Happy New Year! Why Fats Are Healthy; Powerful Snacks; Mixed Sale Surprise; Great 15% Trivia Question

U.S. Wellness News Alert

Happy New Year! Healthy Fats, Powerful Snacks, Weight Gain Tips, Great Trivia 15% Question

January 3, 2010
Monticello, Missouri

Dear John,

Happy New Year! Another year has flown by, and we want to wish our readers the best of luck in 2010! For those of you who made New Year's Resolutions to improve health or lose weight this year - you are in the right place. Grass-fed beef is loaded with omega-3's - an important fatty acid that is vital to your health and essential for human growth and development. Compared with grain-fed beef which is high in omega-6s, grass-fed beef is a low fat (and healthier fat!) alternative that is flavorful and tender. So you don't have to cut meat out of your diet to try to lose weight, just make sure you are eating the right kind of meat.

Looking for an energy-boosting snack while skiing, hiking or hunting this winter? Beef pemmican is the perfect high-protein power snack or meal on-the-go packed with energy, but without the carbs. It is shelf stable for at least 1 week, making it perfect for winter activities. We use the original Native American recipe which includes beef jerky, beef tallow, sea salt, dried cherries and raw honey, and also have a honey/cherry free bar and a salt free bar. Athletes have discovered the benefits of Pemmican also, eating it before workouts and games to get a quick energy and protein fix.

What is a sustainable farm? 'Sustainable' is a word we are hearing more and more in both the agriculture industry and the food industry. The Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund recently featured a new book: The Compassionate Carnivore by Catherine Friend, which addresses the question: What is a sustainable farm? According to
The Compassionate Carnivore, they all follow these principles:

Use animal manure and crop rotation to fertilize the soil instead of using chemicals.
Manage weeds and insects using minimal insecticides or herbicides.
Put ruminants (cud-chewing animals, such as cattle, sheep, and goats) out on pasture, using rotational grazing to most effectively harvest the grass.
Don't use hormones to encourage growth.
Don't use antibiotics unless necessary. If a farmer treats an animal with antibiotics, she will not sell the meat to customers as antibiotic-free meat. At the same time, she will not withhold life-saving drugs just to keep animals free of antibiotics.

US Wellness Meats is proud to say we follow all of the above guidelines to keep our farms sustainable and our cattle happy. We use rotational grazing, which means the cattle move into a fresh pasture of grass each day, and each paddock is fertilized with manure and we do not use insecticides or pesticides on our farms. The cattle are never given growth hormones or fed antibiotics and live on a starch-free diet.

If you have not been to the Weston A. Price Foundation's website, now is a great time to check it out. They recently unveiled a new website which is packed with great health information and plenty of new features. WAP is dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet and their work is based on the research of Dr. Weston A. Price. We are proud to be a sponsor at their annual conference, where vendors and consumers from around the country come to learn more about the teachings of Dr. Price, and to sample delicious, nutrient-dense foods!

US Wellness Trivia Contest!
The first 30 responders who email the answer to the following trivia question will receive a 15% discount code via email on Monday morning, which is good for 30 days. "There have been 103 ball drops in NYC on New Years Eve, how many times has it been snowing during the ball drop?" Please email your answers to blog@grasslandbeef.com.

Thanks to all who have been participating in our Trivia Contests! In the last news alert, we asked what is the best selling Christmas song? The answer was "White Christmas." Thanks to all those who participated, we were overwhelmed with responses!

Best New Years Regards,

John, Lee Ann, Megan, Tressa, and Jennifer, on behalf of the farm families of U.S. Wellness Meats

Toll Free: (877) 383-0051
Direct Line: (573) 767-9040
Fax Number: (573) 767-5475
Email: eathealthy@grasslandbeef.com
URL: www.uswellnessmeats.com
Blog: http://blog.grasslandbeef.com/
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Newsletter Archive: HERE

Table of Contents

INVENTORY NOTES > Restocked Organ Sausages

DR. ERIC SERRANO M.D., M.S., B.C. > Safely Gaining Weight

FEATURED RECIPE > Beef & Cider Stew

CUSTOMER COMMENT > The Best Kidneys

FARM PHOTOS > December Cattle

CHANGE CUSTOMER INFORMATION

HISTORY > U.S. Wellness Meats

ENERGY TIPS > 3.2 Oz = 320 calories, 16 g protein, No Caffeine

MINIMUM PURCHASE RULES

CONFIDENTIALITY GUARANTEE

ON SALE SELECTIONS

Inventory notes
Week of January 3, 2009

The following are back in stock:

*Flat Iron Steaks will restock on Tuesday, January 5.*

New Selections:

Vitamin D3 in Wild Salmon Oil

Dr. Eric Serrano M.D., M.S., B.C.
Question and Answer Column

This is a friendly reminder to email health and wellness questions to the email address below for Dr. Eric Serrano M.D. question and answer series.

Answers now appear below and in the bi-weekly U.S. Wellness Newsletter. Your name will not be displayed.

Dr. Serrano has been so kind to offer his expertise to answer literally any question related to health and wellness involving grass-fed meats. Dr. Serrano has a wealth of knowledge from both his farm background and 15 years of clinical experience. This includes working with a number of world class athletes and a large local family practice in Ohio.

Please email using the address below and place Dr. Serrano's name in the subject line. Answers will appear in future U.S. Wellness Newsletters or below in News Alerts.

Dr. Serrano is an M.D. with advance degrees in nutrition, kinesiology and wellness.

Dr. Eric Serrano M.D.
475 North Hill Road
Pickerington, OH 43147-1157
EMAIL QUESTIONS TO: eathealthy@grasslandbeef.com

___________________________________________

Hi Dr Serrano,

I was wondering if you could help me with a problem I've been having keeping on weight and improving my muscle mass. This is the opposite of most people but it's been a lifelong problem for me and has worsened the past few years.

I'm currently 44 yrs old, weigh about 172 lbs, and I'm about 6' 3". I have been doing weight lifting and have been very active since I was 19. In my 20's I weighed around 185 so I've lost around 13 pounds, a lot of which is muscle mass. In the summer of 2008 I was diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue which is contributing to my problem as AF is catabolic. I've also been diagnosed with low testosterone in a recent blood test. Here are some of my numbers:

Total T: 384 ng/dL
Free T: 0.79 ng/dL
DHEA-S: 265 mcg/dL
Total cholesterol: 186 (LDL 125, HDL 50)

In any event, I currently supplement with 50 mg of DHEA 5 times/week (I've been doing this for about 5 years) and started on 50 mg of biodentical T daily (Testim) recently. I've been on it for about 3 weeks and really don't feel any better as of yet. I've improved the functioning of my adrenals by supplementing with bovine adrenal extracts, lots of vitamin Bs especially pantethine, Vit C and various adaptogens (ginger, tulsi tea, ashwaganda extract) but still have low cortisol readings especially in the morning. I was seeing a naturopath who diagnosed the AF but now I'm utilizing a wellness center that practices functional medicine and tries to treat the body as a whole with natural remedies. We have tried lots of things to improve my adrenals and increase my weight but I seem to be in a stuck state. I've also been taking 5000 IU of vitamin D daily and have gotten my blood level to about 42 ng/dL. The main strategy we are trying to increase my weight is eating 4 meals per day spaced about 3-4 hours apart. I used to eat 3 but my total caloric intake is roughly the same. I don't know the exact amount of calories I eat but I can tell you I eat a lot so that is not the problem. I also supplement with a pea and brown rice protein powder daily (about 22 g of protein) and take it after workouts as well.

About 5 years ago I dramatically changed my diet to one I believe you think is healthy: lots of grass-fed beef, bison, and lamb, free-range organic eggs (raw or poached), organic free range chicken and turkey, coconut oil, butter, olive oil, avocados, lots of veggies (spinach, red onions, cucumber, carrots, peppers,celery), berries, nuts and seeds and a lot of almond and cashew butter. For grains I pretty much only eat beans, lentils, peas, and sweet potatoes. I have a wheat allergy so I really don't eat any breads ... as a substitute I've been eating organic brown rice cakes and something called mocki. I definitely started to lean out after I started this diet. I have about 1 cup of green tea daily and drink tulsi tea during the day mostly at work.

Given my history, what would you recommend to increase my weight healthily? As mentioned, I eat 4 meals a day spaced about 3-4 hours apart. I have noticed a slight increase in size around my belly since starting this strategy but have not gained weight elsewhere. I would like to get back above 180 lbs.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Regards,

J.S.
Cambridge, MA
___________________________________________

Dear J.S.,

It sounds like you like to change from here and there, and you are listening to everybody. Jeff, supplements don't make up for a poor diet although you are fixing it right now. Because you are on adrenal exhaustion you must look at workouts. Also look at family, economics, and faith all together so you can balance what ever is fatiguing you. Supplements are good but not the answer. You must change your diet even more, by adding carbohydrate-loading days and fat-loading days.

Jeff, to correct all your problems I would have to see you but I can make some recommendations. Your testim is not going to work inmediately, it takes about 6 weeks, in addition you don't mention any other symptoms besides a low number which basically means nothing. Testim will not make big changes if the only thing you are looking for is changes in your numbers and not in symptoms. My test at one point was 189 but I was eating bad and not getting enough fats, by correcting my diet it went to 487 and my free went up way higher than normal.

Your workouts must be short and not longer than 45 minutes, no more than 16 sets per workout. I don't know what else you do but I would concentrate on your legs.

You also need an adrenal product with adrenal dessicated in it, and you can get the best from Standard Process or call Scott at (614) 596-7994.

You are very skinny but you are over training I am sure of it. I am 47 and weigh 229 pounds and I am not fat by any means but not as lean as I used to be, but you can get there easily. Again you must have two fat loading days and one carbohydrate loading day per week, use sweet potatoes, buckwheat or rice, and eat at least 400 grams of carbs per day, 80% after your workout. You are also trying to get lean but big. Unless taking steroids it is very hard so pick a goal, very lean like you are, or stronger and bigger with some good fat.

Good Luck,

Dr. Serrano

Featured Recipe

Beef & Cider Stew

Ingredients:

2 lbs stew beef
2 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup apple cider
1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1 can (10-1/2 ounces) condensed French onion soup (or see organic homemade recipe below)
1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 3 cups)

Directions:

Cook bacon in stockpot over medium heat until crisp; remove with slotted spoon to paper-towel-lined plate.
Brown 1/2 of beef in bacon drippings over medium heat; remove from stockpot. Repeat with remaining beef; season with salt and pepper.
Return beef and bacon to stockpot. Add soup and cider; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover tightly and simmer 1-3/4 hours.
Add sweet potatoes and cranberries to stockpot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; continue simmering, covered, 20 to 30 minutes or until beef and potatoes are fork-tender.

Makes 4-6 servings.
Total preparation and cooking time: 2-2.5 hours
Recipe compliments of The Beef Checkoff.

Organic French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

8 T. butter (1/4 lb)
2 1/2 medium onions, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 T. fresh thyme
2 T. salt

Melt the butter, add the other ingredients, and then simmer on medium-ish heat for 30 minutes to caramelize the onions and draw all the flavors out. Now add:

1 1/2 c. burgundy wine

Cook another 15 minutes. Next add:

About 7 cups of stock/broth - I used a mixture of chicken and beef stock - a couple of the recipes I found called for that. Sounds weird but it was good.

I boiled this for a few more minutes, then used a glass measuring cup with a handle to scoop out soup into oven-safe bowls.

*This recipe compliments of our friend, Kelly the Kitchen Kop. Check out her blog for more useful recipes and healthy cooking tips!

Feel free to share your favorite recipes at recipes@grasslandbeef.com.

What Our Customers Are Saying

John, Tressa et al,