Pasture Raised Turkey
With ample time spent foraging in a pasture with natural and mixed vegetation, it is very likely that the omega3 content of turkey meat can be increased and that the ratio of omega6 to omega3 fats can be improved. Several recent studies have examined the diets of turkeys (and chickens) who regularly spent time in pastures with leguminous plants like clovers and vetch. These pasture-based diets were found to increase the level of omega 3s in turkey meat and also to lower the ratio of omega 6s to omega 3s. While the overall ratio of omega 6:omega 3 in conventionally fed turkey meat
averages approximately 10:1 or higher, this same ratio was lowered to approximately 7:1 as a result of pasture feeding. For reasons involving nutrient balance and nutrient interactions, we definitely prefer natural pasture feeding of turkey as a way to improve their health and fat quality instead of supplementation of their diets with omega 3 containing oils (like linseed oil). However, it's worth noting that several recent studies have also shown the ability of omega 3 containing, oil supplemented diets to increase omega 3s in turkey meat and to lower omega 6:omega 3 ratios. These supplementation studies tell us that turkeys are indeed sensitive to their dietary intake with respect to omega3s and that this sensitivity shows up in the composition of turkey meat.
Turkey (together with chicken) has emerged as a food associated with decreased pancreatic cancer risk provided that it is consumed in skinless form. A recent study has shown that turkey—when consumed in amounts of 1 to 4 ounces per day or more—is associated with decreased risk of pancreatic cancer when it is eaten with the skin removed. (In this study, if the turkey skin was consumed along with the meat, the risk of pancreatic cancer stayed steady, not going up or down.) There same results were not true for beef, which was associated with slightly increased pancreatic cancer risk. It's worth noting that pasture-raised poultry and grass-fed beef were not standards used in this study. We would expect the risk-lowering benefits of all meats to be increased if study participants consumed grass-fed and pasture-raised foods.
Turkey has recently been shown to fall into a group of high-protein foods (including tuna and egg whites) that can help keep post-meal insulin levels within a desirable range. The common link found between these foods is protein richness. Four ounces of skinned turkey breast will provide 3035 grams of protein, with less than 1 gram of total fat. Four ounces of white tuna canned in water (the version used in the research) provide 26 grams of protein and only 2 grams of total fat. Four ounces of egg whites provide 12 grams of protein and 0.2 grams of fat. The rich amount of protein contained in these foods was enough to help stabilize and regulate meal digestion, and in so doing, it helped stabilize insulin levels as well. Given these three foods that were analyzed in the research, we definitely like turkey best. Pasture-raised, organic turkey is a food that we would consider whole and natural, unlike egg whites, which we would only consider to be part of a whole food. As for tuna, while it can clearly qualify as a whole, natural food, we would recommend the fresh versus processed version and we would also caution about consumption of white albacore tuna, which can often be higher in mercury content than other types of tuna. In addition, as the numbers make clear, the most protein-rich of these three foods is skinned turkey breast.