Column #496      February 28, 2025Grass-Fed Chuck Eye Steaks

We know what’s best. It’s grass-fed and Omega-3 meats! There’s some other foods that are also healthy. Most seafood (except the farmed products) are exceptionally healthy. This aspect of nutritional science has been known for no less than 65 years. Some scientists say they’ve known it for more than 100 years! But it has been deliberately buried under negative propaganda by big pharma, the food industry, the medical industry, and their bureaucratic lapdogs in the government. Even to this day the vast majority of physicians can’t tell you why Omega-3 is important. They are totally clueless as to the science behind the Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio.1

The nutrients in meat are, in most cases, more dense, diverse, and digestible than the nutrients in fruits and vegetables. Nearly all meats are safe to eat, yet the majority of plants are inedible. Plants have protective measures which include a variety of toxic chemicals. Meats do not. Man evolved eating meat and it wasn’t until the invention of agricultural practices that crops could be a mainstay of man’s diet. Eating meat gave mankind his superior intelligence.2 3 4

For certain, most medical doctors, including nearly all cardiologists, are still preaching the discredited myths that saturated fat is a killer. They don’t have a clue that grass-fed animal fats are healthy and even grain-fed animal fats do not cause clogging of the arteries. That’s because they don’t know that the LDL fats in animal fats aren’t the type B LDLs that clog arteries. But some doctors do know. Here is how Dr. Aseem Malhotra, interventional cardiology, at the Croydon University Hospital, London, describes it in a brief paper he published in October 2013:5 6 7

"The aspect of dietary saturated fat that is believed to have the greatest influence on cardiovascular risk is elevated concentrations of low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Yet the reduction in LDL cholesterol from reducing saturated fat intake seems to be specific to large, buoyant (type A) LDL particles, when in fact it is the small, dense (type B) particles (responsive to carbohydrate intake) that are implicated in cardiovascular disease.7

"Indeed, recent prospective cohort studies have not supported any significant association between saturated fat intake and cardiovascular risk. Instead, saturated fat has been found to be protective. The source of the saturated fat may be important. Dairy foods are exemplary providers of vitamins A and D. As well as a link between vitamin D deficiency and a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular mortality, calcium and phosphorus found commonly in dairy foods may have antihypertensive effects that may contribute to inverse associations with cardiovascular risk.7

“One study showed that higher concentrations of plasma trans-palmitoleic acid, a fatty acid mainly found in dairy foods, was associated with higher concentrations of high density lipoprotein, lower concentrations of triglycerides and C reactive protein, reduced insulin resistance, and a lower incidence of diabetes in adults. Red meat is another major source of saturated fat. Consumption of processed meats, but not red meat, has been associated with coronary heart disease and diabetes mellitus, which may be explained by nitrates and sodium as preservatives."7

What’s revealing about nutritional health is that what has been known to be healthier food is not new. For instance, Artemis P. Simopoulos and Jo Robinson wrote “The Omega Diet: The Lifesaving Nutritional Program Based on the Diet of the Island of Crete” way back on March 1, 1999. Yet this past week RFK Jr delayed the FDA’s new healthy food standards that the Food and Drug Administration announced in late 2024. Their new rules were to update their definition of healthy on food labels.

Here’s how The Epoch Times described the reason for the delay:8

“‘The temporary delay in the effective date until April 28, 2025, is necessary to give Agency officials the opportunity for further review and consideration of the new regulation, consistent with the memorandum described previously,” Kennedy said. The FDA announced in late 2024 that it was updating the definition of healthy on food labels, in the first major revision since the FDA first defined the word in 1994.8

“‘Given that nutrition science has ‘evolved’ since the ‘1990s,’ this final rule updates the definition of ‘healthy’ to be consistent with ‘current nutrition science’ and Federal dietary guidance to help ensure that consumers have access to more complete, accurate, and up-to-date information on food labels,’ the agency said at the time.”8

What’s totally ridiculous is that since the 1990s nutritionists of many stripes, and I along with them, were ridiculing the government’s totally misleading nutritional guidelines because they caused health problems rather than solved them. It’s insane that the FDA is saying that nutrition science has evolved since the 1990s because it’s not the science that evolved, it’s the FDA, NIH, CDC, and USDA that have evolved. And they may not even have it right yet! We’ll see.

This is proof positive that government has been a major player in the nutrition problem for decades. It has squandered trillions of dollars preaching what the private sector has been ridiculing. Our government’s bureaucrats have been the enemy of folks like us who have been raising, marketing, and educating people about grass-fed and Omega-3 animal meats.9

Also, from a rancher’s perspective the government has proven that it has been staffed by total idiots. Yes, they’re the ones who are blaming livestock for climate warming. The science is as clear today as it has been for any thinking cattleman over the decades. Livestock on pasture are more natural than plowing ground and raising crops. And the result is a healthier food. This is something I’ve been writing about for more than 25 years and this website is loaded with hundreds of essays underscoring my point.10 11

As citizens, what’s good for us are not dictates from government bureaucrats. What we need is a sound religious foundation, free expression of thoughts, less regulation, less taxation, sensible immigration that is not a financial burden, crime free cities and towns, a government free of fraud, waste, and abuse, schools that actually teach reading, writing, history, arithmetic, civics, the sciences, arts, sportsmanship, nutrition, critical thinking, vocational trades and technical skills, what it takes to be successful, and the fundamentals of financial management.

People must be capable of thinking on their own and fully realize that what they learn in school is only the beginning of their learning experiences. It would be really good if every kid in America had to complete an apprenticeship on a farm or ranch for six months. Our asphalt-bound kids these days are mostly growing up worthless. Take the cell phones away and they don’t even know how to say “hi” to someone. I heard that when generation X goes to a job interview 20% of them bring along a parent. Forty percent of them still live with their parents!

Being independently thinking individuals with the skills, a rounded education, and encouragement for unlimited opportunities, and minimal government restrictions are critical for thriving. It is all these things, plus healthy grass-fed and Omega-3 meats, that are good for us and will make us good citizens.

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.

For additional reading:

1. Why Omega-3 Can’t Improve Health by Ted Slanker, Column #19, November 20, 2015

2. Compare: In-Depth Nutrition Comparison from FoodStruct

3. Food Analysis: EFA, Protein to Fat, Net Carbs, Sugar, and Nutrient Load by Ted Slanker

4. What Are We Missing? by Ted Slanker, Column 228, January 9, 2020

5. Are Animal Fats Good for You? The Science is Clear by Trisha Gilkerson from Intoxicated On Life

6. Vilhjalmur Stefansson: Arctic Explorer by Ted Slanker, Column #218, October 25, 2019

7. Saturated Fat Is Not the Major Issue by Aseem Malhotra interventional cardiology, Croydon University Hospital, London

8. US Health Secretary Delays Rule Updating Definition of Healthy on Food Labels by Zachary Stieber from The Epoch Times

9. The Insane War on Grass-Fed Beef by Ted Slanker February 4, 2015

10. Grow Veggies—But Where??? by Ted Slanker, Column #224, December 6, 2019

11. You’ve Been Lied to: Methane & Cows by Ted Slanker, Column #233, February 7, 2020