What if the seemingly innocent chicken or pork on your plate had more to say about your weight than you realized? Today, we're going to go over one of the biggest reasons that might make you reconsider your next bacon strip or buffalo wing.

You're probably thinking I'm being nit picky, and maybe I am, but this matters because most people overlook the diet of the animals we consume before they reach our plates.

Unfortunately, while chicken consumption has risen over the last 40+ years (pork has declined a little) and beef consumption has also declined, we're still somehow getting fatter and dare I say sicker. Side note - none of this is medical advice.

We become what our food eats. This will help or hurt you.

 Today you’re going to learn:

• The Significance of an Animal's Digestive System
• The Problems with Chicken and Pork Fat
• How This Effects Humans
• What to do About Chicken and Pork

The Significance of an Animal's Digestive System

First, let's talk about cows to provide some important context.

Cows are ruminant animals and have very unique digestive systems. They have a special ability to consume a variety of different plant foods, that contain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and they can biohydrogenate, or convert those PUFA into saturated fats.

This is why beef contains more saturated fats which is actually a good thing.

Chicken and pigs on the other hand, are monogastric animals and monogastric animals have an inferior ability to biohydrogenate or convert polyunsaturated fats into saturated fats. So when a chicken or pig consumes food that's high in PUFA, that PUFA will generally be stored in their fatty tissue.

Pigs and chicken are typically fed diets high in soy, corn and other grains, which are known to quickly increase their weight. Since these types of grains contain higher amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids, they're going to get stored in their fatty tissue.

I actually just made a video where I discussed a study that was done on boars. One group of boars mainly got their fat from sunflower oil (PUFA), while the other group primarily received their fat from coconut oil (saturated fat).

After 34 days, the boars that consumed sunflower oil had a body fat percentage of 21.1%, while the boars that consumed coconut oil had a body fat percentage of 15.9%. Additionally, in terms of fat composition, 16.9% of the fat in the sunflower oil group was linoleic acid (a PUFA), compared to only 11.3% in the coconut oil group.

This shows that when boars consume PUFA, they’re storing PUFA in their fatty tissue. It also tells me that coconut oil helps with fat loss. 🤔💪

Not only that but it's important to remember that pesticides are sprayed on corn, soy, and other grains. These pesticides are toxic and can get sequestered in their fat cells.

This is because pesticides are typically lipophilic, meaning they’re attracted to fat. When pesticides enter the body, they're transported in the bloodstream to various tissues, including fat cells. Once inside fat cells, pesticides can accumulate and be stored for long periods of time.

Additionally, regulations on animal feed aren’t as tight as the regulations for human food. This is a little concerning to me because the FDA allows humans to consume literal poison every day (BHT, food coloring, PFASs, etc.) In fact, you can check out the annual recall summaries here:

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/recalls-public-health-alerts/annual-recall-summaries

At least they’re doing something, but it’s generally not a good sign that millions of pounds of animal feed need to be recalled each year.

How this Effects Humans

Our digestive systems work a lot like pigs and chickens. If we eat a lot of polyunsaturated fats (PUFA), which are typically found in heavily processed foods and restaurant cooking, these fats get stored in our body's fatty tissue. When we eat chicken or pork, we're actually getting those same PUFA because the chickens and pigs ate food that made them store these fats too. So, it's like adding more fuel to the fire.

Here's a study that examined 37 studies between 1959 and 2008. They analyzed the percentage of linoleic acid (a PUFA) in human fatty tissue in the US. They found a 136% increase over 50 years - 9.1% linoleic acid as a percent of all fatty tissue in 1959 all the way to 21.5% linoleic acid in 2008. 

And what was the obesity rate in 1955? It was 13%.

And 2008? Obesity in 2008 was at 34%.

Also, if you got my newsletter on polyunsaturated fatty acids or need a refresher (click here to read) you'd know that this isn't great.

What to do About Chicken and Pork

I know I’ve just criticized chicken and pork, but they can actually be extremely healthy and beneficial to us, when raised appropriately. Another thing to remember is that animal meat will almost always outperform plant-based meats. So here are some simple options of what to do with chicken and pork:

1. If you eat it, prioritize the highest quality chicken or pork meat possible that’s fed an ancestrally appropriate diet. Pasture-raised from local farmers is going to be ideal, but extremely hard to find. It’s also ridiculously expensive.
2. If you end up eating chicken or pork that isn’t the highest quality, choose the leanest cuts possible to reduce the inferior fats.
3. Don’t eat it at all and eat more beef or ruminant meats (lamb, bison, elk, etc.)

Actionable Tips for the Week:

⭐️ 1. Eat Extremely High Quality Pork or Chicken ⭐️

⭐️ 2. Eat the Leanest Cuts of Chicken or Pork if They're Lower in Quality ⭐️

⭐️ 3. Or Don't Eat Chicken or Pork at All ⭐️

Here's an affiliate link for grass-fed beef and pasture raised chicken and pork. They also sell organ meats if you're into that too (I am 😁): 100% Grass-Fed Beef Only At Grassland Beef

Cheers,

Tim

PS: I take requests and suggestions. Let me know if there's anything you want me to write about or make a video about. Would love to hear from you!