Cave Man meat

Since watching Frankensteer on CBC, a documentary on what the beef industry has done and is doing to our cows, and how it affects the beef we eat, it's been very difficult to eat beef. In fact, after watching the the episode, I couldn't eat beef for weeks and I'm surprised that I can eat it now, at least once in a while.

These days, Isak and I try to have some organic meat at least once every two weeks (organic meat is still much more expensive than non-organic meat). During our visits to the Village Market, we sometimes pick-up some lamb (from Reachview Farm), and sometimes venison (from Deer Valley Farm). Like all the meat we get at this market, the venison has no hormones or antibiotics, and no pesticides.

I've made stew from venison. Extremely lean meat and delicious in a stew. And yesterday we had venison steaks. The steaks, though tasty, reminded me a bit of liver. I don't like liver. I sauteed some onions to go with my steak, cooked in a pan with a bit of steak spice, and it was fine. Venison.ca has some recipes though-- I should take a look.

A search for the health benefits of venison on the site of Dr. Mercola produced a few articles. This one by Dr. Loren Cordain talks about how the Cave Man's Diet is healthy for you.

The Cave Man's diet consists of "certain kinds of fish, wild game such as venison, or grass-fed meat such as beef."

The researchers conducted detailed chemical analysis of the meats people ate 10,000 years ago and compared those results to the most common meat people eat today. They found that wild game, such as venison or elk meat, as well as grass-fed beef, contain a mixture of fats that are a ctually healthy for you, and, the researchers say, lower cholesterol and reduce other chronic disease risk.

Recent studies have indicated that a healthy diet should contain a balance of essential fats. The two types of most concern are omega-6 and omega-3, and both are essential for proper nutrition.

The article goes on to identify the types of fish and game that contains the healthy fats. It also explains the result of an anthropological study.

Previous studies have found that nearly all - 97 percent - of the world's hunter gatherer societies would have exceeded recommended guidelines for fat. Although this may be surprising to many people, it fits exactly with what research is showing about the importance of specific types of fat in the diet.

Current research is showing that, with the decline of fat in the diet, the amount of fat isn't as important as the relative amounts, or ratio, of specific fats in your diet. It's a qualitative issue, not a quantitative issue. By eating more of the good fat you can lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.