A bone to pick I'm not sure I trust anyone who calls himself a "health advocate" and then comes out with the advice that "People who wish to avoid cancer are strongly advised to stop eating red meat for life and switch to a primarily plant-based diet." That's sort of like throwing the baby out with the bathwater, no? But let me back up a step... This drastic response came on the heels of a recent finding from the Nurses' Health Study that women who eat more red meat have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. But there are a few major holes in the fabric making up that blanket statement I mentioned above. First of all, the researchers concluded that "women who eat more than 1.5 servings of red meat per day are nearly twice as likely to develop hormone-related cancer compared to women who eat fewer than three servings per week." There's quite a gap between 1.5 servings per DAY and three servings per WEEK. So where does that leave those of us treading on this middle ground? At what point on that scale does the risk skyrocket so dramatically? Then you have the "portion distortion" factor: Most people aren't very good at eyeballing a correct serving size. As one expert commenting on the study put it, "A 16-ounce steak and a 3-ounce piece of meat are counted the same. People are horrible at determining what is a real serving." And last, but certainly not least on my list of objections is that there was no mention whatsoever of the nutritional differences between most red meat you find in the grocery store and free-range organic beef: Red meat from cattle that were fed grains and pumped full of antibiotics comes with a whole host of health disadvantages, from increasing homocysteine levels to upping free-radical formation -- a definite factor in the onset of cancer. Free-range, grass-fed cattle, on the other hand, have a lower overall fat content, a dramatically better omega-3/omega-6 fatty acid ratio, and a higher conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content. And CLA has been shown to help prevent cancer, improve glucose tolerance, decrease progression of osteoporosis, and even increase ability to burn fat and lose weight. So while it hardly seems necessary -- or even smart -- to cut out meat from your diet entirely, it is a good idea to switch to organic, free-range, grass-fed beef. If you can't find it in your local natural food store, various companies (like Grassland Beef; ph. 877-383-0051; www.grasslandbeef.com, or Diamond Organics; ph 888-674-2642; www.diamondorganics.com) will ship it directly to your home. It is usually more expensive than what you'd buy in the supermarket, but the health benefits are, by far, worth every penny. What is...the omega-3/omega-6 fatty acid ratio? The omega-3/omega-6 fatty acid ratio is a measure of your body's level of omega-3 fatty acids versus omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are considered anti-inflammatory; omega-6s are pro-inflammatory. So, a healthy omega-3/omega-6 fatty acid ratio would be greater than 1 -- meaning your body has a higher level of omega-3s than omega-6s. | 
