Three Superfoods to Keep You Healthy

In my first installment, I’ll discuss three must have, WHOLE FOODS, that are staples in my diet and come packed with a laundry list of benefits for the Average Joe to the Hockey Pro.

You are what you eat. Or, more specifically, you are what you eat has eaten before ending up on your dinner table! 

Grass Fed Beef – This type of beef comes from cows that have been fed their normal diet consisting of grass. The majority of STORE BOUGHT beef is grain fed, and grain strips the beef of its healthy fats, including a perfect ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 and CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid). That’s why I’m not a fan of grains in our diets, and if you simply can’t live without bread then chose a gluten-free variation such as ezekiel, but that’s a topic for another blog. Grass fed beef is naturally leaner too (about 8%, which is lower than the 10% Extra Lean found in your local supermarket) and, IMO, tastes better too! If you don’t know a farmer who raises cattle and sells it, check out www.eatwild.com. This is a great resource, with only legitimate operations making their list. Every province and state has a few options, and here in Winnipeg, Harborside Farms (yes, they spell it the American way) delivers bi-weekly. I highly recommend them despite their grammatical slip-up.

Eat Wild states “when fed an unnatural diet of grain, acidosis can result and lead to a condition called “rumenitis,” which is an inflammation of the wall of the rumen. Rumenitis then leads to liver abscesses as the rumen wall becomes ulcerated, bacteria are able to pass through the walls and enter the bloodstream. Ultimately, the bacteria are transported to the liver where they cause abscesses. From 15 to 30 percent of feedlot cattle have liver abscesses, hence the need for antibiotics and such.”

‘Nuff said.

Free Range Eggs – Chickens that have been free to roam around, and feast on their natural diet, lay the highest quality eggs. A healthy chicken lays a healthy egg. Makes sense, no? These are a little pricier, but the benefits in cholesterol profile improvement and fat soluble vitamin content more than make up for the slight hit to your pocketbook. You’ll know the difference once you see the yolk–which is a dark orange colour, while non free-range eggs, the kind birthed by chickens who live a life confined to a cage, are pale yellow in appearance.You get 4-6 times more Vitamin D from a free range egg (and the benefits of Vitamin D are plentiful, Google it) and your HDL cholesterol, the kind you WANT the higher the better, will thank you. Eggs are not bad for your health! That’s a common misconception. Just be sure to cook them over low heat or drink them raw in a pinch (I throw them in my shake every morning). Cooking eggs on high heat can destroy the omega 3 content, so be wary of that. Hard boiled isn’t recommended. I’ll take mine over-easy, thank you very much.

Wild Caught Salmon – There are many variations of salmon in your local supermarket. Hard to decipher between the good and the bad, and sometimes strategic marketing makes that task even more difficult. Regardless, try to avoid anything “Farm Raised.” These salmon are treated like chickens in cages, only the aquatic version in pens, and fed an unnatural diet of corn meal and even chicken feces pellets… They aren’t even orange until artificial dyes and colors are added. The pinker the better, but look for Alaskan wild caught or something to that effect.

Source: www.mountaindogdiet.com should be YOUR source for all things nutrition. 

*Next time I’ll discuss cooking oil misconceptions, which kinds to use most often and when.

mitch

Mitch Calvert is a Winnipeg-based fitness coach for men and women like his former self. Heavyset in his 20s, he lost 60 pounds and now helps clients find their spark and lose the weight for life.