On Mon, 5 Feb 2001, Amadeus Schmidt wrote:

> On Sat, 3 Feb 2001 08:47:36 +0300, Phosphor <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >.. can you reiterate exactly what is the problem you
> >see in beef?
>
> The unusual very low percentage of essential fatty acids.

Yes, but this can be corrected by getting EFAs from other
sources.

> Plus the ratio of omega3 to omega 6 fatty acids in it.

Not really.  Consider a lean cut of beef, such as beef flank,
"lean only, trimmed to 0 fat".  The ratio of omega6 to omega3 is
just 2.6, whereas for walnuts it is 4.7.  The beef has a better
omega ratio than walnuts, and walnuts have the best ratio of any
nuts.  A person eating lean beef and "supplementing" with just a
handful of walnuts would end up with plenty of EFAs, in a pretty
good ratio. In absolute terms, for prostaglandin synthesis and
membrane maintenance, this would surely be enough.  Throw in some
sardines and it's even better.  If the diet is calorically in
balance, most or all of the SFAs and MUFAs in the beef will be
used as fuel.

Todd Moody
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