Omega 3 Fatty Acids  - We've all heard some discussion, whether on television, in the newspapers, or at the gym about the importance of these Essential nutrients in our diets.  We can either take our Omega 3's  in a pill from the health food store or in the foods we eat. 

The word "Essential" prefacing the fatty acids we as humans need to live in optimum health is not an advertising gimmick, but rather a formal designation of their importance and the fact that our bodies cannot manufacture these essential nutrients - we must get them from our diet.

Why do we need Omega 3 Fatty Acids ?  The cells of our bodies are geared to want them and to use them in the maintenance of our heart muscle and our blood vessels and our immune systems and more. . .

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     "With all those benefits coming, we even developed particular genes to fend off the higher levels of fat and cholesterol in red meat. "There is a set of genes that allows us to eat a lot more meat without toxic effect and at the same time have longer life spans, which are unprecedented among other primates," says Caleb Finch, Ph.D., a gerontologist at the University of Southern California, who coauthored a report on how human beings became omnivorous, published in the prestigious Quarterly Review of Biology earlier this year.

     But the most important evolutionary leap beef brought was the development of bigger brains. Your ability to outwit that guy in the next cubicle can be traced directly back to the switch from bananas to brisket in ancient man's diet. "Fats are essential for brain growth," Dr. Shlain explains. "Excluding water, the brain is 60 percent fatty acids." The primary source of these fatty acids in early man's diet? You guessed it: red meat. Humans are unable to easily manufacture the fatty acids our brains need; diet provides the sole source. "The more meat they ate, the smarter they became. The smarter they became, the more meat they ate," Dr. Shlain says. Which accounts for that magnetic pull you feel when you see red at the grocery store..."

Source:  MensHealth.com  Right On, Red - You already knew beef builds muscle. But did you know that it makes you smarter?  By: Phillip Rhodes & Alex Salkever

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{"The medical profession now recognizes that some mono-unsaturated fatty acids, (i.e. fatty acids with one double bond in the chain of carbon atoms), are protective against heart disease; that longer chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, in particular those with the first double bond at the omega-3 position, such as those found in oily fish, are anti-thrombogenic (helps prevents clotting); and that conjugated linoleic acid, an isomer of linoleic acid, is protective against cancer, obesity and heart disease. These compounds are found in beef fat in varying amounts."  R&H Hall Technical Bulletin Issue No. 4 ~1999  (Ireland) THE QUALITY OF MEAT FROM BEEF CATTLE.  Is it influenced by diet?}
 

Where do we get Omega 3 Fatty Acids?  In this modern day, we have limited choices from our diet.  We can turn to fish - salmon and tuna are good choices.  But, we are constantly warned of the potential presence of mercury in our fish.  The risk is so great that pregnant women are urged to refrain from the consumption of fish.   We can turn to beef - IF it is beef raised and finished on grass.  We can no longer turn to beef produced through modern feedlots. 

Feedlot beef is grain fed and most of us have become accustomed to it's taste and texture.  There is nothing better than a high end cut of beef prepared impeccably on your grill or in an exceptional steak house - that taste and texture is what beef connoisseur's over the decades have become accustomed to expect of the ultimate beef eating experience.   Most of the flavor in that steak comes from the fat - but also much of the important nutrients that nature intended that steak to provide is contained in the fat, or would be if it were not a grain finished cut of meat. 

Because it is a grain finished product, enjoying that beautiful steak is compromising your health by giving you high levels of Omega 6 Fatty acids, which are provided to the slaughter animal via the grain in their diet.  Grains are high in Omega 6, while grass provides the animal and you with Omega 3.  The gross imbalance of Omega 6 to Omega 3 Fatty acids compromises the optimal functioning of your heart and arteries.  The optimal ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids is firmly established.  The consumption of grain fed beef raises the level of Omega 6 fatty acids well above that optimal ratio and compromises your health.

Wild game such as venison is heart healthy and lean.  Deer forage on natural 'green stuff' that is high in Omega 3's and Vitamin E among other highly valuable nutrients to the human body.   A steer that is raised on grass likewise provides the human consumer a lean meat product high in Omega 3's and Vitamin E, and more.  It seems pretty simple, but the traditional feedlot beef producer doesn't want you to realize that.