CONVERTED! The Short Road to Vegetarianism

About a year ago I wrote an article about vegetarians and vegans. I think I may have grouped both lifestyles together -- I don't actually remember. What I do recall is that the very thought of me giving up a grilled steak was about as sacrilegious a thing as I could think of. Give up meat? That's almost un-American!

Funny, the difference a year makes.

Americans eat more meat than any other population in the world, with the typical American eating over 60 pounds of beef a year. I've learned that much of this beef -- not all, but probably the vast majority -- is filled with harmful additives and is raised in such a way that it at best provides little more for your body than something to fill your stomach, and at worst is contributing to the degeneration of your health.

According to the medical research site www.mercola.com, more and more Americans realize the importance of eliminating or reducing grains in their diets, but since nearly all cattle are grain-fed before slaughter, if you eat most traditionally raised beef it will typically worsen your omega-6/omega-3 ratio.

So just what is the omega-6/omega-3 ratio? I'm glad you asked.

According to a study published in The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition(www.nature.com), livestock that are fed on grain have more omega-6 fat, which may promote heart disease, and less omega-3 fat, which is beneficial for cardiac health, than both wild animals and grass-fed livestock.

It is therefore much to an individual's advantage to eat grass-fed beef, but how can you be sure that the beef you're eating is really grass-fed? An inexpensive, yet effective, way to determine if the beef is really from a grass-fed animal is to purchase the ground beef. Slowly cook the beef till done and drain and collect all the fat. Grass-fed beef is very high in omega-3 fats and will be relatively thin compared to traditionally prepared ground beef. It will also be a liquid at room temperature as it has very few saturated fats, which are mostly solid at room temperature.