Natural vs Hormonally Enhanced Meats
Hormone balance is a crucial part of a healthy body. Much of the meat consumed in America and around the world, is fed with hormones. These hormones are transferred directly into us when we eat the meat, which in turn can cause a hormone imbalance in our body.
Millions of cattle are slaughtered each year to provide beef to the US. It's believed that two-thirds of this cattle is injected with hormones to make them grow faster and ultimately create more profit for the beef industry. It doesn't stop at beef either. Pigs, turkey, eggs, salmon, eel, carp and other animals raised for use as food, are given hormones to increase their rate of growth and to promote rapid weight gain. However, hormone use in poultry production is illegal in the United States.
As a result of this unnatural growth, animals have a higher fat content which when eaten by you, can cause excessive weight gain and obesity. The added hormones can also cause an increase in height. There are a number of other nasty side affects of eating meats treated with hormones. Your at risk of developing cancer, and the literal transfer of hormones from meat to you, can even cause menstrual irregularities and hair growth in females as well as impotence in men.
Switching to organic free-range meat and dairy is a wise decision when you factor in all the negative side effects of eating hormonally enhanced produce. Certified Organic means the meat was produced without the use of chemical pesticides or chemical fertilizers, and that the animals were not drugged with hormones or antibiotics. Organic produce is widely available in stores across America.
To go one step further, it's thought that grass-fed animals make for healthier and more nutritious meat. Not only is organic meat free of hormones, antibiotics, or other drugs, it also contains more of the good type of fat and less of the bad fat. It's richer in antioxidants too, so it should be a no-brainer to make the switch to grass-fed produce. It is a fair assumption that natural, non-commercial meat costs more but the benefits to your health far out way the price factor.
Check out these websites to learn more about the benefits of switching to grass-fed food: