86-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 17, 2003 Old-Fashioned Animal Fats Needed For Health? LOU ANN GOOD Food And Family Features Editor Editor's note: Within a week I attended two events. One promoted a low-fat diet and the other a high-fat diet from grass-fed animals. The science and opinions from both work shops are presented. Lancaster Farming does not endorse ei ther findings, but simply re ports on the information pres ented. We encourage you to make your own health care de cisions based upon your re search and in partnership with a qualified health care profes sional. LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) Low-fat diets are touted as bet ter for our hearts and over-all health, according to most nutri tional experts. But a growing number of people are questioning why, despite low-fat foods and the push to include more whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables in our diets, more people are obese than ever before and more people are suffering from autoim mune diseases such as chronic fa tigue sydrome and fibromyalgia. People offer varying opinions and solutions on what is consid ered a growing epidemic obesi ty- One of the most astonishing is that of nationally known author, speaker, and nutritional re searcher Sally Fallon, who says, “Your body needs more old-fash ioned animal fats.” She advocates drinking cream, slathering butter on almost every thing, and indulging in generous servings of beef and other meats. But dairy products must be raw, not pasteurized or homoge nized. And the meat must be grassfed. Sounds like good news for farmers, who are tired of having health professionals connect their products to heart disease and body fat. , It is good news to Amish farm* ers Leroy and Linda Miller and not just because they are dairy farmers. The high animal fat diet has brought them new vigor and health for the first time in Lin da’s life. Linda had suffered a myriad of health problems most of her life. She tried almost every medical solution and diet available. After one year on a total vegetarian diet, which only magnified her chronic fatigue, thyroid compli cations, and other health prob lems, Linda was ready to give up until she heard Fallon speak. Every morning since, for more than two years, Linda scoops out a glass of cream from the milk tank on their farm and drinks it. She, her husband, and two toddlers consume at least one half pound of homemade butter daily. Their diets are filled with the richest of dairy products and animal fats from grassfed beef and chickens. Within one month, Linda no ticed a substantial difference, and today she is completely healthy, she said. Cindy and Jim Schlosser, with the help of their Amish neighbors, prepare a dinner menu brimming with high-fat products produced from grassfed dairy and chicken. In cluded in the menu are fresh carrot, celery, cucumber, and spinach juice with a dollop of sour cream, beef vegetable soup made from homemade beef stocked prepared from bones cooked 12-20 hours in water, rye-spelt sourdough bread with homemade butter, assorted garden greens with grilled chicken breast, cottage cheese, and egg custard. By consuming so much daily dietary fat, you’d think the cou ple would be well, fat. But they are not. Neither are Jim and Cindy Schlosser, Bird in Hand, who also advocate Fallon’s dairy fat based diet. They insist that raw goat or cow milk from grassfed animals contains higher amounts of vita mins, enzymes, and other nutri ents that keep the body healthy and satisfied. Many of the needed nutrients are destroyed through pasteuri zation and homogenized pro cesses in milk. And, cattle and chickens allowed to feed on grass, they say, have more vitamin A and D, a fat-soluble catalyst that promotes optimum mineral as similation. The Millers make their own butter from Jersey cows. It isn’t the normally pale yellow butter sold in supermarkets, but a lus cious yellow color evidence of short and medium chain fatty acids that protect against disease and stimulate the immune sys tem, Linda said. They make plain, unsweetened yogurt, which is also surprisingly yellow in color and tastes almost sweet, although it contains no sweeteners. Butterfat from grassfed cows is a golden-yellow color and con tains vitamins A and D needed for the assimilation of calcium and protein in the water compo nent of the milk. It also contains glycospingolipids, which prevent intestinal distress, and conjugat ed linoleic acid (CLA) that has strong anticancer properties, according to Fallon’s research. Pasteurization started in the 1920 s to combat undulant fever and tuberculosis germs from being carried in milk. But times have changed, according to Fall on and her followers. Stainless steel tanks, milking machines, re frigerated trucks, and inspection methods, they believe, make pas teurization unnecessary. Pasteurized milk is very differ ent from raw milk, according to Fallon’s research. Pasteurization destroys many enzymes vital for fat digestion and to metabolize protein and calcium. The process also destroys vitamins B 6 and 812, and beneficial bacteria are destroyed. Homogenization breaks down butterfat to very small globules, which creates off-flavors and has been linked to heart disease. The Millers and the Schlossers believe that with raw milk, teeth are less likely to decay, raw milk promotes growth and calcium ab sorption, and prevents joint stiff ness, scurvy, and secondary in fections such as flu, diphtheria, and pneumonia. “You need to eat foods that contain cholesterol or your body will rob it from your liver, which causes autoimmune diseases, virus, and birth defects,” Linda said. They believe it is a myth that eating cholesterol foods raises your blood serum levels. Indeed, recent research has caused the American Heart Association to cease its recommendation to limit eggs to one or two a week. At her workshops, Fallon is re ported to show research to sup port her findings. She challenges nutrition and diet dictocrats. Her literature claims the latest inde pendent and accurate scientific research. Saturated fats enhance the im mune system by protecting the liver and contributing to healthy bones. Foods that contain choles terol help babies and children de velop a healthy brain and ner vous system. Red meat is a rich source of nutrients that protect the heart and nervous system. Eggs are nature’s most perfect food, providing excellent protein, nutrients, and fatty acids that contribute to the health of the brain and nervous system. Sea salt is also necessary for the de- velopment and function of the nervous system. Processed foods are frowned upon and limited grain usage is recommended. No processed sug ars are allowed, although honey and maple syrup can be used on a limit basis. According to the Millers, the CLA in milk is five times more prevalent in cows fed on a grass-based diet and 15 per cent more than those fed strict grain diet. Cindy has a doctorate degree in exercise physiology-biochem istry and is a former professor at Temple University. She said that her background in biochemistry helps her understand the scientif ic concepts of fat helping the body utilize vitamins and miner als. Her husband heads the Be rean Medical Mission, which pro vides used medical equipment to ministries in need and provides nutrition and health education. “Real (raw) milk can save fam ily farms,” Schlosser said. “If farmers have the right to sell un processed milk to consumers who want it, they can make a decent living, even with small herds.” The Millers manage 40 Hol steins and 12 Jerseys on their 80-acre farm. They sell some value-added products from their farm, but noted, “The milk truck is still our income.” The Friday evening June 6 workshop, from 7 p.m.-9 p.m., is scheduled at Millers Natural Foods, Bird in Hand, and will ad dress why grassfed is best and how a grass-based farming can help bring prosperity to family farms, and local farmers’ experi ences with grass-fed livestock. The Saturday June 7 work shop will be at Lancaster Host, Lancaster, from 8:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and will address how choles terol protects against heart dis ease and cancer, how the food processing industry sabotages sci entific research, the dangers of cholesterol-lowering drugs, and the phony lipid hypothesis that causes Americans to abandon healthy foods. A workshop also addresses healthy children and healthy par ents with the pioneering research of Dr. Weston Price. Butter is said to be the number one health food to help babies grow up healthy and smart. In addition, other old-fashioned foods will be examined as sources that provide limitless energy and vibrant health. Admission for the Friday eve ning workshop on “Why Grass fed is Best” is $5. Pre-registration for the Saturday workshop is $23 per person or $4O per couple. To register for either event, call or write to Millers Natural Foods, 2888 Miller Lane, Bird in Hand, PA 17505, (717) 371-6964. A June 6-7 con ference will ex amine cholesterol myths, traditional diets, and grass based farming with Sally Fallon, nutri tional researcher and author of ‘Nourishing Tradi tions.’
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