Re: Big lessons for a healthy future

On Thu, 25 Oct 2007 22:12:23 +1300, Quentin Grady posted:

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On Wed, 24 Oct 2007 13:25:30 -0600, Oleg Lego <rat@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

Are you sure about the high Omega-3 content?

G'day G'day Oleg,

That's a good point you make.

Free range animals tend to have a higher proportion of omega-3
thanks to what they are eating. If most of there feed is wheat and
oats this wont be happening. It all depends on how often they fly the
coop and get bugs and vegetables from the garden.

Indeed. I live in a grain-producing area, and most folks around here
that keep chickens, if they don't allow them to range, feed wheat,
oats, barley, and so on. I feed a commercial mixture called "Eggmaker
18", which is an 18% protein pelletized feed, and we do let them
range. This results in eggs with bright orange yolks that are far more
tasty (and fresh) than the typical supermarket eggs. They also have
blue-green shells, but that's because they are Araucanas, and has
nothing to do with the nutritive value of the eggs.

Recently, I have not let them roam as much, as we have lost quite a
few to dogs, foxes, and coyotes.

As far as I know, the only way to get high Omega-3 content in eggs is
to supply them with feed that has a significant proportion of flax,

It makes sense for T2 diabetics to use hens as pre-converters of alpha
linolenic acid ALA to EPA and DHA, the omega-3 oils we need for heart
and brain.

However, I seem to recall some NZ research on producing omega-3 rich
eggs which highlighted some commercial problems associated with using
flax as the feed stock. The flax meal or oil had to be encapsulated to
get past their digestion system. Put simply, don't count on it
appearing in the eggs simply because it went into the feed.

A Canadian fellow came up with a feed that produces eggs with a high
oemega-3 content. I don't know any details of the formulation, except
that flax was one of the ingredients. He either patented it or keeps
it a trade secret, so the feed is rather pricey.

or perhaps some animal products that contain the Omega-3 fats.

Using deodorised fish meal was the standard way of achieving omega-3
rich eggs. The cost of fish meal went up.

The bright yellow is primarily from beta carotene.

Free range hens consume all manner of bioflavonoids as they forage
around. The surprising part is they are incredibly selective in what
they attempt to pass on to the next generation. Although their diet
may include several dozen bioflavonoids, it is mostly lutein (yellow)
and zeaxanthin (orange) that is found in the yolk. It is the sort of
unconscious wisdom that I take very, very seriously, like something
important such as vision depends on it.

Interesting stuff, Quentin. Thanks for the info.

--
Larry, T2, Saskatchewan, Canada.
DX 24 Aug 07. D&E
Metformin 2000mg, Ramipril, Simvastatin
Last A1c 8.1 (at DX)
.

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