What Meat Do You Eat?

What Meat Do You Eat?

Are you a meat eater? On the paleo diet? Low carb diet? Atkins? A Carnivore?

If you choose to eat meat, there are several things to consider when you weigh your options for the best choice to consume.

Obviously, we want to choose a source of meat that is the least processed – that you can still see fat or bone present – such as a steak, ribs, pork chop, chicken leg or even the whole raw chicken.

Steer clear of the processed meats, such as hot dogs, deli meats, cold cuts, pepperoni, bacon and anything else that you know has undergone some sort of processing to get to its current state.

But when choosing the best meat for you and your family, it goes much deeper than just finding what is available at your grocery store that is the least processed.

Let’s consider for a moment the animals and animal products that we are consuming.

They have taken months or possibly years to get to their full size before slaughter. This gives them plenty of time to eat and eat and eat to grow large enough to be sent to market.

This also gives the animal plenty of time to gather up toxins in their bodies from the food supply they are given to eat when they are conventionally grown. Often, they are being fed genetically modified corn, soy and mixed feed that has been sprayed generously with many doses of pesticides. These pesticides are accumulated in the bodies of these animals and passed on to us when we eat them.

The animals are generally kept in tight quarters with several hundred other animals and can easily pass germs around to one another. This means that there is often antibiotics added to their food supply to control illness among the population. This is also passed on to us when we eat them, not to mention into the ground water supply from their excretions.

For these reasons and many others, it is important to choose meat that has been naturally raised to ensure that your family is getting a high quality product. When animals are raised in their natural environment and eat their native diet, they naturally produce meats that are higher in minerals, essential fatty acids and vitamins. 

Look for labels such as:

• organic
• grass fed
• free range
• pasture raised
• wild caught
• antibiotic free
• GMO free

The best place to find the highest quality meat for your family are directly at organic farms, Farmer’s Markets, and health foods stores in your community. Talk to the famers, the producers and associates to purchase humanely raised, and as-organic-as-possible animal products. 

Including animal products in your diet can add variety to your diet and provide you with essential vitamins and minerals if you are mindful of selecting high-quality products. Pairing meat with a salad and lots of colourful vegetables can make a great meal filled with the nutritious fuel your body needs to function at its best.

Save the Bees! Without Them, Humanity Can’t Survive

bees and dandelions

Stop. And. Listen. Do you hear bees buzzing in your yard, hard at work? If we aren’t careful, that could soon be a sound of the past.

Whatever you do this spring, don’t pull out the dandelions that pop up in your yard or garden. Yes, I know that we have all been convinced by yard maintenance companies and marketing that dandelions are not aesthetically pleasing and therefore they should be sprayed or pulled out. But, dandelions are the first source of food in the spring to feed our precious, hard-working bees (and other insects).

Bees are responsible for the pollination of approximately 35% of our food supply and it is our job to protect them.

With the widespread use of pesticides and chemicals on crops we are killing off the bee population at an alarming rate.

While the world stopped to listen to the story of Kim Kardashian’s Paris robbery last year, we missed noting that bees have been put on the endangered list.

Without bees, we can expect to see a significant impact on the agricultural industry.  Although bees are not necessary for the pollination of all crops, they do play an integral role in the pollination of melons, squash, nuts such as cashews, brazil nuts and almonds, apples, berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries), and stone fruits.

As the bee population continues to be affected, the concern is that these fruits and vegetables will be available in lower yields, which would drive the cost of these up as availability is reduced. Understanding that these are the staple foods of a whole food diet, it is concerning that a diet consisting of whole foods is likely to become less accessible and therefore could have a negative impact on the health of our communities moving forward. 

Spread the word about the bee population. Talk to your neighbours, friends, family and whoever else you come into contact with. Start a conversation in your community about what can be done to reduce the use of chemicals and pesticides. Starting a community gardening program is an excellent way to educate the community on the importance of the bee population while growing organic produce. If that isn’t an option in your community, starting a small backyard garden is easy and extremely rewarding. Bees love flowers, fruits and vegetables, so pick your favourites and start growing!

Finally, by purchasing local, raw honey you are supporting a local farmer who is working hard to maintain the bee population. The nutritional benefits of eating raw, locally sourced honey include providing anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial properties. Raw honey is also rich in vitamins, minerals and enzymes. Most honey that we buy in the grocery store has been processed at high temperatures and has additives, which radically reduces the effectiveness of the honey in your diet.

We encourage you to do whatever you can to help save the bee population. It could be as simple as planting a patch of wild flowers, eliminating the use of chemicals on your lawn or letting your dandelions thrive this spring!

Are you still consuming this poison that causes your brain cells to self destruct?

This is one of the worst substances ever created in the laboratory. And it has been systematically added to our food supply for the last few decades.

This artificial sweetener is hiding in many of your foods and it is important to be diligent in reading labels to be sure you are avoiding it.

Aspartame is a neurotoxin – which means it actually chemically toxifies your brain cells to death with poison.

It is used as a sweetener in diet drinks, yogurt, gum, and many pre-packaged foods.

There is overwhelming evidence (over 900 studies) stating that it creates irreversible damage in the body, with over 92 known side effects.

You can imagine that it can be somewhat difficult to pinpoint the cause of your symptoms if you are unknowingly ingesting this sweet poison.

For example, some of the known side effects include epileptic seizures, aggression, heart palpitations, migraines, brain damage, hives, nausea and blindness. Also, multiple sclerosis, cancer, Parkinson’s, Diabetes, Alzheimer’s and brain tumours.

The side effects can either build up gradually over time, or can be an acute reaction.

According to Lendon Smith, M.D. there is an enormous population suffering from side effects associated with aspartame, yet have no idea why drugs, supplements and herbs don’t relieve their symptoms.

Are you being poisoned by Aspartame and don’t even know it?

You are being poisoned if you are using any of these products:
• NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Amino-Sweet
• Children’s Tylenol chewable tablets
• Centrum Jr. and Silver Vitamins
• Metamucil (sugar free)
• Some Flintstones vitamins
• Dimetapp
• Some Gerber hydration solutions
• All diet sodas
• Smucker’s sugar free products
• Kool-Aid
• Crystal-Light
• Jello
• Most brands of gum and mints
• Sugar free candies
• Some sugar free yogurts
• Some breakfast cereals and granola bars
• Most items that are labelled sugar free

There are many more products that aren’t on this list that also contain aspartame. It’s important to read the labels of everything you consume, to be sure you are not inadvertently poisoning yourself or your family.

Also look for anything that contains Asesulfame K or Acesulfame Potassium. They can also mimic aspartame and are sometimes used in conjunction with each other.

So how do you avoid Aspartame?

The easiest way to avoid aspartame is to eat real food. Shop in the perimeter of the grocery store and spend 90% of your time in the produce department. Choose foods that do not require a label. For example, an apple is an apple. It doesn’t need a label to identify the ingredients that are inside of the apple.

If you used to sweeten your coffee with an artificial sweetener, switch to real food!

Honey has amazing health benefits and tastes great. Pure maple syrup also contains a great deal of nutrition. Use these sugars sparingly, as they are very sweet and can add several calories to your beverage. However, those calories come with a lot of nutrition, and no matter what, they are SO much better than aspartame.

This is a very informative short video outlining the dangers of Aspartame and how to avoid it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB6L9S_jc5E

With Sources from:

visit http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-effects.html
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/06/aspartame-most-dangerous-substance-added-to-food.aspx