Paleo Question

[DChristian]

I'd like to try going Paleo, but acquiring grass-fed meat on a large scale is just not practical for me right now.

If I went with grain-fed meat, would I just be completely derailing myself, or would it still be better than nothing ("nothing" being still eating grains and whatnot)?

[grz]

Grain fed meat > pasta and grains.

By a large margin. I eat grain fed meat because, frankly, I can't afford grass fed right now. And I'm still losing weight. Is it the best way? No. But it is still far better than all those carbs wreaking havoc on blood sugars and insulin.

I'll even use lunch meat from my grocery store deli (processed meat!) to have on reserves for days I didn't prepare a lunch. I'll bring some lunch meat and cottage cheese (and maybe a piece of fruit).

[DChristian]

Thanks so much for the reply!

If I can show some results, I'm hoping that I can get my wife on board with some of these changes for the entire family. Money not spent on breads and pastas and frozen french fries could maybe go towards more grass-fed meat and whatnot.

[Dio]

Agreed. Grass fed is nice, but limiting wheat/grains/legumes/sugars will make a bigger difference than anything else.

I have been at the point that I can tell a huge difference in my body between grass-fed and grain-fed, but ONLY when I'm working out intensely and keeping 95% on-menu. As soon as I start having any cheats, like rice-wrapped sushi, the difference becomes less noticeable. And if I REALLY want to ramp up how I feel, I replace most of my red meat with fish and chicken anyways.

Even without the grassfed, I've found primal (my choice instead of paleo) to be much more expensive than conventional meals since staple foods are cheap. I justify it by how much money I save by not eating out as much. That, and a heart attack would probably more expensive than a year's worth of grass fed beef!

[grz]

Agreed. Grass fed is nice, but limiting wheat/grains/legumes/sugars will make a bigger difference than anything else.

I have been at the point that I can tell a huge difference in my body between grass-fed and grain-fed, but ONLY when I'm working out intensely and keeping 95% on-menu. As soon as I start having any cheats, like rice-wrapped sushi, the difference becomes less noticeable. And if I REALLY want to ramp up how I feel, I replace most of my red meat with fish and chicken anyways.

Even without the grassfed, I've found primal (my choice instead of paleo) to be much more expensive than conventional meals since staple foods are cheap. I justify it by how much money I save by not eating out as much. That, and a heart attack would probably more expensive than a year's worth of grass fed beef!

Good info. I'm interested to see how I feel the longer I am avoiding grains (3 weeks - It's been a lot easier than I thought).

I found this quote from Gary Taubes' Why We Get Fat:

In the United States, farmers have been fattening animals on corn since the nineteenth century at least, and yet the explosive increases in diabetes and obesity occurred during the last decades of the twentieth century.

And another thing food - We spend more on groceries than we have in the past, but we spend way less on food in general!

[leadchipmunk]

I read somewhere (I can't remember where) that the biggest difference between grass-fed and grain-fed beef is in the fat. The grain-fed has less omega-3 (I believe) in the fat than grass-fed, but the meat is basically exactly the same. So if you get grain-fed, go for leaner cuts.

Mark has a good article (from what I can tell by skimming through it) about the difference between the two on his blog.

Eat beef, first and foremost. Get the highest quality beef you can afford, whether that ends up being premium grass-finished from the farm up the road or USDA Prime from Costco. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Man cannot live on wild caught canned sardines and crushing angst alone.

Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-differences-between-grass-fed-beef-and-grain-fed-beef/#ixzz1v8j7m7O9

Personally, I buy grain-fed out of cost, but I also never ate the fat on my steaks so leaner cuts were my choice anyway. I'm planning on going to a local farm and checking on prices for a side of grass-fed beef, but I have no idea when that will be.

[thatgirljj]

I'll point out that the "fattening animals on corn" that occurred prior to the advent of feedlots was a little corn. What we have now is feeding cows MASSIVE amounts of corn that their bodies do not handle well. (Watch King Corn for some background, it's a great movie.)

That being said... my family ends up with quite a bit of conventionally raised meat in our diet. It's hard to afford grassfed unless you've got a chest freezer, and it takes a lot of planning (and defrosting). Plus my husband likes to BBQ specialty cuts that we can't get from our grassfed farmer. My basic stance is that if we're eating a lot of grain fed beef and/or conventionally raised pork, I try to make sure we're eating fish 2-3 times a week... inexpensive quality fish include wild caught canned salmon & sardines and junk-free canned tuna. Make salmon patties, or fill up 1/2 an avocado with tuna salad. Unless you're eating the skin, conventionally raised chicken & turkey has less total omega-6 fats, so I count poultry as neutral.

-jj

[epaleocookbooks]

I read somewhere (I can't remember where) that the biggest difference between grass-fed and grain-fed beef is in the fat. The grain-fed has less omega-3 (I believe) in the fat than grass-fed, but the meat is basically exactly the same. So if you get grain-fed, go for leaner cuts.

This is true. There's a chapter about it in the Food Inc. Participant's Guide. Grain-fed meat is both higher in fat content and has more omega-6 and less omega-3 (you want the opposite ratios in your diet) than Grass-fed. Same goes with farm-raised fish vs wild caught fish. You're definitely better going with the meat of whatever kind and cutting out direct grains in your diet, though. If you can't afford grass-fed beef, then get grain-fed, but supplement with fish oil tablets.

[Hammlin]

If you can't afford grass-fed beef, then get grain-fed, but supplement with fish oil tablets.

Can you recommend a brand that doesn't make you burp up fishy taste? I've steered away from this because I can't do after tastes.

[msuroo]

Can you recommend a brand that doesn't make you burp up fishy taste? I've steered away from this because I can't do after tastes.

I have never experienced fishy burps with these.

[morethanjustamom]

Become a hunter/fisherman! Deer is an excellent alternative to grass-fed beef, and wild caught fish are much healthier than farm raised.

Other than that, do what you can, with what you have, save your pennies for grass-fed in the future, and, as others have said, look into fish oil capsules to make up the difference.

[DChristian]

Thank you all so much for the information!

I've already been working a lot of fish into my diet, but I'll pick up some fish oil tablets this weekend.

[VorJoshigan]

This is more like half a cent than two, but two points:

I've heard that krill oil does not have the fishy aftertaste that fish oil does.

Also, this may be heresy, but I think of paleo/primal as a direction instead of a destination. I am incapable of perfection, but as long as I'm going in the right direction, I'm not going to beat myself up about it. Then again I have the (fortunate?) circumstance of still being in the first 50 of an anticipated 150 lb weight loss. I can still eat 35% carbs & lose 2lbs/week.

[aj_rock]

There are many good things about the paleo diet, but Gary Taubes is not one of them.

[Leimanu]

Any attempt is better than none. I buy whatever meat is on sale at the grocery store when I need it. I think of it as preparing myself for the awesome decides to happen for me.