Dear John,
The past two weeks have been a most interesting time in the meat business watching the Topps burger recall story unfold into the media. Due to the massive size of the business, it was not surprising to see major supermarket chains embroiled into the fray as tracing continued out from the origin.
It is very difficult to fathom this went on for a nearly a year before the alarm bell went off. Some where a critical due diligence step went awry. Due to miniscule size of of the U.S. Wellness beef processing, one has a very clear window into the system. Two of our key contract fabrication personnel were even more amazed as they are required to test and hold ground beef before the product moves into the pipeline. Immediately following slaughter, U.S. Wellness beef is tested twice for ecoli as it moves into the fabrication facility at our expense. Once a month, both facilities we use are required to send in random test results to USDA.
Fortunately we are dealing with grazing animals on a non starch diet with first stomach pH's hovering around 7 compared to heavy starch diet animals with acidic first stomachs that cater to E. coli 157. This particular bad bacteria has a low tolerance to pH 7 environs and little chance of survival in the neutral pH climate.
Rest assured we will continue to do our best to put a quality product on your table. One advantage of being a minute niche in the beef business where we know who is processing our products on a first name basis and have access to them instantly via a phone call or unannounced visit.
Now for some great news. Our one and only CFO Lee Ann is a proud mother of Claire Ann who arrived in this world on Tuesday, October 9th. All is well!
Best Regards,
John, Lee Ann, and Megan
On behalf of the farm families of U.S. Wellness Meats.
|
BREAKING NEWS NOTES
|
RESTOCKED ITEMS:
.........................................................................................................
NEW STORE ITEMS
..........................................................................................................
PROMO CODE HIDDEN IN TEXT
Don't forget to look for the special promo code hidden in the text for a one time only 20% discount off your next next purchase. First 12 users will be able to utilize the code. The 6 red letters are in the extended articles in this issue and will spell out a word that can be used in the 'promo code' area when you are placing your order. The letters will be in red and will commence in the article directly below and potentially end in the recipe section.
This code only applies on orders weighing under 40 pounds and excludes all sale items and the Flavorwave oven.
.........................................................................................................
KAT JAMES TRUTH ABOUT BEAUTY RETREAT
Would you be interested in spending 5 days learning how to eat smarter, look younger and turn on a fire ball of energy? If yes, Kat James will be hosting a Truth About Beauty seminar in a spacious mansion on near Corolla, N.C. on November 6 -10. Please click here for complete details.
U.S. Wellness will be supplying various cuts of steaks and raw cheeses. Filet mignon will be one of the featured meals. Plus, you will be subjected to world class make up artists, full body massage specialists, before and after photos and a spectacular view of the Atlantic Ocean a stones throw from the living area.
Around mid December, Simon & Schuster will release Kat's lastest edition of Truth About Beauty. It is pack full of updates and a treasure trove reference to smart nutrition for your self preservation.
..........................................................................................................
NUTRITION IMPROVES LEARNING IN SCHOOL CHILDREN
A team of European scientists from Unilever have demonstrated that nutrition can improve verbal learning and memory in schoolchildren.
In a 12 month study of 780 children in Australia and Indonesia, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the researchers assessed the effects of adding a specific vitamin and mineral mix to a daily drink.
In Australia, children that received the daily drink with the added vitamin and mineral mix performed significantly better on mental performance tests than children in a control group that received the drink without added nutrients. In Indonesia a similar trend was observed, but only in the girls.
This study confirms that nutrition can positively influence cognitive development in schoolchildren, even in western children who are well-fed.
After twelve months, children in Australia who received the drink with the nutrient mix showed higher blood levels of these micronutrients, which means that their bodies were taking up the nutrients. In addition, they performed significantly better on tests measuring their learning and memory capabilities compared to children in the other groups. A similar trend was observed in Indonesia, but only in the girls.
This study adds to the mounting evidence that nutrition plays an important role in mental development in children. Previously, deficiencies in iron and iodine have been linked to impaired cognitive development in young children; there is also emerging evidence that deficiencies in zinc, folate and vitamin B12 compromise mental development in children. More recently, Omega 3 fatty acids (EPA, DHA) have also been linked to child cognitive development.
Most studies to date have focused on deficiencies in single nutrients in young age groups. Yet the brain continues to grow and develop during childhood and adolescence. Little is known about the role of nutrition for mental development after the age of 2, nor have many studies looked at the effect of offering a mix of nutrients. Until this study, there were very few randomized controlled intervention studies assessing the impact of a multiple-micronutrient intervention on cognitive function in schoolchildren.
This study confirms that nutrition can positively influence cognitive development in schoolchildren, even in children who are well-fed.
The investigators recommend further research to investigate the exact role of DHA and EPA in healthy school-aged children.
.............................................................................................................
DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS STRENGTHEN EFFECTS OF EXERCISE FOR SENIORS
Creatine and conjugated linoleic acid supplements may safely
boost the effects of weight-training exercise for older patients,
researchers found.
Men and women ages 65 to 85 on a six-month resistance
exercise training regimen saw a significant gain in
muscle and loss in fat mass while taking the supplements but not
placebo, according to a small trial.
Although exercise training improved functional
capacity and strength in both groups, improvements
were greater with the supplements.
Resistance exercise training has been shown to be an
important measure to combat the body composition
changes that occur with aging, including sarcopenia in
older patients.
"While there is no question that resistance exercise
is the most potent stimulus for the promotion of
strength and fat-free mass gains, adjunctive
strategies to augment these effects may enhance the
overall efficacy of strength training interventions,"
the investigators wrote.
However, the evidence has been inconsistent with how
supplements of creatine monohydrate, which is a
compound found in red meat, with conjugated linoleic
acid, a compound found in primarily grass-fed dairy products
lead to benefit.
So the researchers looked at the two together.
None of the participants took part in sports or
vigorous exercise more than three times a week before
the study or had done resistance training exercises in
the prior two years. The group was relatively healthy
without heart problems or need for assistive devices
for mobility.
As might be expected, every measure of muscle strength
increased with exercise training. Muscle endurance likewise improved with resistance training.
The lack of clinical or serological side effects was
reassuring, but whether the benefits to body
composition and strength "are maintained in the longer
term is unclear at this point," the researchers
concluded.
Source reference:
Tarnopolsky M, et al "Creatine Monohydrate and
Conjugated Linoleic Acid Improve Strength and Body
Composition Following Resistance Exercise in Older
Adults" PLoS ONE 2007; 2:e991
|
GRASS-FED POWERED ATHLETE CORNER
|
 BENEFIT FOR JESSE MARUNDE FAMILY
Jesse Marunde had literally a world of friends. One of those friends, Jay Hagadorn of Nampa, Idaho hosted and organized the Snake River Valley's Strongest Man contest on October 6th with all proceeds going to Jesse's family in a healing gesture that had Jesse beaming down from the next life.
Please click here for a great story published by the Idaho Press Tribune for full details. Over 50 athletes; including,Callie Marunde participated in the event.
A tip of the hat from the U.S. Wellness family to Jay Hagadorn's effort to assist Callie and her young family.
|
CATHERINE'S CORNER
by Catherine Ebeling, RN BSN
|
|
 GRASS-FED ADVANTAGE OVER ECOLI
The type of E. coli responsible for most cases of human illness is called E. coli 0157:H7. this bacteria is at the center of the recent media frenzy over re-called burger patties from the largest pattie fabricator in America.
First, some basics about this usually harmless bacterium. E. coli is normally abundant in the digestive systems of healthy cattle and humans; and if we should inadvertently ingest it, the acid in our gut will usually kill numerous strains of ecoli; except, E. coli 0157:H7 which likes acidity.
All E. coli are not alike. There are many different strains. However, E. coli 0157:H7 raises havoc with humans and lead to kidney failure and death. Ultimately it's not the bacteria themselves wreaking havoc, but rather, a toxin produced by the bacteria.
The villain in this recent outbreak, E. coli O157:H7, is far scarier, at least for humans. Our stomach acids are not strong enough to kill this virulent strain of acid loving bacteria which causes the defense issue in humans.
In 2005, approximately one person per 100,000 was infected with a strain of E. coli.
Usually, an E. coli 0157: H7 infection leads to severe, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramping. Most often there is no fever.
Some people - generally the very young or old, because of their weaker immune systems - develop a serious complication in which the red blood cells are destroyed and the kidneys fail.
Symptoms generally show up within three to four days after consumption of contaminated food. But it can take as long as a week to 10 days after exposure for symptoms to appear.
There is no real treatment for the infection. Antibiotics can actually make the illness worse because they can cause large amounts of the dangerous toxin to be released all at once.
For many people, becoming infected means just having to ride it out. Those who end up in the hospital may receive supportive care - such as rehydration - to help in recovery.
Where does this virulent strain come from? It's not found in the intestinal tracts of cattle raised on their natural diet of grass, hay and other fibrous forage, such as U.S. Wellness Beef. No, O157 thrives in the recent history of animal diets--the unnaturally acidic stomachs of beef and dairy cattle fed on grain, the typical ration on most industrial farms. Because grain is not the natural diet for cattle, when they eat grain, it is difficult for them to digest. The cattle respond to this dietary change by creating more acid to digest the grain.
Why this marked difference in the survival of the bacteria? Feeding grain to cattle makes their digestive tracts abnormally acidic. Over time, the E. coli in their systems become acclimated to this acid environment. When we ingest them, a high percentage will survive the acid shock of our digestive juices.
It's the infected manure from these grain-fed cattle that contaminates the groundwater and spreads the bacteria to produce, like spinach, growing on neighboring farms.
The bacteria can end up in fresh produce when vegetables and fruits are irrigated or washed with water carrying E. coli, or if they come into contact with manure - as scientists suspect in the recent spinach outbreak - when animals are allowed to graze near crops. The dangerous type of E. coli has been found in beef, fruit juices, milk and fresh vegetables and fruits.
Most often people develop E. coli infections from consuming contaminated food. The bacteria can also be passed from person to person when proper hygiene isn't practiced.
E. coli contamination takes place in the slaughterhouse when manure from an animal comes in contact with meat. The less manure on an animal when it enters the slaughter house, the less likely the meat will become contaminated.
It is difficult to remove all the fecal contamination from feedlot cattle because they stand all day long in dirt and manure.
In a recent article in the magazine Meat Marketing and Technology, the associate editor stated that pasture-raised animals were much easier to clean "because they come from small herds raised in relatively clean pastures." U.S. Wellness Meats cattle are all pasture or hay raised. You can rest assured that the meat from U.S.Wellness meats is safe to eat without danger of E.coli.
Most U.S. cattle, he said, "are raised in far larger numbers in commercial feed lots." However, beef can be tested for E. coli contamination at slaughterhouses.
Government organizations are currently looking into the possibility of irradiating food to kill off bacteria. The best preventive measure is to cook all foods to temperatures of 155 to 160 F.
In 2003, The Journal of Dairy Science noted that up to 80 percent of dairy cattle carry O157. (Fortunately, food safety measures prevent contaminated fecal matter from getting into most of our food most of the time.)
The journal also provided a remedy based on a simple experiment. When cows were switched from a grain diet to hay for only five days, O157 declined 1,000-fold.
This is good news. In a week, O157 could be virtually eradicated from its favorite home - even if beef cattle were switched to a forage diet just seven days before slaughter, it would greatly reduce cross-contamination by manure. Eating grass-fed beef dramatically lowers your risk of E. coli infection. Try U.S. Wellness Grass Fed Steaks or U.S. Wellness Grass Fed Ground Beef.
Work conducted at Cornell University has determined that grass-fed animals have far fewer E. coli than grain-fed animals. In 1998, researchers Diez-Gonzalez and colleagues from Cornell University drew worldwide attention when they reported that switching cattle from grain to grass lowered the production of acid-resistant E. coli bacteria.
Recently, calves that had tested positively for this deadly strain were divided into two groups. One was raised in a barn, and the other on pasture. Samples were taken once a month from April to September. The calves raised on pasture showed no signs of 0157:H7 for the entire period.
Meanwhile, every one of the calves raised in pens had at least one positive sample. Acid-resistant E. coli are believed to be much more difficult for humans to combat. The fact that keeping animals on pasture might protect consumers from E. coli was very good news, indeed.
Since publication of the Cornell study, however, these results have been contested by a number of groups, including researchers at the University of Idaho. Now a study by the USDA Meat and Animal Research Center in Lincoln, Nebraska supports the Cornell findings. The Nebraska researchers began their investigation by trying to find alternative feeding strategies to combat acid-resistant E. coli, contending that hay feeding "is not a practical approach for cattle feeders."
Unfortunately, none of their experimental approaches worked. When they switched the animals to hay, however, they found that the more natural diet did indeed have the desired effect. The researchers concluded: "This study confirms Diez-Gonzalez (1998) report that feeding hay for a short duration can reduce acid-resistant E. coli populations."
By contrast, few E. coli from grass-fed cattle will survive because they have not become acid-resistant due to the average pH 7 first stomach (rumen) which is a result of a forage diet versus a high starch grain diet. When cattle are fed their natural diet of grass, our natural defenses are still capable of protecting us.
What's more, the small amount they do have is much less likely to survive the natural acidity of our digestive tract-our first line of defense against infectious diseases. You can rest assured that U.S. Wellness Meats are naturally safe to eat.
Nonetheless, you should still follow all safe-handling recommendations when you prepare meat from grass-fed animals. It takes only a few E. coli bacteria to make us ill. But you can be assured that your risk of becoming infected is much, much lower.
References:
Tony Scott, Klopfenstein, T., et al,.Influence of Diet on Total and Acid Resistant E. coli and Colonic pH." "2000 Nebraska Beef Report, pages 39-41.Russell, J. B., F.
Diez-Gonzalez, and G. N. Jarvis. "Potential Effect of Cattle Diets on the Transmission of Pathogenic Escherichia Coli to Humans" Microbes Infect 2, no. 1 (2000): 45-53.
Jonsson, M.E. et al. "Persistence of Verocytotoxin-Producing Escherichia Coli 0157:H7 in Calves Kept on Pasture and in Calves Kept Indoors" Int. J Food Microbiol 66, 1-2 (2001): 55-61.
From an article titled, "The Future of Food Safety," by Joshua Lipsky. Meat Marketing and Technology, April 2001 |
|
|
|
DR. ERIC SERRANO M.D., M.S., B.C.
|
 Dr. Serrano,
Good morning, I recently read somewhere that there are more b vitamins in a top round cut. Is this correct?
Thank you,
Mrs. Z.
Answer:
Mrs. Z.,
When I was working at the vet school we did discover that some parts of the animals were higher in vitamins or iron etc. However, it was depended on several situations as follows:
1. Diet, since the macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients are dependent on the diet from grass-fed to heavy starch diet an all in between.
2. Exercise is important, with more exercise, the animals had higher capillary density and more nutrient requirements allowing the animal more need for the above nutrient storage.
3. Genetics are most obvious.
4. It is possible that the round cut will have more because the amount of muscle and capillary density of the animal in this area is very high due to daily motion and lean to fat ratio, however, do not over look first three.
Best regards,
Eric
|
WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS ARE SAYING
|
Dear U.S. Wellness Meats,
Before my sojourn to Hawaii, I was a former Miss Natural California and finished 2nd in the nation for Natural Body Building in the early 1990's.
Currently, I am the owner of Body Temple Boot Camp in Hawaii which is an organic, non-vegan boot camp specializing in unique exercise, nutrition and scenery. I attribute my regained strength, lean muscle mass, and improved health by changing my diet from a raw vegan to a more primal type I call "Retro-Raw" which includes only the best sources of grass-fed meats and some local caught fresh fish just to mention a few. Of course, I offer the unique tropical goodies that can only be harvested here on the Big Island.
U.S. Wellness Meats provides me and my Body Temple Boot Camp campers with a majority of our protein needs. This diet has given me the essential living nutrients for optimum health after a mid life crisis on a vegan diet.
I feel great; lab chemistry is off the chart and living life better than most women half my age.
Kieba (Dawn Blacklidge)
Pahoa, on the Big Island, Hawaii
|
GRILLED ONION AND MUSHROOM BURGER
|
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 Lbs. 87% burger
- 1/2 Lb. fresh organic mushrooms
- 1 large onion
- 3 Tbsp. marrow bone broth
- 1 tsp. fresh minced garlic
- 2 tsp. garlic oil
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
|
- combine all ingredients
- form burger patties
- grill until done
|
$25 DISCOUNT FOR 40 LB. INCREMENTS
|
|
Do not forget
to take advantage of the 40 pound $25 discount by ordering 40 pound
combinations of beef,
lamb,
pork,
butter,
goat,
shrimp
and raw
cheese.
This is our way of saying thank you for purchasing in volume. This
can be any combination of products totaling 40 pounds and does not have to be
specific to any category. Each 40 pound interval will yield the discount. For example,
80 pounds of product will yield a $50 discount and a 120 pound purchase will
yield a $75 discount. Important reminder: If you are using a promo code for what ever reason, it will only work on orders under 40 pounds, as the discount discussed above takes precedence on all order 40 pounds and up.
|
MINIMUM PURCHASE
|
Our new format enacted in April 2005 requires a $75 minimum
purchase and a 7 pound minimum combined purchase of beef,
lamb,
pork,
nutraceuticals,
gourmet
rabbit, soap,
organic
shrimp, grass-fed
goat, grass-fed
bison, raw
cheese, single
piece poultry, and butter.
The issue is the bulk chicken and ten pound cheese bundles originate from
separate cold storage centers where those products are produced. It is not
efficient to ship one package of beef as a stand alone item when the balance of
the order originates 400 miles away.
The shopping cart will keep track and remind you if you are under the 7 pound
limit for a combination of beef, lamb, pork, raw cheese, butter, goat, shrimp,
soap and single honey bottle purchases. Red font will appear under the shopping
cart if you are under the minimum price or pound requirements.
|
CHANGE CUSTOMER PROFILE
|
 Need to change your address information or remove yourself from our customer newsletter? Click here. After opening, enter your email address and store password and you will be able to edit your customer file.
|
|
|
|
|
ribeye steaks
ON SALE ITEMS
|
The following delicious sale items will expire at midnight CST October 20, 2007.
|
|
|
