The District Magazine Vol. 2 Issue 2, Summer 2017 | Page 20

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by Carlen Garmon
www.growingrootz.net
When it comes to summer fun
in Florida, no doubt grilling and
evenings with friends come to
mind but maintaining a clean
diet during the summer can be
a challenge. Well, that's where
some opinions might differ.
In general, when it comes to
consuming an adequate amount
of protein, chicken and fish are
considered the path of least
resistance to maintaining muscle
mass and keeping body fat
percentages low, but this may
not be the case at all. So what's
the determining factor? You've
probably heard the phrase, "you
are what YOU eat" but I go one
step further and say- "you are
what you eat eats." Do terms like
cage free, free range, pastured,
grass-fed, grass-finished, etc.
have any bearing on how you
obtain and maintain optimal
20
20
health and physique? I would
argue that, YES, they do.
If I had a dollar for every time
that I've had a customer tell
me "I don't eat beef, I'm trying
to lose weight." Let's just say
a significant portion of my job
is the education! For instance,
we know that farmed fish is
generally higher in mercury and
fat than wild-caught but have
you thought about other meats
this way too? You can imagine
the variety of differences that
are found in Beef and Chicken
when you’re purchasing grass-
finished or pastured vs. grain-
fed or your run of the mill
“antibiotic-free”
selections.
When meats are raised in their
natural environments (ahem, free-
roaming and OUTSIDE) we find
that fat content is substantially
decreased naturally and find a
MUCH better-balanced nutrition
with higher concentrations of
vitamins and minerals as well
(think spinach vs. corn in the
human diet). The main culprit of
beef's bad rap is high-fat content.
This happens to be perfectly
balanced in a grass-finished cow-
it’s easy to see that beef has a
solid nutritional edge over even
free-range poultry when also
comparing fatty acids, proteins,
fat-soluble anti-oxidants, and
minerals that grass-finished beef
has to offer. Amazing how Nature
Knows Best, huh??
So, when you're thinking
about grilling out with friends
this summer or what you'll be
prepping for the week's meals,
don't leave beef out of the
running- just make sure you're
receiving from the best source
possible.