That's Fit

Love cheese, but don't love the fat and calories that come with it? You might be able to add a little extra nutrition to your daily cheese quota by switching to yak cheese. Yes, I realize I just said yak cheese, and if you're a non-adventurous eater like myself, well, that just made you squirm a little.

However, a recent study that compared yak cheese produced from animals that were pastured on Nepal's highlands to cheddar cheese made from grain-fed cows in Canada found that the yak cheese was three times higher in omega 3 fatty acids. It was also rich in alpha-linolenic acid, a fatty acid found in flaxseed. Conjugated linolenic acid, a cancer and diabetes fighter, was also discovered in higher levels.

I really wish that they had compared the nutrition of cheese made from grass-fed cows to those of the yaks. Because grass is a much more natural diet for cows than grain, it makes sense that the grass-fed yaks' cheese was more nutritious. Still, if you're in the market for something new and can afford gourmet prices, yak cheese is supposed to smell and taste much like cheddar. Anyone ever tried it?

Even though beef has been getting a bad reputation lately for bacterial contaminations, antibiotics, hormones, etc, many people still love eating it and can't give it up. Does that sound like you? If so, have you tried grass-fed beef? It really comes down to personal preference, like any kind of food, but here are 5 reasons why you should give grass-fed beef a try if you haven't already:

• Grass-fed beef is lower in bad fats, higher in good fats, and higher in several vitamins and antioxidants than other beef.
• Grass-fed cattle don't need as many antibiotics as cattle packed densely into a feed-lot do.
• Most grass-fed beef production practices do not include injections of growth hormones.
• Some studies have shown that grass-fed beef is less likely to harbor acid-resistant E.coli bacteria, due to differing stomach environments.
• Grass-fed cattle herds have never been affected by Mad Cow disease.