“All Natural, All The Time”
Guest post by Emily Lindsey of “Sorensen’s Farm”
Happy New Year to All! Here are some ideas to reign in your healthy new year by eating healthy from all of us at Sorensen Farms…
At Sorensen Farms we believe in raising animals the way they can grow to be healthy and produce at their best as well. We give our sheep access to pasture all day, never grain feed, and supplement with organic alfalfa pellets and kelp. Some ask why we choose to raise our sheep this way and why it is better for you?
Lamb is a great source of high quality protein, vitamins, and minerals. It has all 8 essential amino acids and lamb is very high in B vitamins, niacin, zinc and iron which are all vital to your overall health and especially a healthy immune system. Lamb also is one of the most lean meats available therefore many “Mediterranean” style diets include lamb as one of the only red meats that should be eaten. Lamb also contains high amounts of polyunsaturated fats (the good ones!) and Conjugated Linoleinc Acid (CLA) which is an important nutrient to your body (that we do not make) and has potent antioxidant acitivity ; grass fed lamb in particular because it is made in the stomachs of plant eaters.
Now you have a hint at why we raise grass fed lamb! Not only is grass fed lamb high in CLA but it is lower in fat than grain fed sheep as well as calories! Also all lamb has some polyunsaturated fats (Omega-3′s) but grass fed lamb contains even higher amounts of Omega-3′s while grain fed sheep typically are higher in saturated fats. Other great nutrients found in grass fed sheep are Vitamin E. Animals who have been grain fed with no supplements and those who have been grain fed with supplements still have half as much Vitamin E as grass fed products. Vitamin E is an essential vitamin that helps protect your cells from damage and assists with fighting diseases such as cancer and cardiovascualr disease.
We fight disease in our sheep to pass on a great, healthy, and pure product by giving our animals a drench of garlic every quarter to fight internal parasites and boost overall health as well as feeding pure organic feeds as supplements when needed and adding Diatomacious Earth to also fight parasites and is a great source of trace minerals. We never add antibiotics to feed which can cause diarrhea and a weakened immune system, and never use hormones on our sheep to increase weight or milk production in our ewes. We allow the sheep to breed as they would breed in nature and pen animals only when needed with plenty of room to move in wide spaced pens with fresh water and clean feed. You can find us out with the sheep many times allowing penned animals to graze in other areas outside our everyday pasture so we can make sure they do not roam around!
So now you ask what about the other parts to the sheep? Not only is it healthy for us to consume grass fed lamb, but we find the wool to be clean and of high quality. The kelp assists with healthy wool production and we benefit the environment by using pastures to feed and products such as the wool that are sustainable. Can you name some products that use sheep by-products? Here is a hint: lotions, shampoos, gelatin capsules, fertalizer, shaving cream, art brushes and for you sports enthusaists baseballs! For more information on sheep you can visit our website at www.allnaturalsheep.com or general sheep information at www.sheep101.info.
Have a happy and healthy new year!
Robert, Emily, Steven, & Morgan Lindsey
Sorensen Farms
(209) 383-1606
“All Natural, All The Time”
