Photos of recipes from the new book Tender Grassfed Barbecue
Photos of recipes from the cookbook Tender Grassfed Meat
Earth Day, Grassfed Meat, and Dr. Weston A. Price
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
Happy cows grazing on rich grass grown on soil restored by John Wood of U.S. Wellness Meats.
Earth Day was created to appreciate and encourage the preservation of the natural blessings of our planet. Perhaps the greatest threat to our planet and ourselves is the massive loss of good soil that has been going on since the last century. Without good soil, most life cannot ultimately survive. The attack on our soil has been led by the chemical industry, and factory farmers who abuse the land, killing the very life in the soil, causing erosion, and a reduction in usable water. Massive soil erosion leads to deserts. Yet it is not too late to save and restore our soil.
Conventional science, with its incomplete knowledge and obsessive focus on grants and profits, is not going to save us. In fact, it is the products of conventional science, such as pesticides, artificial fertilizers, modified plants and germs, and massive chemical pollution from artificial chemicals that are the greatest cause of the problem. But nature itself can save us, if we have the humility and wisdom to follow nature’s laws.
Nature itself has left a blueprint on how to make good soil, and tens of millions of desert acres have been turned into fertile grasslands, with long-dead rivers and streams coming back to life as part of the process. This was accomplished by following nature’s laws.
Dr. Weston A. Price, the pioneer who discovered the truth about nutrition, said it this way:
“Life in all its fullness is nature’s laws obeyed.â€
Why Good Soil is Crucial for Life
Soil that will nourish healthy life is much more than just dirt. It is a magnificent combination of minerals, bacteria, insects, microbes, and many nutrients (including unknown substances), all coming together to form the very source of life.
Plants need soil to grow, and soil needs plants to hold it in place against wind and rain, or it just erodes away. The nutrients in the soil grow the plants that keep the soil in place.
These nutrients nourish the plants that grow in this good soil, and the nutrients go into the plants, which pass these nutrients on to the people and animals who eat them. Food plants grown in good soil contain many vital nutrients that we all need to be fully healthy. Animals grazing on these rich plants develop nutrients in their flesh, fat and organs which are crucial for human health, and which are only there if the animals get all the nutrients they require.
It is crucial to understand that science has not identified all of these nutrients, and does not know everything about how they work together. But our bodies know, and expect all these nutrients to be there in the food we eat.
Dr. Weston A. Price discovered that traditional peoples eating the diets of their ancestors, foods from animals grazing on rich soil, plants grown in rich soil, or seafood taken from the rich ocean, were immune to tooth decay. This immunity went far beyond tooth decay, as these people did not have cancer, heart disease, asthma, allergies, birth defects, mental problems, or any of the host of chronic diseases that torment modern humanity. Dr. Price understood that good soil was the mother of good food, and included a chapter on the vital importance of soil in his magnificent work, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.
How the Soil is Lost
Growing and harvesting certain crops depletes the soil of nutrients. Farming the same soil year after year could lead to erosion. The traditional solution was to rotate fields, to let the land rest and renew, or plant certain crops that would restore nutrients to the soil. Natural fertilizers like animal manure were also used. These solutions worked, but part of the land could not be used for food crops while it rested. Science supposedly “solved†this problem by using artificial fertilizers. These fertilizers enabled crops to grow in depleted soil. The same land could be used for crop after crop, without rest. But these fertilizers only provided some minerals and nutrients, not all of them. In fact, some of these fertilizers interfered with the ability of the plants to absorb nutrients. The plants that grew from the depleted soil were weak and far less able to resist pests, so artificial pesticides were introduced. Pesticides are poisons that kill plants and insects. The introduction of these poisonous artificial chemicals into the soil changed it, having a dramatic effect on the life in the soil, and killing much of that life. Soil is also damaged and changed by artificial chemicals created by industry, which are not part of the natural cycle.
Soil is also damaged and contaminated by the huge amounts of manure and liquid created by CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations). The miserable animals in CAFOs are crammed together in a small space and not allowed to graze. They are fed grains and other species-inappropriate feeds. This cruel and unnatural practice creates huge lagoons of manure and urine that greatly exceed the ability of the land to absorb them.
The result of this artificial tampering with the soil was less nutrients. Plants cannot have nutrients that are not in the soil. Food animals cannot have nutrients that are not in the plants. People cannot get nutrients that are not in the plants and animal foods we eat. Our bodies cannot function properly without all the nutrients we have evolved to need.
Artificial agriculture has caused a huge loss of useable soil, a serious loss that is continuing. And the soil that remains has far less nutrients. Even in the 1940s, studies showed that fruits and vegetables had far less vitamins and minerals than vegetables grown in the 1920s. The situation is much worse today. For example, researchers have tested commercial oranges that contained hardly any vitamin C.
How Nature Makes Good Soil
We can restore the health of the soil by following nature’s laws. The Great Plains of the United States were some of the richest land ever known on earth. Before the plains were fenced and farmed, more than 60 million bison roamed the plains. The bison traveled in tightly packed herds, so they could defend each other against predators. The herd would travel into an area, eating all the grass, and breaking up the earth with their hooves and concentrated numbers, using their hooves to expose more grass. As they ate the grass, seeds would fall off and get trampled into the earth by the hooves of the massed bison. They would deposit their manure on the soil, returning the nutrients to it.
In effect, the bison actually farmed the land. They harvested the grass by eating it. They plowed the land by breaking it up with their hooves. They planted the new grass by trampling the seeds into the earth. They fertilized the land with their manure.
Then they would move on, leaving the land to rest and grow. By the time the herd returned, they would be greeted with a new crop of rich green grass, and the cycle would begin again.
All of the great grasslands in the world were created in this manner, with different types of animals and herd sizes.
But the blueprint remained the same—the animals were concentrated into tight herds, the herd grazed in a concentrated manner, then moved on, allowing the land to rest, recover, and regrow.
Many grassfed ranchers follow these methods, concentrating their herds, doing intensive grazing, then moving the herds so the land can recover. Some of these ranchers add additional natural nutrients to their soil as well. (See Grassfed Farmer Renews the Land.) Every time I buy grassfed meat, I am supporting these ranchers who are restoring the soil with their herds. Every time I eat the meat and fat from animals raised on rich grass, I am blessed by receiving a full natural range of nutrients, giving my body exactly what it needs to function properly.
These methods have been adapted and used to literally change millions of acres of desert into grassland. Even long-dead streams have come back.
We can restore our good soil to the earth, by following nature’s laws.
This post is part of Monday Mania, Real Food Wednesday and Fight Back Friday blog carnivals.
Smelt Soup for Natural Iodine
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
The Standard American Diet (also known as SAD) is severely deficient in many vital nutrients. This includes iodine, which is vital for the function of many body processes.
The recent nuclear disaster in Japan has motivated many people to raise their iodine levels, in the hope that this will prevent them from absorbing radioactive iodine. Most people who do this use supplements. There is a risk in using supplements, because iodine is only needed in minute amounts, and an overdose of iodine can cause problems ranging from minor to serious. While I am not a doctor, and am not giving medical advice, I always prefer to get my nutrients from food to the extent possible. I believe that this is the most natural and efficient way to get nutrients, along with any as yet unknown cofactors that enable the body to digest them properly.
The healthy peoples studied by Dr. Weston A. Price usually had much more iodine in their diets than modern people. One of the most common ways they got this iodine was from eating seafood. Some seafood contains a significant amount of mercury, a substance that I avoid as much as possible. However, small fish and shellfish contain very little mercury.
Seafood contains many other vital nutrients in addition to iodine, especially when the whole fish, including the head, is eaten. Fish bones are a terrific source of minerals. The organs of the fish, some of which are within the head, are full of nutrients. One of the best ways to get nutrients from seafood is by making a broth. There is an old South American saying: “Fish broth will cure anything.â€
Our ancestors ate only wild fish, taken from their natural habitat, and that is a tradition I follow. Farmed fish are almost always fed a diet that is not natural for seafood, usually including processed soy, and they are not the same as wild fish.
This soup is simple to make, delicious, and loaded with iodine and other nutrients. The use of small fish avoids the mercury problem, and the ginger and garlic reduce the odor, while enhancing the already fine flavor. The fish sauce adds even more nutrients, while further improving the flavor. The long simmering causes the fish to break up and release their nutrients into the broth.
Smelt Soup
INGREDIENTS
2 pounds wild whole smelt, with the heads, fresh or frozen
2 gallons filtered water
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
1 (2 inch) piece organic ginger, crushed
4 cloves organic garlic, crushed
DIRECTIONS
1.     Put the fish into a large stainless steel stockpot. There is no need to cut up the fish, they will break up as they simmer. Add the vegetables and the water.
2.     Heat the pot until the water begins a strong simmer. This will take a while because of the large volume of ingredients and water.
3.     When the water is close to boiling, remove all the scum that rises to the top with a skimming spoon. This can take a long time, but it is necessary to remove these impurities.
4.     When the scum is gone, add the fish sauce.
5.     Cover and simmer gently for at least 8 to 10 hours, or even longer. The fish will break up into the broth.
6.     Strain into mason jars, cover, and refrigerate once the bottles have cooled down. Use or freeze within five days. If you freeze the broth, you can boil it down to a concentrate, place in safe plastic freezer bags when cool, and rehydrate when you thaw it at a later date.
Tender Grassfed Meat contains a number of broth recipes for grassfed meat.
This post is part of Weekend Gourmet, Real Food Wednesday and Fight Back Friday blog carnivals.
Real Food, Wise and Robust Old Age
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
photo credit: conner395. Inverness Castle in the Scottish Highlands, home of a healthy people.
Old people in modern times are considered weak, foolish, and helpless, unable to survive without care. Most people expect to be weak and helpless when they get old, and to end their lives in a “rest home.†We often read in the news media that young workers will have the burden of taking care of an aging population.
Yet this is a new and horrible way of aging. Through most of history, old age was associated with wisdom, strength, and leadership. Most older people who ate a traditional diet not only took care of themselves, but led their communities, taught the young, and were the repository of knowledge and leadership for their peoples.
What is the difference? Why did old age change from a time of wisdom and leadership to a time of failing minds, deteriorating bodies, and chronic illness?
What we do know is that people eating the healthy traditional diets of their ancestors, with little or no medical care, remained wise and strong into their nineties.
We also know that modern people eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) become helpless in their sixties and seventies and even younger, unable to care for themselves, needing all kinds of expensive medical care and procedures just to keep breathing.
In other words, real food is the key to a wise and healthy old age.
Traditional Old Age
Throughout most of history, old age was associated with strength and wisdom.
Age was considered a prerequisite for leadership, and younger leaders always had older advisors. Every village, from England to Africa to the Americas to Russia to India to China, and almost everywhere else, depended on a council of elders, who would make decisions for the whole village, based on their experience and knowledge. It was accepted that these old people were the only ones who had the knowledge and experience to make important decisions. The knowledge of childbirth, cooking, what was safe to eat, and healing was usually taught and administered by the older women, who were universally respected.
On a national level, many traditional societies had councils of elders who would make decisions for the whole nation or tribe.
It should be understood that old people eating traditional diets were not only much wiser, but much healthier physically. History has thousands of examples of people who were “old†but showed great physical prowess. A few examples:
Gebhard Von Blucher
He was a nobleman, growing up on the finest food his culture could provide, eating huge amounts of wild game and grassfed meat.
He commanded the Prussian Army at the battles of Ligny and Waterloo, in 1815. Blucher was 73 at the time. During the battle of Ligny, Blucher led a cavalry charge against the French. His horse was shot, throwing Blucher to the ground. The horse then fell on Blucher, pinning him to the ground. The opposing cavalry forces charged several times over the area, back and forth, which resulted in Blucher being repeatedly trampled by horses, sustaining many wounds from their hoofs. After the battle, the horse was pulled off Blucher. Blucher poured brandy on his many wounds and drank some, and recovered in a few hours. He reorganized his defeated army and led them to Waterloo, a couple days later, where the sudden appearance of his army on the French flank helped the Allies win the battle.
Malcolm Macpherson
He was a Highlander, growing up on a traditional diet that had not changed for thousands of years. At age 57, he took part in the rebellion of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and fought in the battle of Culloden in 1745, wielding a heavy broadsword. Macpherson blamed the French for the Highland defeat. When Britain went to war against France some years later, Macpherson joined a Highland regiment at age 70. He fought the French in North America, using his heavy broadsword so effectively in hand-to-hand combat that he was taken to England to meet the king.
It should be understood that the above examples of robust old people were not unusual, and old people were expected to carry their weight and take part fully in all the activities of life, no matter how difficult.
Dr. Weston A. Price studied healthy peoples eating the diets of their ancestors. The elders of these people kept their teeth and their eyesight, leading active productive lives without illness or doctors. They did not live in fear of chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease—these illnesses did not exist in their societies.
In fact, studies of the healthy peoples eating traditional diets have repeatedly found that most people remain healthy and productive into their nineties or even longer. They will usually slow down at some point, where they become consistently less active for a period of several months, then die in their sleep.
These healthy peoples ate plenty of fat from grassfed animals and wild game, fatty meats, seafood, organ meats, butter, all kinds of animal fat, organic fruits and vegetables, and did not touch modern processed foods.
Modern Old Age
Old age has become a time of sickness and horror for many people eating a modern diet. Most old people are on a number of prescription drugs, and eat a diet of refined foods that does not support the functions of their bodies. Most of them are impaired in their ability to do most things and many are completely unable to care for themselves. There is no wisdom in many of these people—many of them cannot remember what they said one minute ago.
Many cannot walk unaided, and have bones so brittle they break easily. Many have had one or more of their hips and or knees removed and replaced with an artificial construct. Many are emaciated, suffering from severe malnutrition, which makes all their symptoms worse.
Many live each day in a mental fog, and do nothing useful with their time. Many have actually shrunk in size, as their bones deteriorate and collapse. Many have lost all their teeth, and rely on dentures. Many start to die as their organs stop working, suffering from problems with their hearts, livers, kidneys, digestive systems, and just about everything else.
Every function of our bodies requires proper nutrition in order to work effectively. When our bodies are starved of the vital nutrients we need, our bodies deteriorate. The longer we are starved, the faster and more serious the deterioration.
We are told that this deterioration is the inevitable result of old age. However, it appears to be a result of decades of malnutrition on the nutrient-poor modern diet of dead, refined foods.
History and the great research of Dr. Price have shown us that a diet of real, traditional food can save us from this horror. The Dietary Guidelines of the Weston A. Price Foundation are a great place to start.
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Eat Fat, Live Long—the Real Food of Okinawa
Call It Medical, Not Mediterreanean
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, Fight Back Friday and Monday Mania blog carnivals.
Eat Fat, Live Long—the Real Food of Okinawa
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
You may have heard about the longevity and health of the Okinawan people. According to records kept by the Japanese since 1879, the people of Okinawa just may be the longest-lived people in the world, often staying healthy and active into their nineties, or even longer.
Many have claimed that this longevity and health is due to a low-fat, meat-free, high-vegetable diet. Being skeptical of such claims, I researched traditional Okinawan cooking and traditions.
My skepticism was justified, as it usually is. The long-lived, healthy people of Okinawa eat a diet that is heavily based on meat. Mostly pork. Mostly fat pork. The main cooking fat is pork lard. Many foods are fried in pork lard. The Okinawans traditionally do not rely on doctors when they get ill, but on food-based remedies consisting of—pork organs. In fact, pork is so vital to Okinawan culture that Okinawans often refer to their land as the “Island of Pork.â€
The real lesson of Okinawan longevity is “Eat fat, live long.â€
The Real Food of Okinawa
Okinawan cuisine is centered around meat. The most important meat is pork. The Okinawans have a saying, that they use every part of the pig except for the toenails and the squeal. Many of the pork parts eaten are composed almost entirely of fat, such as pork skin, pig ears, and pork belly. All the internal organs of the pig are regularly eaten, such as the liver, kidneys, stomach, and intestines, which are also full of fat. Pork lard is the fat of choice for cooking, and many foods are deep fried in pork lard. Every other part of the pig is also eaten, including more familiar parts like spareribs, pork shoulder, and pork loin. The skin is usually left on and eaten whenever possible.
Goat is also favored by Okinawans, though pork is far more common. What is interesting is that much of this goat meat is eaten raw, and there are restaurants that specialize in the preparation of raw goat meat.
Traditionally, the Okinawans ate very little grain, which used to be sold to pay taxes. Sweet potatoes are a common and favorite food, as are cabbages, carrots, and other vegetables. Vegetables are always cooked, often fried in pork lard.
The Okinawans do eat tofu, but the tofu they eat is different. It is made differently from the rest of the tofu in the world, and is often naturally fermented for several months. Unfermented tofu is often deep fried in pork lard. One of the most common Okinawan dishes is a stir fry made out of pork, vegetables, and tofu, fried in pork lard. It is possible that the protective factors in the pork lard prevent the harm that often occurs from eating soy.
Miso, another fermented soy product, is also used as a seasoning.
Okinawans do not eat that much seafood, which is surprising given that Okinawa is a relatively small island. The explanation is that Okinawa has a tropical climate, and fish spoil very quickly. The island has very rugged terrain, which made it difficult to transport fish before they spoiled. Fish are fermented and made into sausages, which form a small, but important part of the diet.
Most Okinawans do not eat western-style processed and refined foods, though a small amount of brown sugar is used in cooking.
Okinawan Healing with Food
Traditionally, Okinawans had no medical doctors, but relied on food to heal themselves. This system was based on the organs of animals, usually pigs, but often goats. The traditional belief was that disease was caused by an imbalance in an organ, and the imbalance could be corrected by eating the corresponding part of an animal. Someone with breathing difficulty would eat the lungs of a pig. Somebody with a hearing problem would eat the ears. Someone with a digestive problem would eat the stomach of a pig, and/or the kidneys, and so on.
This system is not unique to Okinawa. It was followed by many traditional peoples, including the Native Americans, and by many Western M.D.s before prescription drugs became the remedy of choice.
This system worked so well that many Okinawans still follow this tradition, and do not seek medical help. This may actually contribute to their longevity, because the side effects of the drugs and surgeries used by modern medicine cause the death of many people.
The Real Okinawan Food Is Consistent with the Research of Dr. Weston A. Price
Dr. Weston A. Price spent 10 years studying the diets of the last healthy peoples on Earth. These peoples were free of the chronic diseases that plague the modern world. Dr. Price did not just read studies, he actually traveled right to the people he studied and observed them personally. Dr. Price found a number of similarities in the diets of these people:
- They ate a large amount of animal fat.
- They ate a substantial amount of meat and/or seafood.
- They ate a large amount of organ meats regularly.
- They ate some of their meat and/or seafood raw.
- They ate many kinds of natural foods, unrefined and unprocessed.
- They ate a number of naturally fermented foods.
- They ate at least a small amount of seafood, fermented if they could not get it fresh.
All of these factors are present in the real Okinawan food.
- The Okinawans eat a great deal of pork fat.
- The Okinawans eat a substantial amount of pork and goat.
- The Okinawans eat organ meats regularly.
- The Okinawans eat raw goat meat.
- The Okinawans eat most of their food unrefined and unprocessed.
- The Okinawans eat a number of naturally fermented foods.
- The Okinawans regularly eat a small amount of fermented seafood.
In summary, the diet of the Okinawans is very similar to the diet of the healthy peoples studied by Dr. Price. The longevity of the Okinawan people is further evidence of the benefits of the diet developed by Dr. Price.
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Call It Medical, Not Mediterreanean
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday , Fight Back Friday and Monday Mania blog carnivals.
High-Fat, Low-Carb Side Dish—Turning the Food Pyramid Over
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
Cheese Eggs with Onions and Butter is a delicious high-fat, low-carb side dish.
The new dietary guidelines issued by the United States government are a disgrace. These “guidelines†recommend large quantities of high-carb foods that can make people fat and sick, while practically banning the traditional animal fats we need for our bodies to function properly. The new guidelines were once again shown graphically in a new “food pyramid.†This new pyramid should be turned upside down, as all its recommendations are backwards. We need animal fats and proteins, not processed carbohydrates.
These new guidelines are simply a more extreme version of the previous guidelines. The previous guidelines were a miserable failure, as Americans got considerably fatter and sicker. The old guidelines did result in a huge increase in profits for the processed food industry, the diet industry, the drug companies, and the medical profession, and maybe that was the point.
Whatever the reason, the bureaucrats ignored a mountain of evidence and studies provided by the real food movement and low-carb advocates, including the Weston A. Price Foundation, many other organizations and scientists, and my friend Jimmy Moore. Kimberly Hartke has an index of testimony by many experts, including Sally Fallon Morell: USDA Dietary Guidelines Controversy. Here is a link to Jimmy’s excellent testimony on the subject: Having My Say. The testimony showed the harmful effects of the previous food guidelines. Overwhelming scientific evidence was presented to show that people need animal fats and proteins to function properly, and a wide variety of foods, while grains and carbohydrates should be limited. The evidence showed that processed foods and sugar in all its forms should be severely limited. None of this evidence appeared to make any difference to the Dietary Guidelines Committee.
The Weston A. Price Foundation has published its own set of Dietary Guidelines, which are based on science, not profit. My rejection of the new government guidelines inspired me to create some new high-fat, low-carb recipes that could be used as side dishes in place of high-carb foods like pasta and potatoes. This recipe meets my standards, since three of its four ingredients are practically banned by the new government guidelines, as they are rich in animal fats. It is also delicious, and goes well with any meat. This recipe also makes a nice breakfast.
Cheese Eggs with Onions and Butter
4 tablespoons pastured butter
1 medium organic onion, sliced
1 cup full fat natural cheese of your choice, chopped into small pieces, (cheddar and Havarti are very good with this dish)
4 organic eggs, with the yolks, beaten with a whisk or a fork until many small bubbles appear
1.     Heat the butter over medium heat in a 10 inch pan, preferably cast iron. When the butter is melted, add the onion, and sauté for 5 minutes.
2.     Add the cheese to the eggs and mix well. Pour the mixture over the onions. Reduce the heat to medium low. Cover, and cook until the eggs have set, about 5 minutes.
Serve with the grassfed meat of your choice, or enjoy for breakfast.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, Fight Back Friday, and Monday Mania blog carnivals.
Why Is Fattier Grassfed Meat Best?
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
Grassfed sirloin roast, with a delicious, nutritious fat cap.
Our culture has a phobia about animal fat. The horrid nutritional guidelines just issued by the U.S. government tell us to eat meat only occasionally, and eat only lean meat. This is truly a shame, because animal fat from pastured animals contains many vital nutrients that are easily absorbed and hard to get elsewhere. Animal fat from grassfed animals also gives great taste, tenderness, and satisfaction (unlike the lumpy, greasy fat so prevalent in factory meat).
All grassfed meat is leaner than factory meat. Many producers advertise how lean their grassfed meat is. Some grassfed meat is much leaner, and some contains more fat. So which is better? For our ancestors, the choice was simple. Fat meat was desirable and cherished—lean meat was eaten to avoid starvation or thrown to the dogs.
For me, the answer is also simple. Most of the nutrients in grassfed beef are in the fat. Fattier cuts of grassfed meat have more flavor and come out more tender. The fattier the better, when it comes to grassfed meat.
Grassfed Fat vs. Factory Fat
There is a great difference in the content and composition of the fat of grassfed animals and the fat of factory animals finished in the feedlot.
The fat of grassfed animals has a much higher ratio of omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids, has much more CLA, and is much richer in other nutrients. The fat of feedlot-finished factory animals has a much higher omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio, much less CLA, and contains substances from the feed that get stored in the fat.
The fat in grassfed meat appears both as a covering over the cut of meat, and in small white flecks that can be seen in the meat itself. These small flecks are called marbling. The fat of feedlot-finished factory meat also appears as a covering, but it can often be seen in the meat itself as thick, blocky veins of fat, or lumps of fat. No grass finished meat has this appearance.
I personally find the fat in grassfed meat to be delicious and satisfying. It smells so good when the meat cooks that it makes me very hungry. I find the fat in feedlot-finished factory meat to be greasy, unpleasant, and downright disgusting. Factory meat does not satisfy me, and leaves me hungry and bloated. Grassfed meat always leaves me feeling satisfied and good—which is one of the main reasons why I only eat grassfed and grass finished  meat.
What about the Studies?
The media often publicizes studies that claim that eating meat, especially fat meat, is unhealthy.
While I never blindly believe any study, knowing how flawed and biased they can be (though some are completely valid, you just have to study the details), I have noticed two important points that make them inapplicable to grassfed meat and fat:
- All of these studies include the eating of highly processed factory meat, meat that is full of preservatives and chemicals, such as luncheon meat. It is impossible to know if the negative results claimed by the studies come from the meat or the chemicals.
- None of these studies are limited to the eating of pastured meat processed without the use of chemicals, but are based almost totally on feedlot-finished factory meat that has been raised with artificial hormones, chemicals, antibiotics, species-inappropriate feed, and other factors that were never used by our ancestors. It is impossible to know if the negative results claimed by the studies come from the meat or the hormones, chemicals, antibiotics, species-inappropriate feed, or other factors, or any combination of them.
The main studies we have on the nutritional effects of traditional meats, fats, and diets are the customs of our ancestors, and the vital research of Dr. Weston A. Price. These traditions and the research of Dr. Price support the health benefits of eating traditional unprocessed animal fats.
Why Fattier Grassfed Meat Is Better than Leaner Grassfed Meat
Once again, the traditions of our ancestors are the key to understanding. Every traditional meat eating culture preferred fat meat to lean meat. Traditional recipes for meat always make sure that it is cooked and eaten with plenty of fat, with roasts being inevitably covered by a glorious crown of their own magnificent fat. The most prized, luxurious cuts of meat were always the fattest.
Traditional Inuit were known to reserve the organ meats, fatty meats, and fat for themselves, while throwing the really lean meat to their dogs.
The most valued traditional foods included the fats of pastured animals, with lard, beef tallow, goose fat, duck fat, and chicken fat being heavily used for cooking in traditional Europe. The Native Americans used bear fat, bison fat, and the fat from other game. Lamb fat was prized in the Middle East, where breeds of lamb were raised that had huge tails composed almost completely of fat, which was used in all kinds of cooking. Lard was the most important fat in China, used for cooking almost everything.
I am convinced that cooking traditions reflect the collective experience of the people who have them, representing thousands of years of trial and error, passed down from parent to child, from teacher to student. The wisdom of these traditions was proved by Dr. Weston A. Price, who discovered that traditional peoples eating their traditional diets were completely free of the chronic diseases that afflicted modern peoples, remaining healthy and vigorous into extreme old age. Every one of the peoples studied by Dr. Price only ate meat with plenty of fat.
An example of this wisdom is pemmican, a staple preserved food of the Native Americans who lived on the Great Plains of the United States. Pemmican consisted of dried bison meat, dried cherries, and a great deal of bison fat. The Native Americans knew that the fat was absolutely necessary for the pemmican to sustain life.
Most of the nutrients in grassfed meat are in the fat, not the meat itself. Very lean grassfed beef, that has no visible marbling, will have fewer nutrients than grassfed meat that is nicely marbled. A roast that has all the fat cover trimmed off will have fewer nutrients than a roast cooked with a cover of its own natural fat.
I have found that the fattier the grassfed meat, the more tender and tasty and satisfying it is. You can make lean grassfed meat tender and delicious, with the proper technique and marinades. But the grassfed meat that has the little flecks of fat in the meat will be more tender, and more tasty, and more satisfying. The grassfed roast cooked with a cap of its own magnificent fat will always come out much better that the totally trimmed roast. Our ancestors knew this, and it is a delicious and healthy tradition to follow!
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The First Low-Carb Doctor—2500 Years Ago!
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
photo credit: bazylek100
Dr. Robert Atkins is credited (or blamed) for creating the low-carb diet. But Dr. Atkins was not the first to advocate a high-fat, high-protein, low-carb diet for losing weight.
The father of medicine was also the father of low-carb. Hippocrates of Kos, the most famous and honored doctor of all time, known as the “Father of Medicine†was the first to advocate a low-carb diet for losing weight.
Who Was Hippocrates?
Hippocrates was born in the middle of the fifth century before Christ. He revolutionized the practice of medicine in ancient Greece. At that time, there was a conflict in Greek medicine. There was a division between those doctors who relied on aggressive, dangerous treatments like drugs and surgery (yes, the ancient Greeks used both), and those who saw illness as a punishment from the gods and advocated religious means for healing. Hippocrates created a new path for healing.
Hippocrates studied his patients by observing them, taking careful notes, and using his experience to diagnose their conditions. His approach was centered on strengthening the patient through food, exercise, and rest, so the patient’s body could heal itself. Some other techniques used to strengthen the body included massage, inhaling various fragrances, soft music, relaxation, even gentle conversation designed to help calm the patient, and other similar techniques.
Hippocrates taught that it was more important to know the patient’s body and how to strengthen it, than to know the disease the patient had. Hippocrates taught that the body had the power to heal any illness, if the natural processes were properly supported.
The Hippocratic way of healing always started with diet and exercise. Only if those did not work was medication used. The use of medication was stopped when the patient was well enough to respond to diet and exercise. Surgery was the last resort. The doctor was instructed that every patient was a unique individual, and treatment had to be designed for each particular patient. This was the total opposite of today’s “same treatment for the same disease for everybody†approach.
Hippocrates taught that the patient should be treated with kindness, respect, love, and understanding, and knew that a person’s mental attitude had a great deal to do with the healing process.
Hippocrates believed that aggressive medical treatment could do great harm to the patient, and said that the most important rule for the physician was, “First, do no harm.â€
Why Was Hippocrates Considered the Greatest Doctor of All Time?
Hippocrates was considered the greatest doctor of all time, because he was so successful in treating illness. While he did not cure everybody, he cured so many that he became recognized as the greatest and most successful doctor of antiquity, perhaps of all time.
Hippocrates became particularly famous when he was credited with stopping the great plague that hit Athens during the Peloponnesian War. Athens was under siege, with large numbers of people and animals crowded together. All food had to be brought in by sea, and there was a shortage of fresh food. A terrible plague broke out, killing thousands. The drugs and treatments of the conventional doctors proved useless, as did trying to appease the Greek gods. Hippocrates and his followers came to Athens to try to cure the plague, as it was feared that this terrible disease would wipe out Athens and threaten the very survival of the rest of Greece.
Diet and exercise would not work here, as the victims of the plague were too sick to keep food down, or to exercise. Hippocrates carefully observed the situation. He noticed that the only group of people not affected by the plague were the blacksmiths and their workers. Hippocrates noted that the blacksmiths spent a great deal of time around burning fires, and often drank warm water that had been brought to a boil, since they were always around hot fires. Hippocrates gave these instructions to the people of Athens:
- They were to light large fires in every home, and keep them burning.
- All corpses were to be burned completely.
- All water was to be boiled before drinking.
The people of Athens followed his prescription, and the plague soon ended.
I should mention that modern doctors and historians call this a legend, refusing to believe that an ancient physician could cure the plague. After all, he had no modern drugs or antibiotics. Any end to the plague must have been a coincidence that had nothing to do with Hippocrates. But the people who were actually there gave credit to Hippocrates, and considered him the greatest doctor in the world.
How to Lose Weight—“Let the Foods Be Richâ€
Hippocrates lived in a time when many people were fat, and wanted to lose weight. He said: “People who wish to become thin should let the foods be rich.â€
Hippocrates believed that a diet consisting of rich foods would satisfy the appetite, giving the body what it needed so the patient would not eat too much. “Rich food†in his day meant the fat from grassfed animals and pigs, fatty cheeses, and fatty meats. By limiting his patients to the rich foods, he was putting them on a low-carb diet, a diet that was very similar to the one advocated by Dr. Atkins, 2500 years later!
Hippocrates also cautioned doctors to avoid a “one size fits all†approach to weight loss. He stated that each patient had a natural weight that was ideal for that person. The goal was to reach the degree of thinness that the patient’s body would support, and maintain naturally with a good diet.
By advocating that each patient reach the level of thinness that was right for them, Hippocrates rejected the idea that every person must reach the same degree of thinness. The modern idea of identical thinness for everyone has caused so much pain and misery, causing the horrible cycle of drastic weight loss followed by drastic weight gain that is so common today. This horrible cycle is repeated by person after person, resulting in huge profits for the diet industry.
It should be noted that Hippocrates prescribed various diets to help sick people. Sometimes he would prescribe a diet that contained carbs, and sometimes he would put a patient on an all-barley diet for a short period, but not for weight loss. As always, he customized his treatment to the individual patient.
Hippocrates Said
Some of the quotes from Hippocrates really show his philosophy, and are completely consistent with the alternative doctors of today:
“Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy food.â€
“Leave your drugs in the chemist’s pot, if you can cure the patient with food.â€
“Walking is man’s best medicine.â€
The Hippocratic Oath
Hippocrates is famous for establishing a code of ethics for the medical profession, which was embodied in an oath he wrote for all physicians to take.
There was a time when all Western doctors took the oath, though many did not honor it. The modern version of the Hippocratic Oath does not even resemble the oath written by Hippocrates, and is completely different.
To me, the most important part of the original Hippocratic Oath is stated in this paragraph:
“I will use those dietary regimens which will benefit my patients according to my greatest ability, and judgment, and I will do no harm or injustice to them.â€
In other words, doctors used to take an oath to heal with diet! Not drugs, radiation, or surgery, but diet.
Hippocrates and the Research of Dr. Weston A. Price
The healing approach of Hippocrates, based on a healthy diet that supports the natural functioning of the body, is completely consistent with the findings of Dr. Weston A. Price.
Dr. Weston A. Price studied a number of healthy peoples who ate the diet of their ancestors. All of these peoples followed the Hippocratic method of using diet to support the natural functions of their bodies. All of these peoples were completely free of the chronic diseases that plague the modern world. All of these peoples ate a diet that was much higher in animal and fish fat, and much lower in carbs than modern diets. And all of these peoples were in great physical shape, with obesity being unknown.
Dr. Robert Atkins, the founder of the modern low-carb diet, had been demonized, vilified, and heavily criticized. His critics constantly claimed that his findings had no support in science or history. They were wrong, as the greatest physician of all time, Hippocrates of Kos, also prescribed a low-carb diet for losing weight, using very much the same approach as Dr. Atkins.
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This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, Fight Back Friday and Monday Mania blog carnivals.
Weston A. Price Diet Means Strong Bones
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
photo credit: carlos.a.martinez
I had my second real food miracle several weeks ago.
It’s one thing to read about how the Weston A. Price way of eating strengthens the body, but it is really powerful to experience it.
A medical prediction proved worthless once again, and I had definite proof that my bones are stronger and healthier now than they were 37 years ago, when I was in college.
The difference? 37 years ago, I was eating the Standard American Diet, also known as “SADâ€. In 2010, I had been eating a Weston A. Price type diet for several years.
The First Accident
Being young, oblivious, and foolish, I ran into a crosswalk. I was hit by a vehicle, sent flying through the air, and landed directly on my right knee. The knee was severely fractured. I could not stand up, and had to be taken to a hospital. After x-rays, the doctor told me the knee would always be seriously weakened. The knee would deteriorate over time, and there was no way to stop it. I would inevitably need to have the knee replaced at some future date.
Over the years, I was protective of the knee, which gradually became stiffer and achier as time went on. Sometime after I switched to a Weston A. Price diet, the stiffness and aches just diminished and eventually disappeared.
What I Ate
I followed the nutritional advice given by the Weston A. Price Foundation. I stopped eating processed foods. I stopped almost all sugar and sweeteners. I made a real effort to eat organic (or the equivalent) whenever possible. I had nutrient-dense food such as eggs, cheese, grassfed meat, bone broth, cream, mountains of butter, cod liver oil, wild seafood, and many kinds of animal fat.
The Second Accident
A few weeks ago, I was walking on a wet loading dock. All my attention was on the conversation I was having, and I slipped on something and toppled over the edge of the dock. I fell some distance and landed heavily, with all my weight, directly on the previously injured knee on a solid steel loading step. I landed with great force, greater than when my knee had been injured the first time. I felt a moment of panic, which immediately passed when I realized that something was missing—pain. There was no pain. I carefully got up, and felt a very slight stiffness and very minor pain. I looked at the knee. There was a very small bruise, about the size of a pea. That was it. No fracture. The skin was not even broken.
The pain soon disappeared, and I felt a very slight stiffness for the rest of the day.
When I woke up the next morning, the stiffness was gone, the bruise was gone, and there was no pain. It was like it never happened. I came to realize that the knee had actually healed, and that my bones were stronger than ever.
When It Come to Bone Health, SAD Is Bad
Many Americans suffer from thin and brittle bones, especially when they get older. It is very common for an older person to break a hip or some other bone from a relatively minor fall. Even younger people are breaking bones more often. Many people in their 40s or younger are having their joints surgically replaced. In fact, so many younger Americans are getting artificial knees and hips that special forms of these creations of metal and plastic have been designed for younger people.
The Standard American Diet, which its focus on processed factory food full of sugar and chemicals, does not supply our bodies with the nutrients needed to maintain strong bones.
No Artificial Joints for Me, Thanks to Dr. Weston A. Price
Most people in this nation believe that they will have a knee, or both knees “replaced†at some time in their lives. They also believe that they will need to have a hip, or both hips “replaced.†They think of these surgeries as an inevitable part of growing old.
Interestingly enough, the healthy peoples studied by Dr. Weston A. Price never had their joints replaced, and never needed to. Even in extreme old age, they remained mobile and active, keeping their own knees and hips.
No artificial creation of metal and plastic can possibly “replace†the joints we were born with. At best, these contraptions can be a very poor substitute for our own bones.
Replacing knees and hips is a very profitable business in the United States. Over a million knee replacement surgeries are done every year, and over a quarter of a million hip replacement surgeries. These surgeries often have complications, which are treated by more drugs, more surgeries, more hospitalization, which requires the spending of more and more money. Recently a major network reported that a particular artificial hip was being recalled. The problem was that unless it was installed with complete perfection, it was likely to release metal shavings into the bloodstream, which could cause dementia and/or heart failure. “Recall†means that everyone who has had a defective artificial hip installed must have it surgically removed and replaced.
I prefer to keep my own joints. Thanks to Dr. Weston A. Price and the Weston A. Price Foundation, I know how to do that just by eating a traditional, nutrient-dense diet. The Dietary Guidelines of the Weston A. Price Foundation are a great place to start.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, Fight Back Friday, and Monday Mania blog carnivals.
Primal Fuel, Primal Meat, Total Satisfaction
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
Barbecued Grassfed Bone In Porterhouse
The taste of the most basic and primal of foods, grassfed meat, cooked with one of the oldest and most traditional fuels, 100 percent hardwood charcoal, is the best. Not only to me, but to countless millions of people.
The Primal Taste of Primal Meat
There is something about the taste of this food—one of the oldest taste combinations known to humanity—that calls to us, awakens old primal memories, and is satisfying like no other food. When we smell this meat cooking, we instinctively salivate, as our bodies recognize that the smell means good food is on the way. The salivation signals our bodies to get ready to eat, and the digestive system prepares for action. We get hungry and our sense of taste and smell is somehow enhanced. We become hungry, and hungrier, as the smell changes as the meat finishes cooking. When we finally bite into the tender meat, and taste the primal flavor of the charcoal-imbued meat, the satisfaction is unequaled, we want more, and the meal becomes a joy to be savored.
Somehow, this meat is incredibly easy to digest, and we do not feel stuffed or bloated. We eat with eager hunger until we have had enough, and the hunger ends. The feeling of satisfaction and well-being we get from such a meal is unique, not matched by any other food.
Why Primal Meat Cooked with Primal Fuel Tastes So Good
Meat and fat have been prized by most of humanity for countless thousands of years. This may be our oldest cooked food. I have studied the traditional cooking of almost every European, North American, Asian, and Latin American nation in the world. I have also studied some of the cooking of the Middle East, Micronesia, and Africa. Just about every traditional cuisine treasured meat cooked with charcoal or wood coals, though people were often unable to get it. Even today, barbecue excites people like no other food.
I believe that barbecued meat is so popular because humanity has been eating it for so long. The love of it may be in our very genes, and our bodies have adapted to recognize and digest it easily.
We now have a fear of barbecue, created by studies claiming that barbecued meat contain substances that could cause cancer. However, none of those studies involved primal meat that was cooked with primal fuel. The traditional peoples studied by Dr. Weston A. Price cooked meat this way, and cancer was unknown to them.
Much of what is now called barbecue is a sad imitation of the real thing, scorched, tasteless, or sooty.
We can recreate the primal taste of primal meat cooked with primal fuel. All we need is primal meat, primal fuel, and the right method.
Primal Meat
This can only be 100 percent grassfed and grass finished meat, or wild game, or omnivorous animals such as pigs eating their natural diet.
Most of the meat eaten in the United States is processed through a feedlot, where the animals are fed a diet of foods they would never eat in their natural habitat, and altered by chemicals and antibiotics, among other things. This causes the meat of feedlot animals to taste different, and to behave differently in cooking. Humanity never experienced this kind of meat until the 20th century.
Primal meat is the kind of meat humanity has been eating for uncounted thousands of years. Meat from animals eating their natural diet, unaltered by chemicals, drugs, and species-inappropriate foods.
Fortunately, we can get such meat today, thanks to a small but noble band of intrepid farmers and ranchers.
Primal Fuel
The kind of primal fuel we can easily get today is 100 percent hardwood lump charcoal, or the same charcoal in the form of briquets. We can also burn unsprayed, chemical-free wood down to coals.
No other fuel will do to recreate the wonderful combination of primal meat and primal fuel.
The Right Method
This involves cooking the meat in front of a fire of coals, without scorching, charring, or clouds of smoke. Traditional peoples never let the flames hit the meat, and some old time cooks warned about how too much smoke and flame would impart a nasty taste to the meat.
Interestingly enough, the substances found hazardous by the studies are created by direct high heat, especially when the flames hit the meat.
I am finishing a book on barbecuing grassfed meat that shows a method that works beautifully to create the magnificent taste of primal meat cooked with primal fuel. The book adopts traditional methods of cooking this food to our time, and the results have been absolutely delicious. I have barbecued almost every day this last spring and summer, and I have been blessed by the wonderful flavor and satisfaction of eating primal meat cooked with primal fuel.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday blog carnival.
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Live Food, Dead Food
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
Traditional homemade sauerkraut is full of life.
Human beings need live food to support their life and health. Food that is full of vitamins, enzymes, co-factors, and many other substances that exist naturally in the food of our ancestors. Our bodies know how to use these substances to support life and health.
Modern processed foods are full of chemicals and preservatives that have killed almost all the life in the food. Many so called “fresh†foods are irradiated, which kills the life in the food. Many of these foods will not spoil, because there is no life in them to spoil. These dead foods do not give us the nutrients needed to support the natural functions of our bodies, which require nutrients that can only be found in live food.
Traditional Foods Are Live Foods
Our ancestors ate live food. It was either fresh and unmodified, or it was preserved by traditional methods such as fermentation, drying, and smoking. These traditional food preservation methods actually used beneficial bacteria to increase the life in the food, often increasing the amount and quality of the nutrients.
Dr. Weston A. Price spent ten years travelling around the world, studying the diets of healthy traditional peoples. He found that traditional peoples eating the diets of their ancestors were free of the chronic diseases that plague modern humanity.
- They did not have tooth decay, though they had no dentists.
- They did not have cancer, or heart disease, or arthritis, or asthma, or allergies, or birth defects, though they had no doctors.
- They did not have any form of mental illness, though they had no psychiatrists.
- They did not have crime, though they had no police.
- They kept their sight, hearing, balance, mental acuity, and mobility well into extreme old age, though they had no glasses, no hearing aids, no hip or knee replacements, and no prescription drugs.
What they did have was plenty of good live food in its natural state, free of added chemicals, brimming with enzymes, vitamins, beneficial bacteria, and other co-factors that were alive, not dead. While the diets of these people were diverse, all of them ate raw or very rare meat and/or seafood, though they also cooked much of their food. All of them ate the organs of animals and fish raw, or lightly cooked. All of them ate some form of fermented live foods. All of them ate some form of raw, live animal fat, whether in the form of pastured butter, raw milk, raw cheese, raw fish fat, or raw animal fat. All of them ate raw fruit and berries. All of them ate some vegetables raw. All of them preserved food by fermentation, or drying, or smoking. These traditional methods preserved or actually increased the life in the food.
Dr. Price also found that traditional peoples eating modern processed foods suffered greatly from every modern disease; had terrible teeth that they often lost; and often suffered from epidemics such as tuberculosis. The modern processed foods eaten by these sick people were dead foods from cans and jars, often filled with sugar, processed in such a way that they did not spoil.
Modern Foods Are Dead Foods
The food industry loves dead food. Why? Dead food lasts longer. Dead food will not spoil. As an example, some cupcakes have lasted 15 years without spoiling. See this fine article about 15 year old cupcakes. Dead food has a very long “shelf life,†which means it can be transported for weeks, and sit on shelves for months or years, and still be the same. Dead food increases profits.
Live foods spoil, which really hurts profits. The fact that live foods will spoil makes it much harder to transport them, requiring intensive refrigeration, or freezing.
The food industry developed chemical preservatives, substances that prevent food from spoiling by killing the life in the food. These preservatives change the food they touch, changing it into something that we were not evolved to eat, something that our bodies do not recognize or know what to do with.
Dead food is not limited to packaged foods. Pesticides are poisons, whose purpose is to kill. Some pesticides are designed to kill plants, and others are designed to kill insects. When they are in the food, they change the food, almost certainly killing some or all of its live qualities.
Genetically modified plants have been changed so they can survive huge amounts of pesticides without dying. This means that genetically modified plants have been sprayed with even more pesticides than ordinary factory crops. Other forms of genetically modified plants actually have internal pesticides that will kill insects.
Many fruits, vegetables, spices, meats, and other foods are irradiated. The purpose is to kill bacteria, but the radiation changes the food itself, into something different, something new and foreign to our bodies. The purpose of radiation is to kill, and radiation kills life, including much of the life in the food.
The food industry has now introduced nanites, tiny particles much smaller than a single cell, as a new way to preserve food. These nanites are designed to kill bacteria, and they will kill all bacteria, including the beneficial bacteria our bodies need to function properly. These nanites are often used in food packaging, and no labeling is required. It is not known what happens when these tiny particles penetrate our cells, especially the cells of our organs.
How to Eat Live Food
The basic rule is, if it does not spoil, don’t eat it. This applies to meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, milk, cheese, butter—just about every food.
- Eat only real, basic food that humanity has eaten for many centuries.
- It is also best to find foods that are raised and processed without the use of added chemicals, such as foods that are organic or the equivalent. Processed foods should be avoided. If you buy processed foods, try to buy foods packed in glass, to avoid chemicals and nanites in the packaging. Even organic foods can have chemicals in the packaging, as organic tomato cans are lined with BPA.
- Avoid all foods that have been irradiated.
- Avoid all foods that have chemical preservatives.
- Avoid all foods that have been genetically modified.
- Eat traditionally fermented condiments, such as old fashioned sauerkraut. Traditional fermentation actually increases the life in food.
- Eat a large portion of your food raw. This can include high-quality dairy, fruits, and vegetables (though some vegetables, especially cruciferous vegetables, should not be eaten raw).
- Eat only grassfed, grass finished meats and wild seafood. These foods are especially full of life when cooked rare, or eaten raw. As Sally Fallon Morell has pointed out in her great cookbook, Nourishing Traditions, the US Department of Agriculture has stated that parasites are killed if food is frozen for at least 14 days.
- Learn about traditional foods, and how to prepare and eat them. I recommend Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon Morell. For grassfed meats, I recommend my own book, Tender Grassfed Meat.
Live foods give life, by supporting the natural functions of our bodies.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday and Fight Back Friday and Monday Mania blog carnivals.
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