Chicken: Grass or Grain Fed?
Is there a big enough difference? Some of us probably can’t even tell the difference between the two. But what about the health concerns? Experts say one is most certainly better for your health, any guesses?
Okay, okay, I’ll tell you. Free range, grass fed chickens tend to produce healthier eggs and meat for our consumption. Free range chickens are those that aren’t restricted to a small area or barn and can wander about eating as much grass and bugs as they please. They also aren’t likely to be eating antibiotics or hormones that are often hidden into grain feed.
The main difference comes down to the simple essential fatty acid ratio of omega 3 to omega 6. Omega 3’s traditionally come from the leaves of green plants where omega 6’s come from seeds or in this circumstance, grains. If you get my drift, you can see that grass fed chickens provide you with more omega 3’s and grain fed chickens provide you with more omega 6’s. A healthy individual has a perfect balance of omega 3 to omega 6 fatty acids. North Americans tend to consume way too many omega 6’s (almost 15 times more) which has contributed to our increased risk of chronic disease (e.g. Heart Disease, Obesity, Diabetes). So it can be safe to say that consuming grass over grain would help to even out this unbalance in our population.
Grass fed chickens also lay better eggs! As seen in the picture above, the grass fed egg yolk is rich yellow from the beta-carotene found in plants. Grass fed eggs are richer in vitamin A & E, folic acid, and omega 3’s. In fact, the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 is 1.3:1 respectively. Grain fed chickens will leave you an egg with a ratio of 19.4:1, insane! My advice: check out your labels before you purchase chicken or eggs, always go for the free range, grass fed chicken.
[Liz Stewart is a RIVALUS Nutritionist and is part of the RIVALUS Clinical Research Team.]
