It’s like buying cheap toilet paper

He wanted to know why he should eat grass fed beef over grain fed. “And, not the science reason,” he said. “I am already lean and healthy so why should I spend the extra money?”

“Well, have you ever thought you could save a buck and buy that really cheap toilet paper,” I asked. “Yeah, once,” he said. ”I pulled three times as much off a roll that’s only twice as big.” “But you didn’t have to right, I mean what would happen if you decided to use the same amount,” I asked. “I’d get shit on my hand.” “Thanks, and that’s why grass fed beef is better that grain fed,” I said. “They both do the job, one just leaves you feeling a little shitty afterwards.”

This conversation went down live at a recent nutrition seminar I gave. Not the prettiest of pictures but it seems to get the point across to those of us a little unsure about the benefits of grass fed beef, especially when we may be feeling and looking just fine without it.

Grass fed beef has more Omega 3 than grain fed. Omega 3 is “good fat”, it’s polyunsaturated, fights inflammation, improves brain health and tissue function and lets you train more and be more awesome. That and like a million others things I could sit here and name from memory but I won’t.

Grain fed beef has about zero Omega 3, and roughly the same Omega 6 content as grass fed. Omega 6 is just as essential as Omega 3.  It’s doesn’t become a problem unto it takes over the scene, meaning grain fed beef adds to the already unbalanced serving of Omega 6 in our diets. Too much of a good thing, in this case, hurts.

Grass fed beef has more vitamins and minerals all around. More nutrients in a smaller dose means you actually save money because you can buy less.

Grain fed beef meat has protein for muscle, Calories for energy, and creatine for strength just like grass fed, and they both taste pretty good. But when you finally make the calculated effort to eat a higher quality food, you end up doing less work in general and you are rewarded for it.  It takes nearly twice as much grain fed beef to attain the same macronutrients as you would from grass fed. Along with that extra dosage comes extra Calories, extra pathogens left over from mass producing, environmental harm, and more problems later on.

Half of the auditorium, including the guy who asked the question to begin with, was laughing hysterically, the other half didn’t think it was such a hot joke. It’s not that I believe grass fed is the holy grail of paleo, it’s that it’s one more small step in food maturity that can make a big difference. To me it just makes sense, if your already reaping the benefits of leaving the Lucky Charms on the shelf and skipping pizza Friday’s, then might as well go grass fed and stop buying cheap toilet paper.

Skill:

Pull-up/Bar-up/Muscle-up
*Spend (15) minutes working a progression or refining one or more of the movements. You should be focused on what will bring the most return. For instance, if you don’t have a Ring Dip, don’t work Muscle-ups, however, if you can dip to support on a bar, work Bar-ups.

Pistols
*Spend (10) minutes becoming better at a version of these. For instance, if you have no issue with pistols, add weight or more balance issues, or a target and a med-ball and call it one-leg wall ball. If you just have horrible mobility, mobilize your ankles and your hips for the entire time and re-test the movement.

Your choice
*Spend no less than (10) minutes on something of your choice. Double unders, Overhead squats, handstand walks, and the like.

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