Column #55

A lady asked: “You specify that your chickens are not fed antibiotics while they are growing. So does this mean that when they’re full grown and no longer ‘growing,’ do you then feed them antibiotics? I am severely ill, and I was instructed by my doctor to only eat 100% organic, grass-fed meats never treated with antibiotics or hormones.”

The answer is we never feed antibiotics nor do we implant with hormones, but there are far better reasons to eat grass-fed and Omega-3 meats. For starters, her doctor’s instructions reveal how little he knows about nutrition, animal husbandry, and the primary causes of chronic disease. Common misconceptions are why most doctors give misleading nutritional advice and their patients keep going back to them year after year until death.

Her doctor did recommend grass-fed meats, but his emphasis on organic and contaminants implies his focus is on poisons rather than nutritional deficiencies determined by food chemistry. He doesn’t understand that deficiencies and anti-nutrients, not contaminants, cause most chronic diseases.

Since most Americans have no experience with food production, they don’t know how livestock, grain, vegetables, nuts, and fruit are raised. They don’t understand that the antibiotic issue doesn’t cause chronic disease; rather it’s a concern for developing drug resistant bacteria.

Giving hormones to chickens and pigs has been unlawful for many decades. Implying it occurs is an advertising gimmick used by unscrupulous marketers. Even legally implanted hormones in cattle do not cause chronic disease, but natural hormones found in some foods sure do. This underscores why we must be more concerned about the natural chemistry of food more than contaminants.

Most of today’s food choices, even organic foods, have nutritional deficiencies which cause chronic disease. To address deficiencies we must look “Beyond Organic” and evaluate each food’s natural chemistry. The human body requires a very specific chemistry for optimum health:

1) 1:1 balance of the essential Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids,
2) low glycemic,
3) all nutrients in a dense package.

Foods that meet all three criteria are grass-fed meats, Omega-3 meats, wild-caught seafood, and green leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach, and broccoli.

Most other food choices are deficient in one or more of these criteria. Amongst the worst are grains (even rice and oatmeal!), all seeds, olive oil and vegetable oils, breads, nuts, grain-fed meats including free range chicken, and high glycemic foods (honey, sugar, and many fruits, and even some vegetables--especially potatoes).

Doctors are educated in the use of drugs and operations, not nutrition. What they know about food is mythology and it contributes to healthcare consuming 18% of our nation’s GNP. Even shopping at a health food store is not the solution because too many “health” foods with fancy names are identical to those found at Walmart.

The only way to discover if a strictly disciplined approach to food chemistry works is to use that approach for a dedicated period of time such as three months. Try it and you may be blown away by the results. And that’s no quack!

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:

Steroid Hormone Implants Used for Growth in Food-Producing Animals

Antibiotic Debate Overview from PBS

Pesticides and Health, Myths vs Realities

Cereal Grains: Humanity’s Double-Edged Sword

Food Analysis