Grass Fed Meats

Omega Fatty Acids: Getting down to the Grass Roots

by Mary Howard, RN

We will look at why some meat is better than others for you and why some fats are better than others for you. What are these Omega fats, anyway? We will also look at why the fat ratio of meat and eggs can be affected by the animal’s feed and living conditions. We’ll also touch on the fact that, just because an animal was raised on organic feed it still may not have the nutrients needed to make their meat healthy.

What are Omega Fatty Acids?

To figure out what Omega fatty acids are we will touch on just the basics. Fats are compounds called Lipids. They are chemical compounds of Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen. Fatty acids are the refined fuel forms of fat and some cells, like the heart, prefer them over glucose (sugar). Fatty acids are named according to the number of carbons in their chain, for example: Omega 3, Omega 6. Because there are fewer carbons in an Omega 3’s chain has some to do with why they are better for you. Your HDL (good Cholesterol) comes from Omega 3’s.

Now we need to know this because there are certain Fatty Acids that are considered “Essential” meaning that we need to get them from the foods we eat. They are Linoleic, Linolenic and Arachidonic. But actually Linoleic is the only one that our body can not make so it is dependent on diet.

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