There has been a deception of words and actions behind the words manufacturers and companies use to label many of their products, such as grass-fed, organic, and free-range. You probably see these words in many different products, including meat, eggs, dairy products, fresh fruits, and vegetables. Keep in mind that we are what we eat. The following is a breakdown of these healthy words that make you confident as you shop for whatever type of eating pattern you believe. What are the falsehoods behind these healthy words?
Free-Range Products
One example is meat. A dye is put into many types of beef because consumers would not buy beef if it were grey which is the natural colour of meat. Meat is not naturally red. The myth is the pinker the meat, the better, and the healthier the meat. Placing grey beef on the shelf without the red dye would not sell to consumers. Consumers are used to seeing this red or pink colour in beef.
If this dye is missing, the product looks strange and disagreeable. Some butchers who want to sell more healthy meats put just enough dye in their meats to make the beef attractive to you. It is nothing new for food producers to hide product ingredients with a blanket of misleading words.
Grass-Fed
It is common to find packages of beef that claim the cattle was Grass-Fed. You may think that this is the only thing the cattle ate during their lifetime. The animal is actually sent to the butchery where they remain for several days before slaughtering happens. During this time, the animal is fed grains to help fatten them. These grains are found to cause health problems in humans and their pets. Researchers find that grains increase risks for autoimmune diseases and other illnesses in humans and their pets. Grass-Fed cattle do not mean that the cattle were raised free to roam in pastures. Producers are not required to provide a full Grass-Fed diet to their cattle as stated on many labels. Grass-Fed on labels can mean that the animal started out on a grass diet but later was fed supplemental grain feed and finished out their life on this grain-based diet.
Truly Grass-Fed cattle, Are 100 per cent pasture-raised, free-to-roam cattle No feedlots.
Grazing spaces are footballsized and not confined and over-stuffed cattle pens where hormones and antibiotics routinely are given. There are significant health benefits to buying beef that labels 100 percent Grass-Fed, GrassFinished, Organic, and FreeRange beef. The benefits are as follows.
- 20 percent lower calories
- Higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids
- Higher is Conjugated Linoleic Acid, an essential cancer fighter, and halts excess body fat.
- Higher levels of vitamins A and E
Q. Do you buy organic because your understanding is that organic is the healthiest food option?
Is your goal to eat healthier foods by buying products labelled organic, such as meats, fresh produce, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and leaner cuts of meat? Consider the Benefits of Paying a Bit More Money for Organic Food Products.
Researchers claim that food products from meats to fruit labelled organic are truly safer. Organic foods prove more nutritious because no pesticides and additives are added in the fields. They never harm the environment. Organic meats mean no antibiotics or steroids were administered to the animals. More consumers are slowly finding that organic means better health benefits. Because of the increased health benefits of organic food products, producers see a gradual and continual increase in more farmers jumping on the organic production bandwagon.
However, nutritional experts say that there is not enough evidence to tell consumers that buying organic is healthier, so it seems as though a bit of common sense is necessary. In that case, the following issues used in traditional growers and animal producers are as follows.
- Animals like chickens and beef are raised in cramped pens and barns on traditional farms.
- Producers traditionally use hormones on animals to make them grow fatter and more massive.
Pesticides Are Used On Crops.
Pesticides used on crops can transfer to humans causing hidden health issues. Organic farmers claiming no pesticides are used on their crops may have fields next to farmers who do use pesticides on their crops. If the organic farmer’s land sits near a traditional farm using pesticides, it undoubtedly cross-contaminates the organic field. Food products such as fruits sold out of season are not healthy to eat. Lectins develop within the fruit and are unhealthy for you. That fruit does not know that it is ripe and ready to eat. You can tell the difference when you bite into fruit in season and the same fruit out of season.
In Conclusion, We Are What We Eat