Hello everyone!

I was wondering what people's thoughts are about pork as meat that is (usually) grain-fed. I know that cows that are grain-fed have horrible omega 6/3 ratios. But, I wonder what pork's ratio of omega fats is? Does anyone know? I love pork (especially how fatty it is), but am a bit concerned about the balance of omega fats. What are your thoughts on this? Would be very interested to know.

Thanks.

Whatever the animal ate before it was slaughterred does not bother me.
I would love to be able to eat more organic meats but as I am on a very limited income it does not allow me that luxury so I do not worry about it.

In the meantime I eat ground flax, nuts and seeds when I can and salmon, sardines, fish and other natural foods rich in Omega 3's so I think it all balances out in the end. I actually have been working on a Nutritional scrapbook where I paste in any good nutrition/exercise info found in newspapers and magazines so I will have it to refer to later if I forget something.

I'm not much of a pork eater because when I cook it I find it too chewy but when I do have it I try to find the fattest cuts and that is very difficult here. Pork seems to be sold very lean in the stores I shop at.

Anyway I would guess that pork ratios would be much like a cow as they are both fed grains. Have you tried finding a source near you for pigs that are allowed a more natural diet?

Dean: Remembering some of your earlier posts in which you state that you buy meat directly from farms, perhaps some of those farms also sell pork from free range hogs. You should look into that as well.
Jaime: for those people who suffer from Celiac's Disease or any grain allergies, I think eating meat from animals that were fed grain would affect their health, but I may be wrong.

It might but I do not suffer from Celiac's disease so I do not need to worry.

My ex bf's mother suffers from celiac disease and if it were possible I would ask him in an email if eating meat from grain fed animals effects her but lately he has taken to being a snob and does not want me to talk to him anymore.

(OT: I found that out when I emailed him to wish him a Happy Easter and he told me not to email him anymore along with a few other things he said to me that were not very nice at all.)

One of the main reasons it's not good to eat grainfed meat is that it is much lower in Omega-3 fatty acids than grassfed. There are studies that discuss the health benefits of grassfed beef:

Check out http://www.eatwild.com/cla.html

"Dhiman, T. R., G. R. Anand, et al. (1999). "Conjugated linoleic acid content of milk from cows fed different diets." J Dairy Sci 82(10): 2146-56.

Conjugated linoleic acid in milk was determined from cows fed different diets. In Experiment 1, cows were fed either normal or high oil corn and corn silage. Conjugated linoleic acid was 3.8 and 3.9 mg/g of milk fatty acids in normal and high oil treatments, respectively. In Experiment 2, cows consumed one-third, two-thirds, or their entire feed from a permanent pasture. Alfalfa hay and concentrates supplied the balance of feed for the one-third and two-third pasture treatments. Conjugated linoleic acid was 8.9, 14.3, and 22.1 mg/g of milk fatty acids in the one-third, two-third, and all pasture treatments, respectively. Cows grazing pasture and receiving no supplemental feed had 500% more conjugated linoleic acid in milk fat than cows fed typical dairy diets."

And a little run down of the health benefits of CLA at

CLA has been the subject of a variety of research in the past several years, and findings also suggest that some of the other benefits of CLA include the following, quoted from http://www.mercola.com/beef/cla.htm

"Increases metabolic rate -- This would obviously be a positive benefit for thyroid patients, as hypothyroidism -- even when treated -- can reduce the metabolic rate in some people.

Decreases abdominal fat -- Adrenal imbalances and hormonal shifts that are common in thyroid patients frequently cause rapid accumulation of abdominal fat, so this benefit could be quite helpful.

Enhances muscle growth -- Muscle burns fat, which also contributes to increased metabolism, which is useful in weight loss and management.

Lowers cholesterol and triglycerides -- Since many thyroid patients have elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels, even with treatment, this benefit can have an impact on a thyroid patient's health.

Lowers insulin resistance -- Insulin resistance is a risk for some hypothyroid patients, and lowering it can also help prevent adult-onset diabetes and make it easier to control weight.

Reduces food-induced allergic reactions -- Since food allergies can be at play when weight loss becomes difficult, this can be of help to thyroid patients.

Enhances immune system -- Since most cases of thyroid disease are autoimmune in nature, enhancing the immune system's ability to function properly is a positive benefit. "

I really wish I had more access to grassfed animals....

Hi Clan
When I arrived in Australia 20 years ago pork wasn't eaten much because of fears of spoilage during Summer (it gets hot here!). Over the years there have been huge promotions by the pork industry: "pork-- the other white meat", "get some pork on your fork", and the latest rather risque one "wouldn't you like a bit of pork". You'd have to see the tv ads to understand
Result has been a pork boom and then they tried to introduce a whole range of cuts called "new fashioned pork" with rather pretentious things like "middle cut medallion of rump" etc. It failed miserably and now we're back to good old pork chops etc!

There's a lot of very fatty pork around because they are currently slaughtering baconers and selling them as fresh meat because there's too many of them for some reason.

If you can get really fatty pork it's great to render it down to make your own lard.

Cheers

Michael Gardner