A Perfect Storm: Health Insights on Grassfed Beef

March 12, 2020 , Ted Slanker

A Perfect Storm

Column #238

When you’re in for a rough ride, the cowboys will tell ya, “Pull your hat down.”

If the politicians, government health officials, and newscasters haven’t scared the bejesus out of you yet, then you’re tone deaf. It seems that some of them are hellbent on shutting down the entire economy—the private sector economy that is. It’s as if they don’t realize the importance of people working and what that means to their survival. I sometimes wonder, have some players literally created a panic that may be far more costly than the virus?

Many more people are certain to come down with COVID-19 in the next few weeks. As we all know, people over 65 with chronic conditions have to be especially vigilant. It’s far less dangerous for most younger people. On the other hand COVID-19 is deadly for anyone with serious chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, lung disease (including asthma), liver disease, and other autoimmune issues all of which can be addressed with diet. (Of course, that’s why you’re reading this column.) It’s especially dangerous to smokers. When elders catch the virus about 15% of them will die. I believe the death rate is much higher for folks over 80 with chronic conditions.

Younger people that catch COVID-19 have little to worry about. For the very young it’s not near as bad as the annual flu bug even though they do become carriers. Still, even youngsters with chronic conditions (meaning poor immune systems and smokers) are the most likely to die and their death rates will be higher than the average. Here’s some average COVID-19 numbers:
●    1.3% deaths for people in their 50s
●    0.4% deaths for people in their 40s
●    0.2% deaths for people 10 to 39
●    Youngsters rarely catch it or even exhibit symptoms when they do catch it
●    Overall, 90% or more of the COVID-19 cases are very mild
●    The annual flu bug’s overall death rate is 0.1%.

The typical flu bug kills a lot of people. On average, in spite of there being a vaccine for it, about 8% of the U.S. population (26 million people) gets the flu and the death rate is typically around 0.1% or 26,000. Without the vaccine the death rate would be quite a bit higher! Worldwide about 400,000 people die each year from the flu and the world doesn’t shut down to stop it. Unlike COVID-19 the flu hits children quite hard. Flu deaths are also associated with chronic conditions such as pneumonia or a secondary bacterial infection of the heart or brain. Younger children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems are at greatest risk.

So, it doesn’t matter if it’s COVID-19 or the flu, they both underscore the importance of individuals having a strong immune system as their primary defense. Below I’ll explain the critical role diet plays in maximizing the immune system’s effectiveness. The science is not new. It’s just ignored. If you’re not tuned in, this is your wake-up call.

Sounding the Alarming Alarm

America’s mainstream news sources, and even many of the independent Internet types, are famous for being way more dramatic and biased than matter-of-fact. This past week they basked in the light of their reporting of the “perfect storm.” COVID-19 is springing up around the world and people are dying. The draconian measures being taken for slowing down the infection rate are disrupting private sector businesses. Declining sales and earnings in the private sector have translated into a 27.7% stock market plunge which took the Dow Jones Index back to where it was in mid-2017. And to top it off, the Arabs, in an effort to cut oil production and keep oil prices up, called an OPEC meeting where the Ruskies walked out. In retaliation, that night the Arabs dumped the oil price by 25% and announced oil production increases!

If I were to write a book where all of this occurred in a matter of a few of weeks, it would be called ridiculous fiction. Instead it’s a real life perfect storm that some actors are more interested in exploiting for reasons I can’t fathom. Are they purposefully that sinister? No question, we are “living in interesting times.”

What’s amazing is how sheeples react. Fear and panic has risen to levels rarely seen in a lifetime! Coronavirus anxiety is running so high that hospitals are being swamped by patients wanting therapy help for coping with just the news. People have been fighting over toilet paper yet COVID-19 doesn’t call for it. They won’t eat in a Chinese restaurant, but they’ll go to a non-Chinese one next door. They’re freaked out about falling stock prices and losing their jobs and on and on it goes.

Of course, in order to be so thoroughly panicked people must be projecting today’s news into the Hereafter. To them the “Breaking News!” has left them feeling like “there is no hope and woe is me.” The rest of us, who are also definitely concerned about all this, are trying to stand back and calmly analyze the public mood. It’s truly an event to witness with curiosity and objectivity knowing it will pass in time. Sheer panic takes too much energy to last for long and even scourges like this virus will pass.

Newscasters are cuckoo when reporting the number of “new” cases. “They just keep rising!” they scream. For sure . . . what else can it do? That number can only increase until there are no new cases. And it will never decrease because new cases can’t be undone.

COVID-19 started in China and as of today has spread to 136 countries and territories. WORLDWIDE the “new” case total is 142,766 and rising. Of the 76,293 closed cases there were 5,373 deaths (7.04% death rate) with 70,920 cured survivors. That leaves 63,100 cases of infection of which 91% are mild. You can see updated stats by visiting https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/.

Based on population our nation’s numbers are quite low compared with other countries. So far the United States has 1,864 total COVID-19 cases, 41 deaths, and 31 recoveries which leaves 1,792 active cases. Compared to the flu, which most Americans have literally ignored for decades, COVID-19 is a nothingburger. But once again, the COVID-19 virus is like the flu virus or cold virus—they’re all contagious. That’s why COVID-19 will infect more people. As an aside, the many steps being taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are also preventing some new cases of the flu and colds.

My comments may seem like I’m being rather flippant about COVID-19. But I read where John Hopkins thinks that COVID-19 is like the annual flu bug. It doesn’t consider COVID-19 to be a threat anywhere like the deadliest viruses such as Marburg, Ebola, Rabies, HIV, and smallpox. That makes me wonder then, why the panic? Many of the tactics being implemented and suggested can literally bankrupt the private sector leaving only government employees with jobs. So there are limits to what the working stiffs can do.

Shutting down commerce on a worldwide basis is a rather flabbergasting step for battling a bug. Most people and most businesses cannot survive being shut down for more than a week or two. So this is rightfully stressing people out. Following the plunge in the oil price, a major portion of our nation’s petroleum industry is upside down. Do we now need a $20 per barrel tariff on foreign oil to raise our domestic price to $50? Why are the Arabs taking the tactic they have? In whose interest are the working? The financial pressure on our oil industry has certainly put a crunch on our country’s banking system at the worst possible time. And that underscores the importance of our country being less reliant on other countries for vital necessities—such as nearly all of our medicines from China.

As for the stock market, it was flashing red warning signs all year and analysts were concerned about it being overextended on the upside. Markets are like rubber bands. They can only be stretched so far before they snap back. With our perfect storm the snap back quickly became excessive. When prices plunge like they did some people panic sell. Other investors who have stock as collateral against loans are forced to sell their positions by their lenders. This exaggerates downdrafts and actually ends up creating opportunities. So in spite of the doom and gloom, this virus shall pass and so will the market grief.

Improving Immunity

Improving immunity is a process. It takes time. While we work on our immunity to protect ourselves against viruses, bacteria, and injuries, we must also take the necessary precautions such as hand washing, avoiding too much close contact, disinfecting surfaces touched by others, and ordering products online or via delivery services rather than visiting crowded stores. Many businesses, even local ones, will deliver or ship their products.

But of paramount importance is our immunity. When we improve our immunity that has a huge positive impact on all body functions. There is no doubt that improper diets cause diabetes, heart disease, lung disease (including asthma), liver disease, and many other autoimmune issues. The flip side is a proper diet has multiple benefits. Concerns for obesity, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, liver disease, and autoimmune issues diminish significantly. People with strong immune systems may be amongst those who don’t even know if they contract COVID-19. And if they do, they’re likely to have a quick positive outcome because their health is not compromised.

The following fundamental steps for a stronger immune system are well documented in the scientific literature. The information is not new. The problem is it’s been ignored because it calls for a change in the foods consumed and other lifestyle changes. People are addicted to the food they’ve always eaten. They have other habits that tear down their immunity. But now, with this wake-up call, maybe more people will be interested in actually following nutritional science rather than brushing it off in exchange for pleasure. What’s interesting is that after people develop new habits they will grow on them and bring them pleasure. For example, many former smokers are intolerant of smokers because they prefer clean air.

The basics are that our bodies, which include our immune systems, function best when bolstered by broad-based healthy-living strategies such as:

Don’t Smoke
Exercise Regularly
Maintain a Healthy Weight
Drink Alcohol Only in Moderation
Get Adequate Sleep
Minimize Stress and Anxiety
Eat Nutrient High Foods Emphasizing a 1:1 Balance of Omega-6 to Omega-3

All those steps are important, but when the food chemistry component is deficient the other steps are relatively ineffective in preventing autoimmune issues. What is it about diet that weakens the immune system? It’s plain and simple. It’s malnutrition.

For more than 50 years researchers in biology and nutrition have emphasized the importance of Omega-3 EFAs in supporting the immune system. This is why you hear about Omega-3 so often. But their definition of the Omega-3 deficiency is universally misunderstood. They are not referring to popping an Omega-3 pill. That’s because Omega-6 and Omega-3 are essential fatty acids (EFAs) that play complimentary roles in body function. To learn more about this read the report: “The Importance of the Ratio of Omega-6/Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids” by A. P. Simopoulos, PhD.

Our bodies can’t manage essential nutrients which is why when it comes to essential nutrients we are exactly what we eat. So it’s critically important to know that the quantity we require of Omega-3 EFA is determined by its ratio with Omega-6 EFAs. For millions of years mankind’s EFA ratio was 1:1 Omega-6 to Omega-3 up until the invention of farming about 10,000 years or so ago.

As mankind’s diet of mostly grass-fed meat and wild-caught seafood began to include more fruit, vegetables, nuts, and grain, those new foods skewed his EFA ratio from being around 1:1 to where it’s now between 10:1 and 15:1. These high ratios DEFINE the Omega-3 deficiency. Deficiencies are what malnutrition is all about. When entire societies have high EFA ratios, the incident rate of their autoimmune diseases is way higher than societies with ratios of 2:1 or less.

Following World War II Americans saw a big shift in their diet away from grass-fed meats and vegetables (many home grown) to grain-fed meats, far more carbohydrates from vegetables and grain, more grain-based concocted foods, more nuts, and way more sugar and syrups of all kinds. So, in the past 70 years obesity has become ubiquitous, chronic diseases of all kinds are referred to as epidemics, and medical bills have become huge burdens for not only individuals but also the State. And, wouldn’t you know it, all this sickness and expense is assumed to be natural!

Most of the foods Americans eat are loaded with Omega-6 EFAs and deficient in Omega-3 EFAs. Relying on Omega-3 supplements to lower the EFA ratio below 2:1 is not the best way nor safest way to achieve a 1:1 ratio. Eating properly balanced whole foods with only a daily tablespoon or so of fish oil supplement is best. Supplements are like taking drugs which are mostly focused on single pathways. On the other hand, eating whole foods is a metabolical approach that addresses multiple modalities.

I highly recommend to everyone the Omega-3 test at http://omega3test.com/. Put slanker in the offer code for a significant discount. This simple blood test focuses on heart health although the same EFA ratio applies to the immune system as well. Ratios exceeding 4:1 are not good. Ratios of 2:1 or less are more reassuring. With a strict diet of proper foods the EFA ratio can be lowered from 15:1 to less than 4:1 in 10 weeks.

The best nutrient dense and diverse whole foods will be grass-fed meat, Omega-3 meat, and wild-caught seafood. They are easily digested plus their nutrients match what people need. Next are the green leafy vegetables. The top of the food list for optimizing health and immunity ends there. That’s because the chemistry of fruits, nuts, seeds, and roots are not the same as green leaves.

The nutritional attributes of the whole foods required by our animal bodies are the same as one million years ago. They are:
●    Low Glycemic
●    Nutrient Dense and Diverse
●    Have 1:1 balances of Omega-6 to Omega-3 EFAs

Any food item not meeting all three criteria actually dilutes the diet and introduces deficiencies and often inflammation. Eating foods that fulfill all three criteria is what it takes to not only improve one’s health for the long-term, but what it takes to protect one from bacteria, viruses, and injuries in the short-term.

Conclusion

Just like there will be a bottom for stock prices, a return to stability in commerce, an end to the spreading COVID-19 infections and subsequent media and political rants about it, but there will also be cures and eventually vaccines for COVID-19. There are many top scientists working on both cures and vaccines. Some of the cures are surprisingly advanced and may be much closer in time than we think. Take for instance the work being done by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. It’s so space age that few laymen can comprehend what they are doing. That’s only one of the many companies racing for the prize money and fame for developing a serum type cure or a vaccine.

Additionally, the hygiene steps being enacted by so many to halt the spread of COVID-19 are also working at halting the spread of the flu virus which is far more widespread right now.

Obviously this perfect storm we’re currently in is not the end of the world. But it is a wake-up call for self improvement. And in the same way that panics provide opportunities in the markets, this Omega-3 wake-up call is an opportunity for many to take proactive steps that will benefit them for years to come. It most certainly is a wake-up call for our nation’s leaders to work positively together for the good of the nation. But this latter dream may be expecting too much.

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

Don’t miss these links for additional reading:

Coronavirus Disease 2019 vs. The Flu Reviewed by Lisa Lockerd Maragakis, M.D., M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins Health System

2019-2020 U.S. Flu Season: Preliminary Burden Estimates from CDC

The 12 Deadliest Viruses on Earth by Anne Harding from Live Science

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Mortality Rate from World Meters

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Stats Live Updates from World Meters

Coronavirus Anxiety Is Running So High, All My Therapy Patients Want Help Coping by Maggie Mulqueen, psychologist from NBC News

Pandemic from Wikipedia

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

The Importance of the Ratio of Omega-6/Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids by A. P. Simopoulos, PhD

by Kerry Laing

by Saray Gutiérrez, et al.