Food Quality is Important

One important aspect of keto that I believe gets misunderstood is how to eat a proper balance of foods and choosing healthy fats in your diet. I've heard people joke - oh that's the diet where you eat all the bacon. Bacon is a good keto food as it fits in the macros well but there's so much more to it than that. And you definitely don't want to just eat bacon all the time.

Vegetables need to be a big part of what you eat as well. There are some that are higher in carbs that you either need to stay away from or limit - especially if you're working to lose weight and get a health issue under control. But there are a lot of vegetables that are fantastic and need to be a part of your regular diet.

Meat is also great on the keto diet but you don't want to just choose any meat out there if you can help it. Have you noticed that grass fed beef and free range chicken is becoming more readily available? That's because the nutritional value in those FAR exceeds the "regular" meat at the grocery store and the demand for that is starting to grow.

What's the difference?

Speaking of cows specifically, they are ruminants and eat grass. When they're raised for beef to end up on grocery store shelves they are fed grain because that fattens them up (which should be our first clue to us that grains are a big cause of obesity!), makes them grow faster, and produce more milk - all of which means more money for the people/companies selling them. But this also makes them sick, which is why they're all fed antibiotics. Those antibiotics are not good for us plus the meat is now not as nutritious because the diet they're being fed is not what their bodies need. Do you see the horrible cycle this has created?

So when you buy grass fed beef you are buying beef that has been raised in their natural eating method and it creates healthier meat for us to consume. It has more omega-3s, higher levels of vitamins, and antioxidants. Plus there are no antibiotics in the meat. These are all important to a healthy diet for us.

The same is true for chicken - including the eggs that those chickens lay. If you buy free range you're getting something so much healthier and nutritious without the hormones and antibiotics. I’ve also learned that even if something is labeled as “cage free” that doesn’t always mean it’s good. That just means they’re not placed in little cages. They could still be packed in and contained in a larger holding area that is still very unhealthy. From what I’ve learned about the way chickens are raised, free range is your best option.

Fish is another meat that you want to choose carefully. "Wild caught" fish should always be your first choice when possible. Fish can have high levels of mercury and that can be very detrimental in your body so wild caught is always best.

This food does cost more but it's so much healthier. Isn't your health worth a few extra dollars? And honestly, if you opt for the cheap food in the grocery store, you're just going to end up with medical costs later on because you'll end up with health issues because the food quality is so poor. So you can pay more for the food now or you can pay more for healthcare later.