If PB is about eating lots of fat (good) then why do we need lean cuts? page

[Jafar]

Hello PBers,

I have been following Mark's blog for quite sometime now and reaped the benefits of a primal living.

I am sure there is lot of information about good vs bad fats on the site, however I don’t see any explanation or post detailing why we should opt for “Lean cuts” of meat, when PB is about eating lots of fat?
Is fatty meat not good or primal?

Thanks
Jafar

[primalrob]

the lean meats recommendation is a little more paleo than primal. it's also a good idea if you're trying to cut calories at all.

but, one good reason to go with leaner meats is if you are eating conventional meat. the omega 6 and toxins from grain fed, factory farm meat is generally going to be in the fat. if you're eating grass fed, though, feel free to gobble up a little more of that fat.

[AshleyL]

Exactly, if your meat is conventionally raised, avoid the fat as they are safe places for an animal to store toxins..
But if raised on pasture, organic or at least minimal conventionally grown food input, the fat is an excellent food!

[carlh]

It all falls under the umbrella of "good fat is good. bad fat is bad."

It's not quite as clear cut as "animal fat good. seed fat bad." As said above, animal fat can be both good or bad depending on the source.

[Neckhammer]

I avoid lean meats cause they have little taste and need tons of sauce to make edible anyhow. I'm gonna trust my tastebuds on this one. I use to choke down boneless, skinless chicken breast by the ton at one point. Never again. Gimme the whole bird or just the thighs for that matter.....mmmmm now thats a juicy portion of meat from a chicken right there. Bone in chicken thigh. PLUS when you cook bone in fatty meats I'm convinced that some of the constituents of the bone/joint cartilage permeate it with some of the same goodies you get when making broth. Thats part of what makes it so flavorful. Alright, rant over. Off to cook something now that I've made myself hungry.

Oh, BTW if you stick to ruminants the O3/O6 factor is so minute that I wouldn't even worry about if you gotta get CAFO beef or lamb. Easily offset by a bit of fish. Other factors like less vitamin and CLA's and slight improvement on O3 add up to grass fed being optimal though. So CAFO (if you gotta) I would stick to he ruminants and avoid the fowl.

[sbhikes]

I would also add that if you are going to pay the prices for grass-fed, get the most marbled stuff you can. You're paying for the Omega 3 and CLA, you may as well get a healthy dose.

[Timthetaco]

Oh, BTW if you stick to ruminants the O3/O6 factor is so minute that I wouldn't even worry about if you gotta get CAFO beef or lamb. Easily offset by a bit of fish.

Depends on what you get. A tri-tip is 1:9, top sirloin is 1:10, bottom is 1:9, ribeye is 1:2, 70% ground beef is 1:9. I wouldn't say it's "easily" balanced out unless you eat fish to "make up for" every land animal you ever eat. To my knowledge, fish is the only fatty food on the planet that's higher in omega-3 than 6. But I think the O3/O6 ratio is a load of crap, anyway...

[JoanieL]

Also, because lean meat in a grocery store is by weight, not calories.

A 1 oz portion of 95/5 ground beef (uncooked) has a total of 38 calories and a total of 1.4 grams of fat.

1.4 grams of fat x 9 cal/gram = 12.6 cal from fat.
12.6 cal from fat / 38 total calories = 33% calories from fat. Which isn't a low fat food.

It may be lower than PB dictates. But if I'm paying $6-8/lb for meat, and only $4-5/lb for pastured butter, I'll buy the "lean" meat any day and supplement it with a cheaper good fat.

[Neckhammer]

Depends on what you get. A tri-tip is 1:9, top sirloin is 1:10, bottom is 1:9, ribeye is 1:2, 70% ground beef is 1:9. I wouldn't say it's "easily" balanced out unless you eat fish to "make up for" every land animal you ever eat. To my knowledge, fish is the only fatty food on the planet that's higher in omega-3 than 6. But I think the O3/O6 ratio is a load of crap, anyway...

Whoops....my bad. I should have said the overall PUFA content of ruminant animals is so minute that I would not be concerned. Its high enough in pork or fowl that if you are concerned about PUFA ratio then you might be best off looking for the very best source.

[Graycat]

Basically the amount of your saturated animal fat consumption will be determined by 2 factors. One, the source - CAFO meat vs. grass fed; and the second one will depend on what your weight loss and body comp goals are.
For most people high fat + high carb = weight gain, even in the context of all whole Primal foods.
You'll have to figure your personal macro nutrient ratio that works best for you, depending on your goals.