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Grass Fed Beef Benefit You Must Know More About–Antioxidants

Grass fed beef offers several benefits. Most know about the increased amount of omega 3’s, but do you know about the incredible amount of antioxidants? Grass and other plants naturally have high amounts of antioxidants. Find out how this benefits you.



Tilapia Nutrition – Is One of America’s Most Popular Fish Toxic?


Where Does Tilapia Really Come From?



tilapia farming

Tilapia Farming leads to Poor Tilapia Nutrition


Tilapia Nutrition is Questionable



What You Can Do




Standard American Diet . . . The Wrong Direction

Just the name, the standard American diet, sounds monotonous and boring. Think about it. The word standard used in this context implies uniformity. It suggests that everything is consistent and there is lack of variation. The underlying tone is that individuals are eating the same thing throughout the population. In this case, that is detrimental for the population. Let’s just talk bluntly for a moment. The standard American diet lacks a lot regarding supporting health. It is in need of a significant overhaul.  The consistent way that the population is eating is putting us on a fast track to a society of chronic disease ridden individuals.

The Standard American diet is the Wrong Path

On the surface you might not consider the standard American diet inherently problematic to our health. This was likely the case 100 years ago. However, over the last century, we have come to consume food in a much different way than our ancestors did. They enjoyed a more primal diet that some today call the Paleo Diet or caveman diet. The difference between this pattern of eating and the style of food we consume today is drastically different. We no longer eat like our ancestors and we are paying the price for it. Instead, we eat foods that are adulterated and a combination of food-like products that should leave you wondering exactly what you are putting in your mouth.

Should we even call it food?

Take a walk through the grocery store. Walk down each aisle and look at what the standard American diet has become. It is a buffet of boxed and canned items that look drastically different from what they did prior to being refined and damaged by manufacturing. They have lost their inherent qualities that make them a food we should consume. It is hard to believe that we even call some of the things in the grocery stores food any more. The standard American diet, a different far different than the Paleo diet lends, is made up of foods that have only vague characteristics of the food that we should be consuming.

The Problem with the Standard American Diet

To understand what is wrong with the standard American diet, we need to compare it to the Paleo diet. This primal diet has some unique characteristics that are no longer seen with what is commonly consumed today. Let us start by looking at a few of the most pronounced differences.


The standard American diet is heavy in grains. Grains are high in carbohydrates and lack the balance and nutrients compared to other food groups. Add to this that most grains are among the highest dietary allergens and are linked to numerous ailments and you quickly realize they have some inherent problems. Moreover, if you are consuming grains, you are likely consuming a genetically modified food. I can say with confidence that none of our ancestor eating a Paleo diet with all of its primal characteristics was consuming genetically modified foods.


Our bodies need fat, but the right kind. Fats found in the standard American diet promote inflammation, a trait of almost every chronic disease. You actually have to seek out non-inflammatory fats in the grocery store and even when you do, you are not likely to find those that are most beneficial to suppressing inflammation in significant quantities.

There are many other problems with the standard American diet that I will detail in subsequent articles, but for now, knowing that this dietary pattern can destroy your health is the most important thing that you can take away. It is crucial for us to recognize that our ancestors had it right without even knowing it. They ate a Paleo diet that gave them the nutrition they needed.

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Could Taking Omega 3 Fats Help Reduce Your Cancer Risk?

The Cancer Scare

Cancer is on the rise.  Most all of us know someone that has had cancer.  It can be the most dreadful thing to hear from a doctor.  “You have cancer.”  Those three words invoke more fear than almost anything else.  The very thought of the reality of those words sends chills up your spine.  And if it is you that hears it, all you can think about are all the precious aspects of your life that you may no longer be able to experience or may soon lose.  Cancer is without question a scary situation, regardless the type and stage.

Why Are we not Winning the War on Cancer

Cancer is becoming a mainstay word in our society.  It comes up more frequently in the healthcare arena than it should.  There has long been a war on cancer.  In fact, Richard Nixon even signed the National Cancer Act of 1971 to more or less document the initiation of this initiative.  In the 40 plus years since that time, little has been done to decrease the incidence of cancer.  We are seeing new improvements and better management of the condition.  Yet with such advancement, we are failing to address the underlying causes of cancer.  This is no different than most other conditions.  Traditional medicine ignores the dysfunction that leads to the disease.  Why do we wait when we can be proactive?  We know the risks, so why not act on them?

The Statistical Paradox

Add to this conundrum the paradox that some say we are winning the battle on cancer.  To understand this comment, one must understand the definition of success.  Success is defined in some circles as reducing the death rate associated with cancer.  This is a noteworthy achievement and one that is appreciated by nearly all that have been diagnosed.  However, what we do not see in these number is the case of newly diagnosed cancer.  According to the National Cancer Institute Cancer Trends Progress Report – 2011/2012 Update, there were roughly 474 new cases of cancer per 100,000 individuals.  In a population of almost 314 million people, that equates to 1,488,360 newly diagnosed cases of cancer in one year.  I ask you.  Are we winning?

Can Anything Be Done?

With such daunting numbers, it may seem like almost nothing can be done.  However, the advantage of having medical science on our side is that researchers have been able to define many contributing factors.  This means that we do not have to proceed blindly, but rather can use the information of numerous creditable studies to know where to best support and protect ourselves.  One of the least controversial and most well accepted risk reduction techniques is omega 3 fatty acids.

Omega 3’s Provide Hope

The American Journal of Epidemiology states, “These results suggest that intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids may reduce risk of total and cancer-specific mortality.” (Am J Epidemiol. 2014 Feb 3).  This furthers the point that risk of death associated with cancer can be reduced.  Moreover, there is equal evidence stating that there may be a protective role associated with the consumption of omega 3’s with various types of cancer.

How Omega 3’s Benefit

Omegas 3’s have clearly established themselves as having a role in protection against cancer as well as other aspects of this life-threatening condition.  Even in light of the occasional controversial media piece, omega 3’s are one of the most well accepted intervention strategies to protect not only against the ailments of cancer, but multiple other conditions as well.  With their well-known role as an anti-inflammatory and immune system modulator, and their difficulty in obtaining adequate levels in most individuals diets, you will be hard pressed to find a better start to your cancer prevention strategy than the incorporation of omega 3’s.