Last week’s column was about the first wellness-based principle of nutrition I was taught in chiropractic school; namely, that the processing of foods damages their nutritional value. The leading example is sugar, which is important in our diets as part of a whole food but poisonous when used in its highly processed form.
The second principle I was taught is that the quality of a food is affected by the conditions in which it was raised. Cows raised naturally are free to roam and eat whatever plants they encounter, and they naturally choose the foods that are best for them. By contrast, factory-farmed beef cattle are fed grains to “fatten them up.” This diet not only makes them overweight, it stresses their entire systems and makes them prone to infection. Because of this, many are kept on a steady diet of antibiotics. In addition, up to two-thirds of beef cattle are given growth hormones. They also are raised in pens where their movement is limited, often ankle-deep in their own waste, during the last few months when they are in a feedlot.
It only makes sense that the meat from these animals would not be as healthy as the meat from a grass-fed, active, drug-free, less-stressed animal. Looking at the composition of the meat, we can see this is true. Grass-fed beef has more vitamins E and A and a healthy balance of essential omega-3 fatty acids. Grain-fed beef has very little omega-3 and up to twice as much overall fat content.
The same is true for farmed salmon. For example, the meat from farmed salmon is gray, not orange; this is because the farmed fish are fed processed pellets of food instead of their natural diets. For this reason, the fish are fed chemicals to restore the color. Salmon is considered a very good source of healthy omega-3 fats. But just as with beef, farmed salmon has a lot less omega-3 than wild caught and, perhaps not surprisingly, many more toxins, such as PCBs.
Based on this same principle, vegetables grown in healthy, organic soil will be more nutritious for you than veggies grown on depleted soil with artificial fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. And while studies have shown mixed results in the nutritional value of organic veggies, a 2014 review of 343 previous studies showed organic crops to have significantly higher levels of some nutrients, especially antioxidants, and much lower levels of pesticides and herbicides.
Organic produce tends to be more expensive, according to the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. This can be countered by joining a community supported agriculture program, an arrangement where individuals pay a farmer in advance for next year’s crops. For a list of CSAs in Maine, go to the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association website, mofga.net
To reduce the costs associated with buying grass-fed beef, I recommend buying a portion of a cow. Many farmers will sell a quarter of the meat from one of their animals once they get four people interested in buying it. This lowers the price considerably.
After years of working in wellness, I have found most shortcuts have too many unintended consequences. Factory farming does make for cheaper food, but it is of lower quality. Fertilizers do stimulate the growth of crops but at the expense of the nutritional value of the crops and the health of the soil.
It’s not that “factory farmed” foods are poisonous; they are just of lower nutritional quality, with poor fat and nutrient balance and much higher chemical and toxin levels. The basic principles of wellness — control stress, eat whole natural foods, and get plenty of exercise — applies to the foods we eat every bit as much as it does to our own health. The healthiest people eat the healthiest foods.
Next week, we will discuss GMO foods, including the new salmon that was just approved by the FDA.
Dr. Michael Noonan practices chiropractic, chiropractic acupuncture and other wellness therapies in Old Town. He can be reached at noonanchiropractic@gmail.com.