Sam Feltham who runs the Public Health Collaboration, a fantastic non-profit that promotes regaining health through eating real food – and that I’m proud to say I’m an ambassador for – asked if I could write a post for a campaign he started running from last year called Organuary. Of course, I was more than happy to oblige, and this is it…

Eating a steak or a chop, the muscle of an animal is easy. In its pre-packaged form, it bears little resemblance to the animal it once was. It may be tasty, but there is little emotion or thought for the life that this meat once belonged to.

Eating the liver or kidney or even heart of a beast offers no such emotional relief. These vital organs are a stark reminder that this meat once maintained a life. It conjures up consideration for the cute animal that it came from, it makes eating a once-living thing very real.

Perhaps its guilt that this sustenance was once working to sustaining another soul, one that has as much right to carry on living and roaming this planet as we have.

Or, perhaps it’s a profound appreciation for the circle of life that one life is sacrificed for another to live on and thrive.

A Deep Connection

The latter is how our ancestors would’ve perceived the animals that they hunted and ate. There would’ve been a deep connection between the life given and the life of the taker, an appreciation for Mother Nature and her offerings to sustain their lives a little longer.

Without the luxury of Tesco’s or any other convenience stores, popping out to grab dinner was not an option. For our hunter ancestors, getting dinner was a time-consuming task filled with uncertainty. Imagine the relief and deep appreciation of a kill that will finally feed the tribe following days or weeks of famine.

Overabundance and Disconnection

The former is the state of mind that we’re slipping into in our current time. We’re living in a strange but fortunate time of plenty and abundance. But this advantage could also be our downfall. Instead of having a deep connection with nature and all it has to offer, it’s replaced with mouse clicks, check out beeps and disconnection.

This overabundance and disconnection – in my opinion – has led to such things as veganism. Most vegans become vegan because of their struggle to comprehend the taking of a life for our personal pleasure and gain.

What right do we have to dictate who lives and dies?

This is a great question. How can we be so barbaric as to consume once-living flesh without consideration or care for the soul that once lived within that carcass? Why can’t we let it live on happily ever after?

The truth that we all struggle with, is that there is only one thing that is certain for all living things in this world. That is that we will all perish at some point… it is inevitable.

The irony is that my vegan friends and my meat-eating friends generally want the same thing. What is that thing? That all living things live a good and happy life and are not mistreated in any way.

The harsh reality

Where we differ is that there would be a preference for them to carry on living rather than be slaughtered for human consumption. The problem with this is that they will eventually die, that’s for certain. They may live a little longer but without care, they will either succumb to illness or be hunted by other meat-eating animals or both. I suspect their death in these ways will not be so humane.

In fact, without farming, many of the animals we eat would be extinct by now. So, it is important to me and to my meat-eating tribe that these animals live happy lives doing what they want to do – which for ruminants – that means chowing down on luscious blades and turning something inedible to us humans into a nutrient-rich food – then they are quickly and painlessly sacrificed.

To appreciate life, we must first accept death (even our own)

In our modern world, death is a taboo subject with most living in fear of the final event. Death is regarded as negative in every way. This was not always the case. Death was very much a part of everyday life whether that be from hunting, the loss of a tribe member or a ritual sacrifice to the gods. Death or at least the life lived, was celebrated. Not in a disrespectful way but as a mark of appreciation for the circle of life.

To eat an animal, a once-living being doesn’t make us cold-hearted. At least not those that mindfully consider what they are actually eating. In mindfully eating an animal and all its parts, we are creating a deeper connection with the circle of life, a connection we’ve lived with for millennia but has been lost in recent times.

My Suggestion

I believe we should consume the whole beast leaving as little of the life that once was to go to waste. This includes the offal, organs and entrails. Make pies from kidneys, pate from liver, make a humble stew with heart and broth from the bones. Heck, make brawn from a whole pigs head, it may sound gruesome, but it’s a culinary delight.

It’s the least we can do. Let’s celebrate the life and everything that it offers us from the delightful tastes and smells to the nutrients that provide us with health to enjoy the short spell that we’re blessed with on this planet until we too perish and give back to the circle of life.

How to get started

Organuary is the perfect time to start your organ meat adventures. There are plenty of recipes on the organuary.com site to choose from as well as information on the different organ meats. Keen to spread the word, I started my own blog called offalygood.co.uk last year with lots of information.

The aim is to eat organ meat and offal at least twice a week through January and perhaps beyond. If you eat meat, it is a show of respect to the sacrificed life in wasting as little as possible and a chance to regain the deep connection with the eating of animals that’s been lost.

Have a nutritious day!

There you have it! Just a reminder that I’m no doctor, dietitian or any other profession for that matter. I’m simply a bearer of information for you to do what you want with; question it, research it, erase it from your mind, you are in charge of you.

The post Eating Organ Meat – The Highest Mark Of Respect! appeared first on Offaly Good.

Ever tried it? If not, you’re not alone… let’s delve into this wonderful meat and why it’s fallen out of favour, a little history, nutrition, my personal experiences with tongue and finish off with a pressed tongue recipe & bonus recipe treats.

Popularity

The mention of eating tongue does encourage a raised eyebrow for most, which is a shame. It’s fairly cheap, highly nutritious and all part of a nose to tail – or tongue to tail – philosophy ensuring that nothing goes to waste.

However, ox tongue is more popular than most offal with pressed ox tongue gracing most supermarket delis.

I believe it’s the older generations with their unpolluted minds that are enjoying this meat. All the while, juveniles will scoff and tut at such a disgusting thing whilst munching away on a sausage, which – ironically – is likely filled with pigs tongues and other unpopular cuts… it’s all classed as pork, my friend. Ah… ignorance is bliss.

If it were down to taste though, this wouldn’t be the case. Pressed ox tongue is extremely yummy, more so than any other cold cured meat. If I were to try and explain the taste, it’s similar to corned beef but only better… much better.

How do you take yours?

Tongue is not only reserved for cold pressing though. It’s also great as an alternative for any meat in a roast dinner. With some roasted veggies and a splash of gravy, it’s a winner.

Or, as I’ve tried before, it can be simply cooked and eaten with some punchy Dijon and even taken one step further and fried in butter or tallow to take it to another level.

In fact, you can do this with pressed tongue. Cut it into 1cm cubes or slices and fry it until slightly crisp and your taste buds will thank you… It’s so good.

A Brief British History

As with most offal, tongue was very popular back in the day when food was more sparse and we’re forced to make the most out of what we could get.

Here in the UK in the 19th century, McCall’s supplied ox tongues in a can called ‘Patsandu Ox Tongues‘. The British Library’s description says…

“In the 1800s ox tongue was considered to be a great luxury, sometimes it was stewed which made it very soft, other times it was pickled and the added salt made it extremely hard. Cold pies and cooked meat were common items on the breakfast menu in large and wealthy Victorian households. At this time breakfast was a much larger meal, often with as many as 3 different courses. Oxtongue was a popular choice.”

So, what changed? I can only imagine it’s the introduction of ultra-processed foods and an overabundance that’s made us drift away from such foods.

Is it any good for us?

The short answer is yes, of course it is. It comes from an animal and our digestive systems are finely tuned to extract all the goodness meat has to offer. And, by chance (or not) meat offers everything we need in the perfect ratios for us.

As with other fatty cuts of meat, you’ll find a common theme when researching the nutritional value of that meat. Tongue is no exception.

Tongue is rich in vitamin B12, Choline, Niacin (B3), Riboflavin (B2), Iron and Zinc among others… amazing, many of the things required for optimal health. But, like some twisted joke played by mother nature, it contains a load of cholesterol. Damn you mother nature!

That said, it’s now well documented that the cholesterol in food has little to no impact on the cholesterol levels in our blood (1, 2, 3, 4). Yet despite this, the ‘cholesterol is bad’ narrative is still being pushed hard.

So, it would appear that foods that are high in cholesterol may not be so bad for us after all… Mother nature, all is forgiven.

Actually, the reason why cholesterol we eat doesn’t affect the amount in our blood is that if we don’t eat it, our body will make it. Think about that, our body makes cholesterol… why would our body make something that is so bad for us? That’s a whole other topic that I’ve touched on here, but I’ll leave it there for this post.

My Personal Experience

Eating the tongue of an ox – or any other creature – is not something I’d done until recently. In fact, it was only in May this year (2020) when I sampled ox tongue for the first time, I posted pictures on Instagram here.

Now, I admit that an ox tongue looks somewhat offensive and there were a number of my friends and family that were horrified when they saw the tongue. I don’t blame them, I mean, it looks like a big tongue and – I’m nervous to say – phallic… there’s no getting away from it.

But in the name of nose to tail eating, I powered on and cooked my first ox tongue. I kept it simple – as I like to do – and prepped my beloved pressure cooker, tossed the tongue in along with some veggies and cooked for an hour and a half.

After peeling the outer skin away revealing the meat – albeit still in the shape of a tongue – I sliced it up and cautiously tried my first bite.

My first thought was “hmm, this doesn’t taste horrible”. As my confidence grew and I become comfortable with the texture and taste, I realised that, actually, this was damn good and before I knew it, I couldn’t get enough.

That tongue didn’t last too long and I was keen to get another. So, a few tongues later and I was in love.

And, after trying some shop-bought pressed ox tongue – all salty and set in jelly – I decided I wanted to try cold pressing for myself.

If at first, you don’t succeed…

I’ll admit, my first attempt didn’t go well. I found this Delia recipe and in short, I didn’t brine the tongue and didn’t have the right equipment… it was a flop.

It tasted ok, but nothing like I was hoping for, but never fear, persevere…

Determined to figure this thing out, I jumped onto YouTube and searched up ‘pressed ox tongue’. Top of the list was this recipe video by Scott Rea. What a revelation, if only I had found this video first.

The first thing… get a proper press.

After a short hunt around and seeing many presses well over my budget, Amazon – as always – comes to the rescue and offered me this, and with a click, it was on its way.

Next, I remembered seeing salted pigs tongues by Kimber’s Farm Shop on one of my many meat browsing sessions. After adding a few other little delights to my basket I placed my order and arranged delivery for the end of the week ready for my next tongue adventure over the weekend.

My Tongue-tastic weekend

With my press and salted pigs tongues in hand, I was ready to do this properly, so here goes.

Ingredients

2 pigs tongues (I should’ve used 4) – you can substitute this for 2 brined ox tongues
1 pigs trotter (for added gelatine)
Some veggies if you wish, such as celery, carrots, onions or whatever you have in the fridge (I didn’t actually use any)
Some herbs if you wish (again, I didn’t use any)
Filtered or mineral water
A splash of Apple Cider Vinegar

Equipment

Pressure cooker, slow cooker or saucepan & hob
Meat press

Instructions

Ok, so wash the tongues and trotter and place in the cooking utensil of choice and pour in enough water to just cover the meat. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar. If you’re using veggies and herbs, add them now.

In the pressure cooker, cook for an hour and a half.

In the slow cooker, I’d suggest around 3-4 hours or in the saucepan bring to the boil cover and simmer for around 2-3 hours. In both cases cook until the tongue skin starts peeling off easily.

Remove the tongues and the trotter and simmer the broth reducing it by around half intensifying the gelatine and flavour.

Meanwhile, peel the skin from the tongues and cut them in half lengthways, from the tip to the root. Trim off any unwanted bits from the root of the tongue.

Now you’re ready to place the tongue in the press spreading it out evenly.

Finally, test the broth, it should be nice and salty, add salt if needed and pour over the tongues until just covered. Put the lid on and start pressing. Ensure there’s good pressure, there will be a puddle of broth left on top of the lid which is fine.

Now it’s a waiting game. I suggest leaving it in the fridge and forgetting about it for 24 hours.

Once ready, release the press and remove the lid. Run a knife around the edges and turn upside down on a plate and it should – perhaps with a bit of knocking – drop out.

And there you have it! If all’s gone well you should have beautiful dark red compressed meat with little pockets of jelly. A salty, delicious meaty delight.

Try to savour and not gobble as is so easily done along with some Dijon mustard perhaps. Maybe with some other cold meats and cheese selection or however you wish. On its own is perfectly acceptable.

I can recommend frying some in a little butter over a medium heat adding an outer crisp bringing another textural pleasure into play.

Bonus Brawn

Now, have you ever tried brawn? I’ve written about this here. But, you have everything you need to make a small portion of brawn which will complement your tongue.

Take the trotter and separate the soft meat and flesh from the hard bones and cartilage and break into smallish pieces – there are no rules here.

Line out a Tupperware box with clingfilm and throw all the meat in. You should have plenty of broth leftover from the tongues, use this and cover the meat. Put the lid on – and again – leave in the fridge for 24 hours.

The following day will reveal another pork-based delight. Soft meat suspended in salty jelly… Just beautiful.

The recipe that keeps on giving…

But, why stop there? Now you should have some broth leftover and a load of bones from the trotter.

This is a perfect opportunity to throw it all back into the pressure cooker or whatever you’re cooking with along with any other bones you have.

I save all bones I use in cooking and I had some bone remains from marrowbone boats that I purchased from Godfreys… true nose to tail where nothing goes to waste. I also had a veal foot from Kimbers’ Farm Shop, packed with loads of gelatine.

Top up with water, add a splash of apple cider vinegar and cook on. In the pressure cooker cook for at least 4 hours and in the slow cooker or saucepan, cook for at least 12 hours. I’ve written more about this here.

Recap

So, eating tongue was the norm many years ago. But, true to offal form, it now turns snouts upwards and a confession of consuming such a meat may trigger disgusted outbursts. In such a situation, rest easy in the knowledge that it is they that are missing out.

It can be used an various different ways from a tantalising change to your roast dinner to a moreish cold meat.

In the 19th century, tongue was sold in a can… I’m a little jealous.

Tongue would be perfectly nutritious if it wasn’t for that evil artery-clogging cholesterol (sense the sarcasm?).

I confess to cutting culinary corners and failing. But, it’s all good… I gave myself a talking to turned out some scrumptious pressed pigs tongue and tell you exactly how to replicate it.

Added bonus, I suggest making some brawn and bone broth leaving nothing to waste.

Inspiration

I hope this post encourages you to try pressing your own pig or ox tongue. It may not come out right first time, but persevere, because when it does… it’s a sweet feeling and adds to the enjoyment of eating, knowing you’ve produced this wonderous thing.

I’m not a good cook, I watch in wonder at chefs as they turn out amazing grub effortlessly only to feel depressed when my attempt fails dismally. In the past, I would shrug and admit defeat.

I’ve since learnt that failing once means I’m one step closer to succeeding. Proper research, recording actions, not cutting corners and repeated trials eventually lead to success. And, when I get that success, it makes it so worth the effort.

It would be great to hear about your failures and successes. Either leave a comment below, email me jim.offalygood@gmail.com or tag me on Instagram @offaly.good.

Good luck!

Have a nutritious day!

There you have it! Just a reminder that I’m no doctor, dietitian or any other profession for that matter. I’m simply a bearer of information for you to do what you want with; question it, research it, erase it from your mind, you are in charge of you.

The post Tasty Tongue – Are You Missing Out? appeared first on Offaly Good.

We’ve been eating suet for millennia but has recently been replaced with other fats. In this article, we’ll look at what suet actually is, how it compares to other fats, what it’s used for and the surprising health benefits that are only just being understood.

What is suet anyway?

Suet is the fat found around the kidneys and loin areas of ruminant animals (Ruminants are herbivore mammals). The suet you find in butchers is usually from either a cow or sheep. In fact, you may be lucky enough to get lamb kidneys with the suet still attached if you ask your butcher nicely.

At room temperature it’s in a solid-state with a slightly off white colour – a general rule is the whiter the fresher. The suet from a lamb or mutton is almost cute compared to the slab you get from a cow or ox.

Interesting fact… suet from cows/oxen and sheep/mutton is not Kosher as this fat is offered as sacrifices at Jewish temples.

Tallow

Tallow is rendered suet. Rendering is a process of separating the liquid fat from the solid meat using heat. The remaining meat will go crispy and is called cracklings, which – with a pinch of salt – is ridiculously tasty as a snack or side to a meal. There are plenty of tallow recipes to be found online such as this one.

The remaining liquid will go solid at room temperature and can be stored un-refrigerated for up to 3 months. Before vegetable and seed oils started appearing in our cupboards, tallow – along with lard (rendered pig fat) – would be the main fats used for cooking, not a vegetable or seed oil in sight.

Coincidentally, back in these days, there was little in the way of heart disease, diabetes and many other metabolic diseases despite a much higher consumption of these animal fats and lower consumption of plant-based fats… isn’t that food for thought.

How it Compares to Other Fats

With the exception of coconut oil, suet has the highest saturated fat content of any other fat at 52g per 100g. And again with the exception of coconut oil, has the lowest level of polyunsaturated fat at 3g per 100g.

Being mostly saturated fat with stable fully saturated carbon structures – which I talk more about on this post about saturated fats – is the reason why it stays solid at room temperature.

Coconut oil is a unique plant-based fat and the highest content of saturated fat that we know of, coming in at a whopping 83g per 100g. Coconut oil aside, it’s generally animal-based fats that are higher in saturated and lower in polyunsaturated fat. That fact makes animal fats more stable and less prone to oxidization.

A Brief History of Suet

Suet has been used in British traditional Christmas puddings dating back as far as the 15th century, although first officially recorded in an English College Pudding recipe in the 17th Century and served to Oxford and Cambridge University students.

By the 18th century, it was widely used for cooking in recipes such as puddings, dumplings, crusts, mince pies, sausages, Haggis, forcemeats and stuffings.

Suet and tallow is actually very versatile stuff and not limited to just cooking. It was also used for many other applications such as medical ointments for skin rashes such as intertrigo, lamp oil, soap, making candles, engine lubricants, bio-diesel, aviation fuel and leather treatments such as dubbin and black ball.

Tallow Soap

It may sound strange to you, as it did to me, that soap can be made from animal fat or any fat for that matter. I always found it strange that soap products would promote being vegan until I learnt that soaps were traditionally made using tallow.

To make non-animal-based soaps, oils such as palm, coconut and olive are generally used.

Coconut oil – being very high in short-chain saturated fats – is so effective at cleaning due to its advanced water solubility. Although it produces plenty of suds, it strips away our body’s natural oils and leaves skin dry, requiring added moisturising ingredients to compensate.

SLS & SLES

There’s seems to be a psychological relationship between a higher foaming action of soap and the feeling of being clean.
This is where what was a simple and effective product with minimal ingredients, turns into chemistry.

Chemists figured out that sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) works extremely well as a foaming agent and starting being widely used in soaps, shampoos, toothpaste and household cleaning products.

There’s controversy over the use of SLS and SLES as they can irritate the skin of some, as well as having some inconclusive links to cancer.

Parabens

As soap manufacturers moved away from tallow and started using other plant-based fats, due to their high unsaturated fat content, the shelf life is dramatically reduced. Again, the chemists come to the rescue to overcome this with the use of parabens.

Parabens are a preservative and lengthen the shelf life of beauty products. But they have received bad press in recent years due to a link to breast cancer. After being absorbed into the skin, it may disrupt hormone function by mimicking oestrogen. Too much oestrogen promotes breast cell division and tumour growth.

Back to Basics

I have to admit that when I began writing this article, I didn’t expect to be including a section on soap.

It seems to me that as we’ve moved away from using tallow and looked at using non-animal based fats – whether for vegan or any other reason – in the process of solving one problem and creating another, we’ve exposed ourselves to ever more unnatural ingredients and chemicals that may have detrimental effects to our health.

I know from my wife’s experience in trying to find beauty products that work in harmony with her skin without causing reactions, she’s on a seemingly never-ending hunt. The powers of marketing offer her a magic potion promising resolution to all her skin-related woes – usually at a high cost – only to be let down time and again.

I think there’s a big element of what we put into our body resulting in our body repaying us with health and maximum beauty which I wrote about in my bone broth post. But, perhaps as well as what we put in our body, equally important is what we put on our body. As irony would have it, the answer may land on animal products.

Just as nose to tail eating provides the perfect ratios of nutrients for us to reach our maximum health potential, it appears that soap made from tallow provides the perfect ratio of fats to clean our skin and hair without disrupting our skin’s natural oils. It works in harmony.

We can still source tallow derived soaps such as this one from Pipers Farm, or you can make your own as shown here in this great tallow soap article.

The great thing is that there are minimal ingredients and no harsh chemicals. The craze these days are to have products as natural as possible… no this chemical… no that toxin. Yet the original tallow based soaps never had these things.

I can’t help but think we need to just re-group and bring it back to basics. We went off on a well-intentioned tangent but let’s get back on track.

Plus, it complements the nose to tail philosophy that Offally Good is all about. Suet is classed as a waste product due to its unpopularity in recent years so making soap helps in leaving as little to waste as possible paying full respect to the sacrificed animal.

Suet in Food

As well as getting suet in its pure form, you can also purchase it in a pre-shredded form, which would be more widely recognised by most. Atora being the most popular supplier, it comes in a box with a dusting of flour for added preservation.

As convenient as pre-shredded suet is, why not ask your butcher for the real thing? He will practically give the stuff to you and you’ll at least know it’s come from a good source.

Due to the high melting point of suet, it softens much later in the cooking process than other fats leaving air pockets creating a lightness unrivalled by any other pastry.

Good Ole’ English Puddings

There’s a reason why England is well renowned for its puddings both sweet and savoury. The use of shredded suet in such delights as spotted dick, jam roly-poly, Christmas pudding and of course… Steak and kidney pudding is what sets them apart from just flour-based puddings.

As Misson de Valbourg said, after a visit to England in 1690, “Ah what an excellent thing is an English pudding!”

Dumplings

Some would argue that a stew is not a stew unless it’s served with dumplings. Made simply with suet, flour and a drop of water, these small balls of gooey yumminess, perfectly suspended atop a sumptuous meat stew are the perfect finishing touch for a dance of taste and texture sensations.

Low-Carb & Gluten-Free Options

The above options are not for the carb & gluten dodgers among us. But that doesn’t mean we have to miss out on the action.

Burgers

If you’ve made your own burgers and they end up dry, simply grate some suet and add to the mix for the juiciest burgers you’ve ever made.

Cracklings

I mentioned these above but you don’t need to go through the whole tallow making process to get these little nuggets. I cut the suet into small pieces around 1cm cubes. Fry them on a medium heat until they go clear and start to crisp up. It takes no longer than 10 minutes. These are a favourite in my house.

There will be a load of lovely liquid fat that you should save for your next roast or fry-up.

Is Suet Healthy?

At this point, you may be thinking I’m crazy stating that suet has health benefits. Up until 2016, I was under the impression that saturated animal fats are bad for our health and we should be replacing them with unsaturated vegetable and seed oils and spreads.

I won’t go into too much detail here but I’ve written more about this here.

Believe it or not, there is no solid evidence to back up the claims that saturated animal fats are bad and unsaturated plant-based fats are good as we’ve been lead to believe.

Back in the 1950s, President Eisenhower suffered a heart attack which lead to a mad panic to figure how and why this happened.

In stepped a scientist called Ancel Keys who hypothesised that – following the discovery of cholesterol in blocked arteries – cholesterol and saturated fat from the food we eat must be causing the problem.

He very quickly managed to spread the word and convince people that this must be the case and the narrative was born. From that narrative, dietary advice was re-written and low-fat industries were formed, all before any thorough trials were carried out to confirm that his hypothesis was correct.

Since then, many trials have been conducted and their results twisted to fit the narrative. Those that didn’t were buried or given no publicity and published in obscure journals. All the while, heart disease has been rising ever since.

A Moment of Clarity

Back in 2016, after I suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) for many years, I was desperate for relief. I discovered the low carb diet which is naturally high in saturated animal fats. At that point, I didn’t care if I had to go against the common advice of low fat… I felt I had nothing left to lose.

Miraculously, within a couple of weeks, most of my symptoms vanished. I was no longer tired and battling to get through the day. My depression and anxiety lifted and I began enjoying life again. My brain started working, the fog cleared and memory returned. It was like magic, better than any western medication.

Since then, it’s become so crystal clear to me that we’ve been lead in the wrong direction.

Forget what the scientists and doctors tell us… I like to use a bit of common sense.

What would we have eaten ancestrally? What would’ve been available to us before we had Tesco and KFC available 24/7?

It’s obvious when we think about it in this way, I rant more about it here.

Consuming animals have been an important part of our existence and progress on this planet… it’s what our body wants, needs and craves.

Saturated animal fats and in this case, suet, isn’t bad for us, they are essential for us. Without them, our body will struggle. Do not fear it, embrace it just as our ancestors did.

The Surprising Health Benefits of Suet

Recently, there’s been lots of talk around linoleic acid, found in vegetable and seed oils, and stearic acid, found in animal fats such as suet and tallow.

In the low carb, keto, paleo and carnivore communities, it’s common knowledge that man-made industrial vegetable and seed oils and spreads are bad news for our health and we should be not be allowing these to get anywhere near our mouths.

But, it’s now being understood that there is a much stronger correlation between the consumption of these horrible fats and the metabolic diseases we’re suffering than with anything else such as sugar or processed foods.

There’s a theory that these polyunsaturated fats may have started the fire and that our high consumption of sugar and junk food is just fuelling the flames.

The science behind this is very complicated but at a basic level, vegetable and seed oils and spreads are thought to encourage our fat cells to keep filling up, getting bigger and bigger. That is until they can’t fill up any more and end up bursting and spewing out its contents. When this happens it’s essentially when our metabolism is broken and we get sick.

On the other hand, when we consume animal fats, our fat cells do the opposite. Instead of holding onto fat, it releases it in a controlled manner to be used as fuel as required by our body.

If you find this as fascinating as I do, I encourage you to check out Dr Paul Saladino and his many recent podcasts talking all about this.

Summary

Suet and the rendered form, tallow, have many uses from food to fuel.

Tallow soap – which was widely used but is now replaced with plant-based soaps – may actually be perfect for cleaning us humans without causing cancer, irritations, reactions or dryness.

Animal fats have been branded a villain in recent years and replaced with man-made industrial vegetable and seeds oils in the hope to improve general health with questionable results.

These man-made oils may actually be the spark that’s ignited our deteriorating health with animal fats being the option to bring us back to health, possibly.

So, if you’ve not tried suet before or have been nervous of saturated fats, I hope this gives makes you reconsider and give it a go and if you do, I hope you enjoy if as much as I do.

Have a nutritious day!

There you have it! Just a reminder that I’m no doctor, dietitian or any other profession for that matter. I’m simply a bearer of information for you to do what you want with; question it, research it, erase it from your mind, you are in charge of you.

The post Everything You Need To Know About Suet appeared first on Offaly Good.

The creamy, buttery delight that is bone marrow is underappreciated in our modern world, although this was not always the case. In fact, it’s believed that bone marrow would’ve been one of the first animal foods we would’ve eaten around 2 million years ago, before our hunting days when we were mere scavengers.

At that point, our Homo habilis ancestors were no more than 4ft tall and had much smaller brains than we do now. They wouldn’t have had the intellect nor strength to hunt big animals, so they had to settle for the scraps making use of tools to break open bones and skulls to get to the calorie-dense good stuff inside.

This may be the key that lead to our little ancestors developing larger brains and bigger and stronger bodies until we could hunt for our food and make use of the whole beast.

Despite this, bone marrow these days are generally left to the dogs which – in my opinion – is a great shame. That said, there’s one advantage for you and me… Butchers are almost giving marrow filled bones away.

What is Bone Marrow?

Many bones have a hollow centre that’s filled with a spongy tissue called bone marrow.

There are 2 types of bone marrow:

• Red (myeloid tissue) – the blood cell producing factory. It contains stem cells that make red and white blood cells. Over 200 billion new blood cells are produced in bone marrow – every day!
• Yellow (fatty tissue) – which helps to store fat.

This is a very basic summary but if you’re interested in a more detailed explanation, try here.

The point is that our bone marrow plays a vital role, and, when its function is compromised – as we see in people with blood cancers such as leukaemia and lymphoma or with sickle cells anaemia – our lives are threatened and marrow transplants may be our only option.

Nutritional Data

It seems that bone marrow is so underappreciated that there’s little nutritional information available. Usually, a quick DuckDuckGo search on any food type reveals a whole world nutritional data, but not so with bone marrow.

So, after a little delving, I found this study that looked at nutrient levels in reindeer. It found that the bone marrow was rich in vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B12, and vitamin E, as well as being an incredibly high source of calcium.

There’s talk of other nutrients that are contained in bone marrow, such as glycine, glucosamine and chondroitin, but it’s all very woolly. There clearly needs more research is required to know for sure.

It’s certainly a very fatty animal part, which – in my opinion – shouldn’t scare you off. We’ve been eating animal fats for many, many years and our bodies are finely tuned utilise this energy source… Plus, animal fat tastes amazing.

My hunch is that – as with eating other parts of the beast – there are many health-promoting nutrients and will complement a nose-to-tail way of eating.

The Health Benefits of Eating Bone Marrow

I’ve mentioned before that eating a particular part of an animal will aid the health of the part in your own body, and this article proves this is the case.

A Swedish oncologist – Dr Brohult – tried giving calves’ marrow to children that had radiation to treat their leukaemia in an attempt to kick start their bone marrow into producing white blood cells with some promising success.

As it turns out – after further investigation – this is due to something called alkylglycerols (AKGs) that can be found in organs responsible for producing blood cells such as bone marrow and the spleen.

History, Cuisines and Cultures

Apart from being one of the first parts of the animal that our ancestors would’ve consumed in their scavenger days, bone marrow has featured heavily in many cultures and historical periods.

There are recipes dating back to medieval times documenting the use of bone marrow in ‘sluberkens‘ – small pasties stuffed with marrow and sugar, and stuffed quinces – a type of pear that’s cored then stuffed with marrow and currents then stewed.

Of course, the Italians are not afraid of parts of the animal that have fallen out of favour in modernized parts of the world. A traditional Milanese dish called Ossobucco – meaning ‘bone with the hole’ – makes use of veal shank where the meat on the bone is cut into thick slices and slow-cooked. During the cooking, the marrow melts into the tomato-based sauce adding to the sumptuousness.

The French – well known for their culinary expertise – can be caught using bone marrow for many dishes from onion soup with roasted marrow bones, to roast marrow bone and crispy ox tongue, which you’ll find in Michel Roux Jr’s recipe book ‘Les Abats’.

Allegedly – in Scandinavian countries – parents will be found serving up bone marrow soup to their kids to boost their health and strength.

Pop over to the other side of the pond to Mexico and you may find bone marrow gracing your plate in the form of ‘bone marrow tacos‘. Served roasted in the bone ready to be scooped out and used as a taco filling. The Mexicans have long been gobbling this stuff up for its added taste and texture.

And. if you seek out bone marrow recipes, you’ll be sure to stumble across a dish called ‘Pho’… a Vietnamese broth of beef, noodles and bone marrow. Although, this article has cast doubt in my mind as to how traditional this combo is, suggesting bone marrow doesn’t belong in this dish. That said, it wouldn’t stop me from giving it a try if it was on the menu.

Keeping it Simple

Me, I like to keep things simple. I either get some bones from my butcher, Deersbrook Farm. Or, I buy them from Waitrose through Ocado. Although, recently Ocado have dumped Waitrose for M&S who don’t sell prepared marrow bones… hey ho!.

Anyway, I roast the bones in the oven at 220⁰C (430⁰F) for around 15 minutes until it’s just crispy on the surface. Season with salt, scoop out with a teaspoon and slurp it up… yummy!

You’ll quickly understand why it’s nicknamed ‘meat butter’… it’s so moreish.

To be honest, I find it hard to understand why marrow is scoffed at these days when something can taste this good…

…I get it with some offal, we’re now so far removed from eating the likes of liver, kidney or heart not to mention such things as tongue and testicles, but bones are not that out of the ordinary.

So if you’re a little nervous about trying bone marrow… Don’t be. Suck it up and give it a try… You won’t regret it, trust me.

A little tip… there’ll be a good amount of fat left in the baking dish – do not chuck it! It’s perfect for roasting or frying your next meal.

Have a nutritious day!

There you have it! Just a reminder that I’m no doctor, dietitian or any other profession for that matter. I’m simply a bearer of information for you to do what you want with; question it, research it, erase it from your mind, you are in charge of you.

The post Bone Marrow – The Buttery Delight appeared first on Offaly Good.

From the day we can understand what foods are good and bad for us, we were told that fat – and specifically saturated fat – is evil and we should avoid it at all costs. We were blessed with an image of fat clogging our arteries like gunk clogging a U-bend.

Whether we actually understand the types of fat or not, the word ‘saturated’ conjures up images of the grim reaper lurking in the mist ready to claim his next clogged up victim.

This is a massive and complex subject that could take me much time to thoroughly research and present. But, if you’ve read any of my other posts, you’ll likely know that I like to keep things just like myself… simple.

In a previous post, I ask you to forget everything you know about what you should and shouldn’t eat and just use common sense. Think about what our ancestors would’ve eaten for millions of years before this world of Shops and fast-food. When we’re told that animal fat is bad for us, does that really make logical sense considering we’ve been eating it for millions of years?

That said, we do need to have a (very) basic understanding of fats.

The Basics on Fats

Fats are actually called fatty acids and are made up of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen molecules. The backbone is made up of carbon chain of various lengths, the shortest being one carbon and is called acetic acid – or to you and me – vinegar.

There are 2 types of fats or fatty acids we’ll look at here… Saturated and unsaturated.

Saturated

• Saturated with hydrogen – meaning that all the carbon molecules in the chain have 2 hydrogen atoms attached.
• This makes saturated fats stable and less prone to oxidization.
• Saturated fats are solid at room temperature.
• Our body turns excess glucose into saturated fat (not unsaturated) to store in our fat cells.
• Breast milk is very high in saturated fat.

Unsaturated

• Unsaturated with hydrogen – at least two carbon molecules in the chain have only one hydrogen atom attached resulting in a double bond with the next carbon molecule in the chain.
• This makes unsaturated fats less stable and more prone to oxidization.
• There are two types of unsaturated fats… Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA).

Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA)

• One (mono) double bond between one hydrogen and the next in the chain.
• MUFAs are liquid at room temperature and solid in the fridge.
• More stable than PUFAs but not as stable as saturated fats.
• The most known MUFA is oleic which is found naturally in the oils of olives, almonds, pecans, cashews, peanuts and avocado.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)

• Two or more (poly) double bonds between one hydrogen and the next in the chain.
• PUFAs are liquid in room and fridge temperature.
• The least stable of the fats – they are easily oxidized by light, heat and oxygen exposure.
• Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are PUFAs
• Omega 3 and 6 are essential fatty acids meaning our body cannot make them, so we need to consume them for optimal health.
• Omega 3 is mostly found in oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, kippers, herring, trout & sardines.
• Omega 6 is found in abundance in Canola, soybean, cottonseed, sunflower, safflower, peanut, and corn oil. All of which are highly processed manmade oils.

The Contradictory Guidelines

If we follow the dietary guidelines of consuming no more than 30g of saturated fat if your male or 20g if you’re female, this seriously limits the amount of animal products we can eat in a day. For example, one ribeye steak of 291g has 28g of saturated fat.

We’re also recommended to eat 1 portion of oily fish per week. Around 140g – the recommended portion size – of mackerel gives us 10g of saturated fat (8g PUFA and 11g MUFA). Fry that in a tablespoon of coconut oil and you’ll bump that up to 22g of saturated fat in one meal not counting any sides you may add.

Coconut oil fact – did you know this health-promoting plant-based oil has the highest concentration of saturated fat than any other food known to humans? It contains a staggering 87% saturated fat (1.8% PUFA, 6% MUFA).

Baffled? Let’s add to the confusion… if I asked you which would be lower in saturated fat between a pork chop and a tablespoon of olive oil, what would you say? Well, a pork chop has 1.5g and a tablespoon of olive oil is 1.9g. Yet, we’re advised to limit our consumption of fatty cuts of meat.

The layperson – who hasn’t considered this subject – would likely believe that a ribeye steak is full of saturated fat and lacking in the so-called ‘health-promoting’ unsaturated fats that we’re encouraged to consume. This is far from the truth – a typical ribeye steak of 291g has 28g of saturated fat 3g PUFA and 30g MUFA. So it has 5g more unsaturated than saturated fat.

In fact, every edible substance on the planet – with the exception of sucrose – contains all three fats of varying amounts and proportions.

Our body can make most fats with the exception of omega 3 and 6 which are known as essential fatty acids. Essential because if we don’t consume them, we’ll eventually perish. The fat that our body makes and store in our fat cells are the dreaded saturated fat. (can you sense the sarcasm?)

A Quick Omega 3 & 6 Interlude

The ratio of omega 6 to 3 is important according to this review. It suggests that the ratio evolutionary would’ve been around 1:1 but in our modern diet of increased omega 6 (from seed and vegetable oils) and reduction in omega 3 consumption ratio is somewhere between 15:1 and 16.7:1.

This dramatic skewing of the ratios is said to promote diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases with the reduction of the ratios reversing them.

Vegetable and seed oils and spreads are also highly prone to oxidization before it enters our mouths due to its unstable nature. As Chris Kresser wrote this his informative article…

“The polyunsaturated fatty acids in industrial seed oils are highly unstable and oxidize easily upon exposure to heat, light, and chemical inputs. When industrial seed oils are exposed to these factors, two harmful substances—trans fats and lipid peroxides—are created. Trans fats are well known for their role in the development of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes; in fact, for every 2 percent increase in calories from trans fats, your risk of heart disease is nearly doubled! Lipid peroxides, on the other hand, are toxic byproducts that damage DNA, proteins, and membrane lipids throughout the body. The accumulation of lipid peroxides in the body promotes aging and the development of chronic diseases.”

Despite this, the NHS website advises to reduce saturated fat by…

“try reduced-fat spreads, such as spreads based on olive or sunflower oils.”

Back to Saturated Fat…

Interesting fact… dairy is the only food group that has higher saturated fat than unsaturated.

Simple truth… All fats are essential for human life, without them, we would die.

In fact, over millions of years, our body’s have evolved and developed an exquisite lipid (fat) transport system. This system is extremely complicated but on a ridiculously basic level; blood is water-based but needs to transport fat used for energy and fat-soluble vitamins and cholesterol among other things around the body. The liver works its magic and makes lipoproteins that are then able to carry the ‘hydrophobic’ molecules around the body in the blood.

Fat and Us

Without adequate fat, we get sick easily… Yes, fat helps maintain our immune system.

Without fat, we can’t absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E & K.

It’s our primary energy source – why do you think our bodies have developed a fat-storage system?

Fat insulates our internal organs.

It regulates our body temperature.

And fat helps in maintaining healthy skin and hair.

So, with fat – and especially saturated fat – being so essential so us humans, why have we been taught to fear it so much and told to reduce our consumption as much as physically possible?

We Should Look To Our Ancestors

When we look back to what our ancestors would’ve eaten – with only animals and some seasonal fruit and vegetables on offer – would they have cut the fat off their steak? I very much doubt it. To be honest, fat makes us feel full and satiated. I believe our ancestors would have gobbled the fatty cuts of the animal up.

Somewhere in the recent history (within the last 100 years), I think we’ve gone off track when it comes to many nutritional recommendations… fat being one of the biggest. It was likely one of the first detours from a truly healthy diet that lead to many more along the way.

For example, according to Dr Zoe Harcombe, diets generally have an average of 15% protein content, so when we reduce the fat down, the carbohydrates automatically go up which leads to a low fat, high carbohydrate diet.

Anyone who’s an advocate for the Eatwell guide would suggest this is absolutely fine and if you’re struggling with weight and health, you’re lacking control over what you shove in your gob and you need to peel yourself off the sofa and get your running shoes on you lazy so-and-so.

But on the other hand, there will be plenty of type 2 diabetics that’ve put their T2 into remission going completely the opposite direction with a high fat, low carb diet. Eating to satiety – because fat makes you feel full – and exercising if you feel like it because it’s healthy, not as a tool to lose weight.

Mother Nature Up To Her Old Tricks

If, at this point, you still believe that saturated fat is bad for our health, I can’t deny you may well be right. But, if it is so bad, it would be such a shame…

…You see, animal foods are the most nutritious foods on the planet in the most bio-available form for the human digestive system to extract all that goodness.

So, it’d be like Mother Nature playing some evil trick…

…For us to get the nutritional benefits of meat, we need to take the health-threatening risk of consuming much more saturated fat than we are recommended to consume with the potential to suffer the dire consequences of heart disease or cancer or whatever other diseases fat’s been accused of inflicting.

Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps…

Or… Perhaps the powers-to-be went on a tangent, lost their way a little. Perhaps they found some cholesterol in clogged up arteries, and made the assumptions that the cholesterol and saturated fat that we eat somehow causes heart disease. It sounds logical, no?

Perhaps, based on this logical hypothesis, multi-billion pound industries were born selling low-fat products despite a lack of robust evidence to back the claims.

Perhaps, those scientists and clever people who backed the theory were too invested to admit they were wrong.

The juggernaut had built up too much momentum to turn back around and now we’re living in a world of increasing disease and obesity despite many following the dietary guidelines and pounding the treadmills.

Perhaps, we’re in quite the mess, aren’t we?

Let’s Use Common Sense

We rely heavily on guidelines that we’re advised to follow, and the nutritional guidelines are no exception. We expect these guidelines to factual and based on solid science, so why would we question them?

But, if we did question them, used a bit of common sense and asked ourselves… ‘what are we actually designed to eat?’ It doesn’t take long to realise that our ancestors would’ve only had limited food options before this world of plenty and endless choices we live in now.

My opinion is that these clever people that use facts and figures, studies and graphs, can get a little too clever for their own good, and the good of others. Sometimes we need to question them, especially when it affects our health and the health of our loved ones.

So, ask yourself… ‘is fat found in meat, that we as humans have been eating for millions of years, really bad for our health?’

Have a nutritious day!

There you have it! Just a reminder that I’m no doctor, dietitian or any other profession for that matter. I’m simply a bearer of information for you to do what you want with; question it, research it, erase it from your mind, you are in charge of you.

The post Saturated Fat – So Bad, It’s Essential appeared first on Offaly Good.

When my father-in-law recalled eating brawn that his mother knocked-up when he was a young lad, it conjured up sepia-toned images of post-war days when food was sparse so little went to waste to keep bellies full.

He fondly remembered his mother boiling up pigs trotters, pulling the meat off and leaving it to set in the fridge. He described it as soft pig meat suspended in jelly smothered on crusty bread with a smidge of mustard. I could see he was salivating at the mere thought of it, finishing his description with a typical French gesture of kissing his fingertips, quickly opening them and saying “absolutely beautiful it was”.

I wondered if – by chance – my copy of the trusty Fergus Henderson recipe book ‘The Complete Nose to Tail’ had this ‘brawn’ recipe in it. Well, of course, it did… Only, it stated that not just trotters were to be used but a whole pig’s head.

Trot On!

By chance, my butcher had recently told me that he now sells pig’s heads. I excitedly told my wife, who was not so optimistic and – if I remember rightly – suggested our marriage would be in question if she found a pigs head staring back at her in the fridge.

Marriage is all about compromises, so I swallowed hard and settled for just the trotters. I followed the recipe – albeit, headless – and rustled up this so-called brawn by boiling the trotters along with some veggies and herbs for a few hours. Next I picked all the meat off and reduced the broth. Then I separated the meat between 2 cling film lined Tupperware boxes – one for the in-laws, one for me – and poured the broth over and left it to set in the fridge.

What a delight… this stuff is so moreish with its mix of soft skin, connective tissue and fat encased in meaty jelly. Being a carb dodger, I skipped the toast and enjoyed it with some punchy Dijon… beautiful stuff indeed. And, my father-in-law loved it, “just like I remembered” he said joyfully.

The curiosity of what other taste dimensions would be added with the additional tissues of using a whole pigs head left me determined to figure out a way around this without jeopardizing my marriage. So, a quick chat with the in-laws and a plan was set. I was excited, to say the least.

“One whole rare breed pig head please”.

Head in hand, in a black plastic bag, I headed to the in-laws for this culinary adventure. The first challenge… the head’s too big for the pot… hmm… let’s get the hacksaw out. Yep, there I was hacksawing a pigs head in their garden, quite a sight for any nosey neighbours. After a cut here and a cut there, finally the head was in the pot along with a trotter to keep it company while it thawed out overnight.

After around 3 and half hours of cooking – one hour of which was just getting the water to the point of simmering – the meat was falling off… it was ready.

Next came the process of pulling the meat and flesh and any other soft tissues away from the bones in what felt to me like an almost tribal experience. Some bonding time between my mother-in-law and myself, I imagined this may have been what it was like many years ago for our ancestors preparing food for the tribe, true nose-to-tail eating leaving nothing to waste.

Everything that’s soft goes in, the snout, the brains the eyes and the tongue. There’s also plenty of muscle meat in the cheeks as well as all the skin and connective tissue. The remaining bones were saved for a bone broth to be cooked at a later date.

All the while, the broth is being reduced by half, concentrating the gelatine to ensure a good jelly is produced when cooled to hold it all together.

After separating the meat between 2 cling film lined baking dishes and pouring over the broth, there was just a night in the fridge to wait before we could sample the result of our hard work.

And, it was worth the wait… the added textures of the additional tissues took it to another level. I’ve spoken out umami before in my post about oxtail, and this is another example.

More than just a taste

When different tissue types – muscle, bone, ligaments and skin – are slowly cooked together, a type of taste called ‘umami’ is produced. It’s known as the fifth taste after sweetness, saltiness, sourness and bitterness. The difference is this is more of a feeling than a taste, you can’t quite put your finger on it… all you know is that you just want more.

How and why did this staple get forgotten? It’s such a beautiful waste. So healthy, packed full of vitamins, minerals and collagen promoting gelatin, yet most will not have heard of brawn and would likely scoff at the sound of it.

“You’re wrong in the head mate”

One friend of mine, when I showed pictures of what we’d done said “you’re wrong in the head mate”. Another, when he heard we got a pigs head said “why on Earth would you do that?”. I get it, it’s weird… it shouldn’t be, but in this world we live in, it is.

Personally, the more I think about our ancestral ways, the more I realise how normal this way of eating is. Up until very recently in our existence on this earth, it would’ve been the norm.

What is weird though, is all the highly processed, hyper-palatable food we now accept as normal. It pains me to see kids stuffing their faces with sugar-filled cakes, sweets and chocolates. Gorging on MacDonald’s deep-fried nuggets and French fries washed down with some Sprite.

A good home-cooked meal being nothing more than some packaged, preservative, sugar and MSG ladened breaded turkey escalope, with a side of chips and sugar-filled baked beans. “Who’s a good girl? You’ve eaten all your dinner… you deserve some afters. Ice cream or a chocolate mini roll?”.

What’s weird was normal and what’s normal is weird… which is weird

Why are we getting fatter and sicker again? Because the old normal is now weird replaced with a load of man-made weirdness that everyone thinks is normal.

Well, most people… but there is hope. There is a community out there that seem very normal to me but “wrong in the head” to others. I hope that changes… I think it will and I hope it’ll be in my lifetime.

I’ve ranted about this before and explained my common sense perspective on what we – as humans – should actually be eating. Just think about what our ancestors would’ve eaten, that’s what I do.

If you’re tempted by this to try and make your own brawn, even if it’s just the trotter version, I recommend you give it a go. The recipe is below. If you have a pressure cooker as I have, even better. An hour and a half is all you need. You won’t be disappointed, and if you try it, let me know all about it by leaving a comment or mentioning me on Instagram.

Have a nutritious day!

There you have it! Just a reminder that I’m no doctor, dietitian or any other profession for that matter. I’m simply a bearer of information for you to do what you want with; question it, research it, erase it from your mind, you are in charge of you.

The post Beautifully Brawn appeared first on Offaly Good.

Before I started on my offal adventures, the only oxtail I’d tried was soup out of a can, it was ok, but I preferred the tomato variety. So, when I cooked up some real oxtail in my beloved pressure cooker, an instant love affair blossomed.

Now one of, if not my number one favourite cut, the mixture of meat, fat, connective tissue and bone is the perfect combination for a decadent culinary delight.

At the slightest mention of oxtail to my fellow Instagram #offal followers, the responses are unanimous… “oxtail is the best!”

When I’m devouring my oxtail, I go into a kind of blissful trance as the taste and texture sensations consume me like the first time I’m eating food after a 3 day fast. Or like a toddler eating candy for the first time, like a drug, at that moment nothing else matters.

I feel simultaneously blessed that I’m experiencing this taste sensation while also feeling regret that it’s taken me 39 years of roaming this planet before I discovered this wonder… What other sensual delights am I missing out on?

You gotta try this

In other words, oxtail is super tasty, and – if you haven’t tried it already – I highly recommend you march on down to your butcher and demand (politely)… “some of your finest tail from an ox, please”.

When you return home, waste no time, fire up your pressure cooker, slow cooker, oven or hob – there are many recipes and cooking methods to be found – cook and wait a while. Your patience will be rewarded with a flavoursome flamenco on your tongue, smooth but punchy.

Forgive yourself as you slurp and groan, just give in to it, all will become a dreamy blur. After, rest easy with a full fuzzy feeling, a warm afterglow of content and notice your involuntary smile… You have just experienced one of Mother Nature’s comforting hugs.

Is it magic?

What’s actually going here with all of these orgasmic sensations?

I’ve got an amazing book that I turn to when I’m pondering such questions. It’s called ‘Deep Nutrition‘ by Catherine (Cate) Shanahan and her husband Luke.

The book explains…

“Cooking meat slowly is the best way to turn an ordinary meal into something extraordinary – in terms of taste and nutrition. The potential flavour of meat, or any food, derives from its complexity. Depending on the cut, “meat” may include muscle, tendon, bone, fat, skin, blood and glands – each a world of chemical diversity. When that diversity is released onto the tongue you can taste it, and the rich, savoury flavour means a world of nutrients are on their way.”

So, not only does it taste amazing, but we’re also getting a powerful hit of nutrients and collagen. They go on to explain the process…

“All you need is moisture, time and parts (as many different tissue types as possible: ligament, bone, fat, skin etc.). Making soup, stewing, keeping a top on to trap the steam, basting often when cooking in the oven – all these techniques keep moisture inside the meat, enabling water molecules to make magic happen.”

Oh yeah, and magic does happen with oxtail, which makes sense… This one cut has numerous tissue types including ligament, bone, fat and muscle meat. The book further explains…

“[It] begins when heated moisture trapped in the meat creates the perfect conditions for hydrolytic cleavage… How does hydrolytic cleavage translate in to taste? It’s simple. Taste buds are small. The receptor site where the chemicals bind to them is tiny. So things that impart taste (called flavour ligands) must be tiny too…

Cooking releases trapped flavour because, during the process of hydrolytic cleavage, some proteins are chopped into very small segments, creating short strings of amino acids called peptides. Peptides are tiny enough to fit into receptors in our taste buds. When they do, we get the sensation of savouriness food manufacturers call the “fifth flavour”, or umami.”

It’s just a feeling

This rich, decadent, succulent joy called oxtail can be summed up in one word… Umami.

Umami is well known in the world of food. It’s considered to be a taste along with sweetness, sourness, saltness and bitterness. We have taste receptors that respond to glutamates which are found in various foods, although mainly slow-cooked animal foods that have a mixture of different parts such as muscle meat, bones, connective tissue and skin.

It’s these glutamates that when they hit your tongue, sensations of euphoria ensue. Food manufacturers know about this and use this to their advantage. A man-made version called monosodium glutamate (MSG) is used in many fast foods to cheat your taste buds and make you want more of their food.

Umami is more than a taste through… It’s a sensation, a feeling, almost an emotion. Another one of Mother Nature’s wonders.

There are no rules here

You’ll find a wealth of recipes to try out with a quick DuckDuckGo search, but it’s pretty easy to wing it. Here’s what I did…

Ingredients

• 1.5kg oxtail
• 500ml of beef bone broth (or beef stock)
• 3 carrots cut into bite-size pieces
• 3 celery sticks cut into bite-size pieces
• 3 small onions cut into bite-size pieces
• A few cloves of garlic roughly chopped
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup of red wine
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp of salt
• Filtered or bottled mineral water

Method

Nice and simple… using a pressure cooker, throw everything in. Give it a mix around, then top it up with water until it’s just covering everything. Cook for an hour and a half.

If you haven’t got a pressure cooker, you can use a slow cooker which will take around 8 hours. Or you can simmer or bake in a casserole in the oven on 170C/325F/gas mark 3 for 4 to 5 hours.

When it’s done the meat should fall off the bone and any connective tissue should be soft and gooey.

If the sauce is not thick enough for you, mix up 2 tbsp of flour with a splash of water in a cup until there are no lumps. Then add this and stir in. The sauce should thicken. Repeat if needed.

I enjoy it on its own but you can have it with some mash, or some buttered French stick perhaps. There are no rules here.

Devour and enjoy!

Have a nutritious day!

There you have it! Just a reminder that I’m no doctor, dietitian or any other profession for that matter. I’m simply a bearer of information for you to do what you want with; question it, research it, erase it from your mind, you are in charge of you.

The post Oxtail – A Taste Sensation appeared first on Offaly Good.

Nose to tail means to consume all of the beast with little to waste. Obviously there are some parts that are physically impossible to eat such as bones, but that doesn’t mean we should toss them in the bin. There’s plenty of anti-ageing goodness that we can wring out these parts too.

So, true nose to tail eating is taking all of the pieces that are left such as bones, feet, hooves, knuckles, beaks, gizzards and tail, throwing them in a pot and cooking them for a long time to squeeze out every last nutrient.

That’s not to say that bone broth is inferior, the sloppy remains only fit for peasants. Oh no, bone broth is the most nutritious liquid on the planet. It makes kale smoothies look frail in comparison.

What’s So Good About Bone Broth?

Not all bone broths are the same, it all depends on what’s being used. Generally speaking though, you’ll use bones (hopefully including bone marrow), connective tissue (found in joints) and perhaps skin.

All of which provides different nutrients and in different quantities such as…

• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Potassium
• Copper
• Iron
• Manganese
• Sodium
• Zinc
• Phosphorus
• Selenium
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin K2

All of this is obviously fantastic for our health and reason enough for us to be guzzling this stuff. But, the star of the show that I want to point the light at is collagen. This is where bone broth really shines.

The Magic of Collagen

Collagen is referred to as the scaffolding for your body. It’s a protein that binds your body together, without it you would literally fall apart. In fact, the name collagen comes from the Greek word ‘kólla’, meaning glue.

You will find collagen in bones, muscles, skin, tendons, ligaments, cartilage and blood vessels amongst others.

In your skin, it’s like a mesh that forms the base for your cells to sit on. As you age, wrinkles form as the collagen degrades, which is why many skin beauty products use and promote collagen as an ingredient for younger-looking skin. Although, it’s questionable whether it actually works… the collagen molecules are said to be too large to penetrate the skin.

Collagen makes up around 30% of all the protein in your body. There are said to be 28 different types of collagen with types I, II & III making up around 80-90%.

Collagen is a very complex subject that I won’t go into any great detail here, although if you’re interested, there is a great article here.

The important thing to know is that your body makes its own collagen in the epithelial cells from various amino acids.

The Joys of Getting Old

When you’re young you have plenty of collagen which is obvious by the wrinkle-free skin, strong fingernails, thick glossy hair of your younger self. You’ll have strong bones with no aching joints with tough tendons and ligaments, able to take a battering, recover quickly, ready to do it all again.

But, as we age, things start to go south. Laughter lines begin to appear, hair thins – or in my case disappears – the old knees start to ache and we start, well… falling apart. This is because as collagen gets broken down, the rate of making new collagen slows down and can’t keep up, resulting in the dreaded ageing.

But There’s Hope

Now knowing this, I’m sure you’ll want to know how to slow this process down and give your body every opportunity to make as much collagen as possible maintaining your youthful looks. That’s where the superhero that is bone broth comes in.

When collagen contained in animal bones, connective tissue and skin are broken down through slow cooking, it turns into gelatin. Gelatin is what gives bone broth its jellyness when cooled. You can gauge the quality of your bone broth by its jellyness, there should be a solid wobble going on.

This process makes collagen-rich animal parts edible whilst still containing all the raw ingredients that your body can use to make its own glorious collagen.

Unfortunately, our modern diets rarely include any slow-cooked meats with lots of connective tissue which would have been common many years ago. I only hope that with this knowledge you’ll consider making bone broth a regular in your diet.

What Are The Options?

The bones from any animal can be used, cow, lamb, pig, poultry and fish are the most common. You can mix them up if you really want.

The old fashion way – make you own

Really simple and cheap… get some bones from your butcher, throw them in a large pot or slow cooker cover with water and cook for anywhere between 12 to 48 hours. The longer you cook, the more of that goodness you’ll wring out. If you have a pressure cooker, the time will be cut down to 4 hours – it’s well worth the investment.

You can add some veggies like carrots and celery, toss in some garlic and herbs or even try out some spices. There are no rules here. There are many, many recipes if you need any inspiration.

Adding vinegar will apparently help extract the minerals from the bones. Most suggest raw apple cider vinegar. I don’t know how true it is, I can’t find any science to back this up. I add a little splash to my broths.

Some suggest roasting the bones first. I’ve done this once and it definitely adds more flavour. But to be honest, I don’t bother now. I’m lazy and it’s too much hassle.

Buy pre-made bone broth

There are a good number of pre-made bone broths on the market, most are organic. This is an expensive but convenient option.

I personally use Ossa which I buy through Ocado. I like Ossa because I can just about get 2 cups out of one pack. The others that Ocado sell are Borough Broth Co. and Boosh which are sold in slightly smaller quantities. I’ve tried them all and they all taste pretty good.

There are plenty of other choices too…

• The Organic Bone Broth Company
• Bone and Broth
• Osius The Bone Broth Company
• Brox

Dried bone broth

In certain situations, it may be impossible to have proper bone broth such as at work – unless you carry a flask around with you – or travelling, whether for business or pleasure. That’s where this is option is perfect. Mix it in some hot water and you’re good to go.

Here are some options, I’ve not tried them so I can’t vouch for them…

• Nutra Organics
• Planet Paleo 

Bone broth Concentrate

Another alternative is concentrated bone broth. Essentially a thick goo that you add to hot water and away you go. I’ve tried and tested this one and I recommend it. I find just one teaspoon is all I need. It tastes nice and meaty. I tried the ‘Original Beef’ version but they also do ‘Garlic Herb & Beef’ and ‘Turmeric and Beef’.

• Best Bone Broth

Collagen Peptides

Not strictly bone broth, but an alternative option for getting your collagen fix. Being a supplement, there’s a load of studies suggesting a wealth of health benefits such as…

• Higher skin elasticity in elderly women seen in this study.
• Reduction in physical ageing signs in the human face in this study.
• This study concluded…”Preliminary results are promising for the short and long-term use of oral collagen supplements for wound healing and skin ageing. Oral collagen supplements also increase skin elasticity, hydration, and dermal collagen density.”
• In pressure ulcer healing, collagen supplementation showed around twice the rate of healing in this study.

For more info on Collagen Peptides and what to look for when trying to source one, I found this article helpful.

Summary

I bang on about this a lot, and for good reason… you’re designed to eat animals. Your body has been finely tuned by Mother Nature over millions of years to digest all parts of the animal, from nose to tail. And that means straining every last drop of goodness. We owe it to the life that’s been sacrificed for our own to live on.

Bone broth is an amazing option to help improve and maintain our health and youthfulness. Let’s face it, we’re all a little bit vain. When we look in the mirror, we want to be pleased with the reflection we see… well at least, I know I do.

By adding bone broth to your diet on a regular basis, you’re giving your body the best chance to repay you with healthy skin, strong nails and luscious locks, better than any manmade beauty products. And, give you strong bones and sturdy joints allowing you to enjoy a full and active life long into your later years.

It’s what our ancestors would’ve done, so that’s good enough for me. I’ll be guzzling plenty of bone broth in an attempt to cling on to any slithers of youthfulness I have left… I need all the help I can get!

As a final note, I suggest sourcing your bones from good quality 100% pastured animals. Butchers practically give bones away so don’t worry about the cost, the important thing is quality. Check out the Pasture For Life website for your local grass-fed and finished meat butcher. I use Deersbrook Farm just outside of Braintree in Essex, and cannot recommend them enough, fantastic meat and even better service.

Have a nutritious day!

There you have it! Just a reminder that I’m no doctor, dietitian or any other profession for that matter. I’m simply a bearer of information for you to do what you want with; question it, research it, erase it from your mind, you are in charge of you.

The post Bone Broth – The Original Anti-Ageing Powerhouse appeared first on Offaly Good.

If liver is the king of Mother Nature’s Superfood, then kidney is its Queen… Packed full of goodness, this underappreciated meat should be on your plate if you care about optimal health.

Our Body’s Filter

Our kidneys are a wondrous feat of mechanics, performing important bodily duties in a magical display, centre stage in our renal system. Tirelessly filtering our blood, processing fluids, regulating salts and minerals. So important is this organ that it has the capabilities to demand more from our heart, producing hormones to signal when blood supply is low to increase blood pressure.

If you’re anything like me, then our poor kidneys are tested from time to time… or in my case a constant onslaught from the age of 14 to around my mid-twenties. Shoving all sorts of naughty things down my throat in search of a good time.

Being our body’s filter system for waste materials from food, medication and – yes – toxic substances it gets a battering at times whether that be from recreational drugs, alcohol, meds, or pollutants in the air and food. This may well explain the excessive rate of Chronic Kidney Disease in our world today.

Perhaps we should give a little more thought to our poor kidneys, for if they were to stop working properly, it can make life somewhat less enjoyable in our later years, with such ailments as tiredness, more trips to the loo, insomnia, itchy skin, muscle cramps, headaches and for us men… erectile dysfunction. Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?

Dear kidneys

I’m so sorry for the torture I’ve put you through, please forgive me. I promise I’ll drink plenty of filtered water and only drink alcohol on special occasions from now on.

With Love

Jim x

Kidney – The Nutritional Powerhouse

Assuming you haven’t beaten up your kidneys to the later stages of CKD, then a little TLC should save you from the torture. Dr Ken Barry gives some quick handy tips here.

I heard somewhere that if you have an issue with some body part, then eating that body part from an animal will help. I don’t know if that’s true, but if it is… bring on the kidney.

Eating kidney is not as popular as it once was, only really making an appearance in steak & kidney pies. This is such a shame as it’s highly nutritious providing many nutrients for optimal health. Just take a look below…

As you can see, kidney is a powerhouse when it comes to vitamin B12, Riboflavin, Thiamine, Selenium and iron.

• Vitamin B12 – improves energy, mood, blood cell formation among many other things.
• Riboflavin (B2) – aids energy production in your cells through methylation.
• Thiamine (B1) – the first B vitamin to be discovered, needed to make ATP, our cells source of energy.
• Selenium – a powerful antioxidant. Aids your immune system and thyroid.
• Iron – responsible for transferring oxygen from the lungs to the tissues.

Plus, there’s another vitamin that gets missed from most nutrition tables… Vitamin K2. You’ll get around 300µg per 100g of kidney. This vitamin ensures calcium is deposited where it should be and not where it shouldn’t… such as in your arteries.

These are some very good reasons to get kidney into your diet. The bonus is that your body is designed to extract all this goodness from animal foods. Mother Nature had been working her magic for millions of years finely tuning our digestive system for this very reason. Your body needs this stuff, it craves it. Give it what it wants on a regular basis and you’ll notice the difference.

How to Get Kidney In Your Belly

I hope you’re convinced on the health benefits of kidney by now and are eager to get it into your belly.

Fortunately, a quick DuckDuckGo search will lead you to many kidney recipes suitable for every skill level of cookery. I’m no chef, so I’ll give you some basics.

Kidneys come from the usual suspects, ox (cow), veal (young cow), lamb and pig. I’ve found that each has to be treated differently.

• Ox kidney – perfect for slow cooking. I like to add mine to a stew but you can stick with the traditional steak & kidney pie.
• Veal kidney – More delicate than ox kidney, usually found on high-end restaurant menus. Sauté on a med-high heat browning just the outside, leaving the inside pink.
• Lamb kidney – these are delicate little organs, almost cute. Similar to veal, sauté on a med-high heat browning just the outside, leaving the inside pink. These are my favourite, a little seasoning and I’m happy but many add spices for devilled kidneys.
• Pig kidney – versatile, this can be cooked any way you desire. It packs a more porky flavour than its cousins.

A word of warning in the prep of kidneys, a trap I fell into… There’s gristle that needs to be removed, especially when sautéing. You’ll need to cut the kidney in half longways, then carefully cut out the hard parts.

If slow cooking, the gristle will breakdown so not as important.

It’s What We’re Designed to Eat

Kidneys are an organ meat that would’ve been eaten by our ancestors and prized alongside liver and other organ meats that have fallen out of popularity in our modern world.

There’s a very good reason these organs were prized… because they knew how nutritious they are and how important they are in their pursuit of health and survival.

Fortunately, our ancestors didn’t have the confusing food distractions we live with now in our highly processed world. They had to hunt and/or gather, no Co-op just down the road as we have now.

When thought about in this way, I believe it’s easy to understand what we should be eating for optimal health despite the confusing information in the world. The only truth you need is a little common sense… let’s face it, it’s what we’re designed to eat. I talk more about this here.

Have a nutritious day!

There you have it! Just a reminder that I’m no doctor, dietitian or any other profession for that matter. I’m simply a bearer of information for you to do what you want with; question it, research it, erase it from your mind, you are in charge of you.

The post The Incredible Health Benefits of Eating Kidney appeared first on Offaly Good.

So many people I speak to tell me that meat causes cancer. I’ve always found it hard to believe considering we’ve been chowing down on this highly nutritious food for millions of years. So, I wanted to look into where this common notion came from and how true it is.

Where did the claims come from?

In October of 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a paper called ‘Carcinogenicity of consumption of red and processed meat’. They also released a press release here and a simple Q&A article here. And then the NHS followed up with their summary here.

The press release stated:

“Red meat

After thoroughly reviewing the accumulated scientific literature, a Working Group of 22 experts from 10
countries convened by the IARC Monographs Programme classified the consumption of red meat as
probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A), based on limited evidence that the consumption of red meat
causes cancer in humans and strong mechanistic evidence supporting a carcinogenic effect.

This association was observed mainly for colorectal cancer, but associations were also seen for
pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer.

Processed meat

Processed meat was classified as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), based on sufficient evidence in
humans that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer.”

The carcinogenic groups are as follows:

• Group 1 – Carcinogenic to humans
• Group 2A – Probably carcinogenic to humans
• Group 2B – Possibly carcinogenic to humans
• Group 3 – Not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans

Study Types

Firstly we need to understand the processes as to how the ‘very clever people’ come to these conclusions.

Zoe Harcombe explains this thoroughly here. But (very) basically, there are some studies that prove causation. These prove without a question that for example, smoking causes lung cancer.

Then, there are other studies that prove associations. These show a link between one thing and another, for example, yellow fingers are associated with lung cancer.

It’s really important to understand that associations do not prove causation. Associations are simply that, when some people do ‘x’, we notice ‘y’ seems to happen to many of those people.

No matter how strong the association, causation can not be claimed. When an association is observed, further studies should be carried out to prove the hypothesis.

With this knowledge in mind, let’s look at the evidence.

Red Meat

So, red meat probably gives us colorectal cancer and probably maybe gives us pancreatic and prostate cancer, all based on ‘limited evidence’. If it probably gives us cancer, then that could also mean there is a probability it does not.

The explanation given on the Q&A states…

“In the case of red meat, the classification is based on limited evidence from epidemiological studies showing positive associations between eating red meat and developing colorectal cancer as well as strong mechanistic evidence.

Limited evidence means that a positive association has been observed between exposure to the agent and cancer but that other explanations for the observations (technically termed chance, bias, or confounding) could not be ruled out.”

Epidemiological studies can only be associational in their nature, they even use the word association, so they cannot claim causation, which they don’t by using the word ‘probably’.

The Q&A also states “Eating meat has known health benefits.” As if this wasn’t confusing enough already… Meat is healthy but also gives us cancer (maybe).

Perhaps there’s a dose-response, if we limit our meat consumption we may get the health benefits while limiting our cancer risk? Their response to this…

“The risk increases with the amount of meat consumed, but the data available for evaluation did not permit a conclusion about whether a safe level exists.”

And

“The cancer risk related to the consumption of red meat is more difficult to estimate because the evidence that red meat causes cancer is not as strong. However, if the association of red meat and colorectal cancer were proven to be causal, data from the same studies suggest that the risk of colorectal cancer could increase by 17% for every 100-gram portion of red meat eaten daily.”

Can this get any more woolly? I’m literally more confused now than when I started looking into this. Let’s give up on this one and look into processed meats.

Processed Meat

The WHO has stated without a doubt that processed meat causes colorectal cancer with the Q&A stating…

“This category [group 1] is used when there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans. In other words, there is convincing evidence that the agent causes cancer. The evaluation is usually based on epidemiological studies showing the development of cancer in exposed humans.

In the case of processed meat, this classification is based on sufficient evidence from epidemiological studies that eating processed meat causes colorectal cancer.”

To make such a certain claim, there must be at least one randomised control study carried out at some time to have proved the claims. Er, no!

As stated, the evidence came from epidemiological studies that can only prove an association. So, they can not state for absolute certainty that processed meat causes colorectal or any other cancer until properly studied, no matter how strong the association.

Again, the case against processed meat is not absolute, they are educated guesses at best.

Confounders

Epidemiological studies are surveys carried out on groups of people that be will asked questions about diet and health issues. Some tests are carried out like blood tests, blood pressure etc. These people will be followed for ‘x’ amount of years, then ‘very clever people’ will review the data and find associations.

There are a few issues with this, for instance, can you remember exactly what you’ve eaten over the last day, week or, in some cases, a year? How many grams of rib eye or prosciutto did you eat last Thursday?

There’s also the healthy person confounder. Meat has gotten a bad rap over recent years, so someone who cares for their own health and wellbeing would follow guidance from organizations such as the WHO. They would limit their meat, eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, steer clear of processed crap, not smoke, drink little alcohol, exercise regularly and maybe even meditate.

The opposite would be true for the person who cares little for their own health and cares only for pleasures and good times…

…They’ll smoke, drink, dodge the gym and eat anything including… Yes, the evil, cancer-causing meat. They just don’t care, because… “You’ve got to enjoy life, right? Otherwise, what’s the point of living?”

As I’m sure you can see, when these surveys are carried out, the fun-loving, meat guzzlers among us, are more likely to end up with all sorts of health complications. Much more than those that look after themselves.

So, these ‘very clever people’ look at the resulting data and notice that most of these people here – who got colorectal cancer – eat meat and processed meat (and drink and smoke and don’t exercise and eat any crap).

I imagine it goes something like this:
• Processed meat – 2 + 2 = 10+/- (close enough)
• Red meat – 2 + 2 = 152+/- (close, but not close enough to be certain)

The Numbers

If the assumptions are correct and we can get cancer, what numbers are we talking here? From the Q&A…

“According to the most recent estimates by the Global Burden of Disease Project, an independent academic research organization, about 34,000 cancer deaths per year worldwide are attributable to diets high in processed meat.

Eating red meat has not yet been established as a cause of cancer. However, if the reported associations were proven to be causal, the Global Burden of Disease Project has estimated that diets high in red meat could be responsible for 50,000 cancer deaths per year worldwide.”

Processed meat = 34,000 deaths globally (probably/maybe)
Red Meat = 50,000 deaths globally (possibly, not sure)
Global population according to Worldometer at time of writing = 7,792,675,496

This equates to:
• Processed meat = 1 in 229,196 people will die of cancer, or 2.5 times the capacity of Wembley Stadium.
• Red meat = 1 in 155,853 people may possibly die of cancer, or 1.7 times the capacity of Wembley Stadium, or very slightly worse odds than getting 5 numbers in the Lotto.

The Q&A even goes on to compare the numbers to cancer deaths by smoking, alcohol consumption and air pollution…

“These numbers contrast with about 1 million cancer deaths per year globally due to tobacco smoking, 600 000 per year due to alcohol consumption, and more than 200 000 per year due to air pollution.”

Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying that unnecessary deaths shouldn’t be avoided, but looking at it in this light puts it in perspective. It’s a mere drop of Jello in a cauldron of bone broth.

Risky Business

To add to the confusion, they then go on to state…

“The consumption of processed meat was associated with small increases in the risk of cancer in the studies reviewed. In those studies, the risk generally increased with the amount of meat consumed. An analysis of data from 10 studies estimated that every 50-gram portion of processed meat eaten daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by about 18%.”

Taken on face value, an 18% increase in risk for every 50-gram portion per day sounds devastating. But this is an example of how numbers are twisted for dramatic effect.

18% is a relative risk number as opposed to absolute risk. The problem is that we need to know what the number is relative to. As – in this case – we do not know I can’t use this as an example, so I’ll make one up for entertainment value.

Let’s say 1 in 100 people get cancer without eating processed meat.
And, this increased to 2 in 100 when 50g of processed meat eaten per day.

Absolute risk is 1 in 100 vs. 2 in 100 or a 1% increase in risk – that doesn’t sound bad at all.

Whereas…

Relative risk is 1 vs. 2 or a 100% increase in risk – now that’ll make the front cover.

Taking this into consideration, an 18% increase in relative risk doesn’t tell us anything without knowing the original number. If we use, say, 50 in 100,000, then an 18% increase would be 9 giving us 59 in 100,000.

Unfortunately, relative risk is used all too often manipulating the layperson into believing something is much worse than it really is. I personally think it’s criminal and should be outlawed, but for whatever reason beyond my comprehension, it’s not.

The Headlines

With Headlines such as…

‘Processed meat ranks alongside smoking as major cause of cancer, World Health Organisation says’ – The Telegraph

‘Just two rashers of bacon a day raises your risk of cancer: Health chiefs put processed meat at same level as cigarettes’ – Daily Mail

‘Processed meats rank alongside smoking as cancer causes – WHO’ – The Guardian

…it’s understandable that many health-conscious people limited or even stopped eating processed and red meat. This dramatically affecting the sale of meat hitting our farmers hard. And, undoubtedly impacting the health of many people.

The media have jumped on the association with smoking. This is because both processed meat and smoking are in the same carcinogenic group (group 1). This sounds damning, but is explained further in the Q&A…

“processed meat has been classified in the same category as causes of cancer such as tobacco smoking and asbestos (IARC Group 1, carcinogenic to humans), but this does NOT mean that they are all equally dangerous. The IARC classifications describe the strength of the scientific evidence about an agent being a cause of cancer, rather than assessing the level of risk.”

Another example of things being blown out of proportion.

Summary of the WHO Recommendations

The assertions that processed meat is carcinogenic is weak. They cannot claim causation, and they should not, yet they do and people listen, take it as fact and act accordingly.

The link between red meat and cancer is even weaker and should be classed as inconclusive and left at that, with further studies required. Red meat shouldn’t be put into any carcinogenic group risking the health of those that believe this advice to be true and reduce or eradicate red meat from their diet as a result.

Evidence For Meat

As I was browsing my Instagram feed yesterday, a post caught my eye by @carnivorebait about a study on this very subject.

The study is called ‘Dietary factors and risk of colon cancer: a prospective study of 50,535 young Norwegian men and women.’ It was on 50,535 Norwegian men and women aged 20-54 between 1977 and 1983.

The conclusion…

“this prospective study provided no evidence of association between intake of meat, fish, fat, energy, fibre or calcium and risk of colon cancer, although an increased risk with frequent consumption of sausages was suggested.”

This is an associational type of study, so a lack of association speaks volumes where an association can only trigger an “ah, that’s interesting”, and further investigations would need to be carried out to know if it is true.

This made me wonder if there are any other studies on this subject?

Red Meat and Colorectal Cancer: A Quantitative Update on the State of the Epidemiologic Science

“In conclusion, the state of the epidemiologic science on red meat consumption and CRC is best described in terms of weak associations, heterogeneity, an inability to disentangle effects from other dietary and lifestyle factors, lack of a clear dose-response effect, and weakening evidence over time.”

Association Between Red Meat Consumption and Colon Cancer: A Systematic Review of Experimental Results

“Because of these limitations in the existing literature, there is currently insufficient evidence to confirm a mechanistic link between the intake of red meat as part of a healthy dietary pattern and colorectal cancer risk.”

Effect of Lower Versus Higher Red Meat Intake on Cardiometabolic and Cancer Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Randomized Trials

“Low- to very-low-certainty evidence suggests that diets restricted in red meat may have little or no effect on major cardiometabolic outcomes and cancer mortality and incidence.”

These were on the first page of 10 results on PubMed out of 59 on a search for Colorectal Cancer and Meat, filtered for humans, meta-analysis and systematic reviews.

It amazes me how all these ‘very clever people’, spending ridiculous amounts of money on these studies, can end up with completely different conclusions.

When someone like the WHO commits and makes suggestions based on educated guesses, what happens if they get it wrong?

What happens when hundreds of thousands or even millions of lives are negatively affected by their wrong advice?

Why can such risks be taken on inconclusive evidence without proper studies to prove causation be taken?

Money perhaps..?

…The cost of such studies is vast but would surely be less than the financial burden on the health care system following the negative effects on our health.

I know this is a simple view and life is just not that straight forward. But, the more I look into these kinds of subjects, the crazier I realise this world is. We have such faith in the advice we’re given and the truth is that it could be… Well… Wrong!

So wrong that our health and the health of our loved ones are at risk.

Keep It Simple

I believe we should disregard the confusing, twisted BS spoon-fed to us from the media.

And, we should question the advice given to us from the likes of the World Health Organization or Public Health England before taking it on board.

We should use a bit of common sense.

I’ve ranted about this here. Before this modern crazy world that we live in now, what would’ve been the only thing available to us to eat?

Simple, animals and some seasonal fruit and vegetables… And that’s it… Simple.

We’ve survived for millions of years eating this way. Our bodies have been finely tuned by Mother Nature to thrive from this highly nutritious food that this earth provides for us.

When I see a statement that red meat may give us cancer, it makes me realise how much we have lost touch with reality. It is such a stupid statement… Just as stupid as saying yellow fingers gives us lung cancer.

Before, we had to protect ourselves from sabre tooth tigers, now its these ridiculous recommendations from people we are supposed to trust, and many do.

The only time meat may be bad for us is when the animals are pumped full of steroids or antibiotics or any other un-natural crap.

Let’s keep it simple people, eat real food, whole food, food that our ancestors would’ve eaten.

Have a nutritious day!

There you have it! Just a reminder that I’m no doctor, dietitian or any other profession for that matter. I’m simply a bearer of information for you to do what you want with; question it, research it, erase it from your mind, you are in charge of you.

The post Meat Causes Cancer… Err, Maybe… Not Sure appeared first on Offaly Good.