An eight-ounce portion of T-bone steak has 16 g of saturated fat, 21 g of monounsaturated fat, and 1.6 g of polyunsaturated fat. The saturated fat has no adverse effects, the monounsaturated fat has the same benefits as the monounsaturated fat in olive oil, and the amount of polyunsaturated fat is so small that even if it were all omega-6, it would be balanced out by only a quarter of a can of sardines.

Along with this you’d get 53 g of complete protein, 117 percent of the RDA of vitamin B12, 106 percent of the RDA for selenium, 96 percent of the RDA of zinc, 69 percent of the RDA of niacin, 59 percent of the RDA of vitamin B6, and so forth. And that is industrial feedlot beef. Grass-fed beef is even more nutritious. But feedlot beef, included in the diet daily, has a favorable effect on blood lipids and reduces markers of inflammation when trimmed of visible fat.3

How about a couple of pork chops? Two pork chops (using data from industrial feedlot pork—free-range pork is more healthy) deliver 7 g of saturated fat, 8 g of monounsaturated fat, and 2.4 g of polyunsaturated fat. (Even if all of it is omega-6, it would take only half of a can of sardines to balance it out. I use sardines as an example, but other fish would work fine.) It also gives you 31 g of complete protein, 104 percent of the RDA for thiamine, 40 percent of the RDA of phosphorus, 38 percent of the RDA of riboflavin, and more.

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