Eating with the Season: Pastured Eggs

written by

Susan Blasko

posted on

March 20, 2024

Eggs are most plentiful in the spring and summer. The days are longer, the temperature is warmer,

and hens lay more eggs when they have more sunlight and when it’s warm. Chickens are tropical

birds. Longer days and warmer weather agree with them. They are more comfortable in these

conditions. They are stressed when it’s cold and dark, so they produce fewer eggs in the fall and

winter. So you might say that eggs are a seasonal food, just like strawberries and tomatoes are.

Eggs are more nutritious in the spring and summer. The hens are eating grass, worms, and insects that

aren’t available to them in the colder months. The nourishment they receive from this diet can’t

compare with what’s available in the fall and winter. As a result, eggs laid during warm weather have

a much higher nutrient content. Two of the more important ones are conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)

and choline. CLA confers many health benefits such as protecting against cancer, type 2

diabetes and heart disease. Choline is essential for normal neurological function and a healthy brain,

and it’s not found in many other foods.

Eggs from hens raised on grassy pasture have the correct balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty

acids, which helps reduce inflammation and promote healing and regeneration. This balance is

shifted when the hens consume more grains after the grass stops growing and the insects are gone.

How can you tell if an egg is nutrient-dense? Crack it open and look at the yolk. If it’s deep golden-

orange, it’s loaded. Ever notice how the winter egg yolks are pale in comparison? In general, intense

color equals superior nutrition most of the time.

Polyface does not provide artificial light or heat in the hoop houses in the winter in order to keep the

hens laying year-round. Nor are they given hormones to stimulate egg production. Instead, they are

allowed to rest as part of their normal, natural life cycle. They molt and replace their feathers every

winter, too. The process takes about 6 weeks. They completely stop laying while all their energy

resources go into growing new feathers.

Over the past 12 years or so, I have noticed that Polyface customer demand for eggs reaches its zenith

in the fall and winter, and drops dramatically in the spring and summer. Every year, the trend seems

to be out of sync. Technology allows us the luxury of buying almost any food all year round. We’ve

become disconnected from the rhythm of the seasons.

Dr. Buck Levin writes in his book, Staying Healthy with Nutrition, “Nourishment is a connection

between our inward health and the most distant reaches of the Earth. We break with this connection

when we live in an isolationist, separatist, exclusionary, exploitative, and extractive way, and we

restore it by being inclusive, accommodating, integrative, and considerate. When all is said and done,

nourishment is about the connection, not the payoff.”

Instinctively we know that food is most delicious and nutritious when it is grown and harvested in

season. Take advantage of this principle.

Polyface hens have emerged from their winter shelter, and are now on the pasture.

Reconnect.

May you be deeply nourished.

eggs

chicken

seasonal

season

Why Choose Fermented Foods?

My grandparents on my father’s side used to make sauerkraut in wooden barrels in the basement. My mother’s side made cheese and salami. I could smell these concoctions throughout the entire house. Fermenting is part of your national heritage, no matter your family’s country of origin. Alongside nourishing grass-fed/grass-finished pastured meats like Polyface raises, every person should include real fermented foods into their diet. This method of food preservation goes back farther than most realize, reconnecting us with ancient traditions, long before the refrigerator-freezer was invented. Every culture consumed something fermented every day. Here are the reasons why I like fermented foods. Fermentation preserves food without using high pressure, high heat, or chemicals, so it both conserves and increases them. The nutritional value of fermented foods lies mostly in the pro-biotic bacteria that are present, and byproducts of their digestion. The bacteria’s digestive “waste” is a collection of vitamins, enzymes, and co-factors needed for every system of the body. These include: Vitamins B1, B6, B12, C, and K2 Superoxide dismutase (SOD, an antioxidant) GTF chromium (assists sugar metabolism) Glutathione (a potent detoxifier) Phospholipids (cell membrane building blocks) Digestive enzymes Beta 1,2 glucans (present in shiitake mushrooms; modulates immune system) Fermentation neutralizes or eliminates these: Phytic acid (present in seeds, nuts, beans, legumes) Enzyme inhibitors (also present in seeds, nuts, beans, legumes) Nitrites Prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide) Oxalic acid (binds minerals) Nitrosamines (known carcinogen) Glucosides Probiotics and enzymes in whey neutralize phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors, allowing your digestion to access the nutrients in the food. Enzymes are proteins. Proteins are delicate molecules with very complex structure and shape. The structure of the enzyme gives it its function. Without structure and form, the enzyme will not do its job of catalyzing biochemical reactions. Without enzymes, biochemical reactions would cease. Enzymes are denatured (unraveled or broken down) by high pressure, high heat, acidic conditions, toxic chemicals, and electrical disturbances. Once denatured, they lose their form and shape, therefore they lose their function. Unlike canning and commercial processing, fermenting occurs at atmospheric pressure and room temperature, encouraging beneficial bacteria to thrive. Temperatures above 117 degrees Fahrenheit denature enzymes and kill probiotic bacteria. If you wonder what 117 degrees feels like, it’s the temperature at which you cannot touch an object with your bare hands and hold it for a few seconds. If it’s hot, but you can still touch and hold it in your hand and not pull away, it’s under 117 degrees. This innate protection mechanism (i.e., reflex) prevents your own protein (i.e., skin on your finger) from being denatured. It’s also a good indicator of when your food is hot enough to kill probiotics and denature enzymes. For best results, fermented foods must be eaten raw, never hot or cooked. Fermented foods are safe and protective against pathogens. USDA scientist Roger McFeeters, who oversees a fermentation laboratory, says, “The lactobacilli can number a billion per gram of tissue at the height of fermentation. The bad bacteria can't compete." According to McFeeters, lacto-fermentation has caused no known food-borne illness. "As far as we know, it's been going on for thousands of years. It's perfectly safe.” The sauerkraut that my grandparents made had a layer of raw pork chops embedded in the salted cabbage. When the sauerkraut was done, you could safely eat the pork chops raw! They were pre-digested by the bacteria, and “cooked" by the organic acids in the kraut. Probiotics prevented pathogens from establishing. None of us ever got food poisoning. My grandmother lived to be 100. Fermented foods have anti-carcinogenic properties. They normalize blood pressure and heart rate, help to break down fat in the liver, and maintain healthy systemic pH. And they are quite tasty. In the supermarket, look for fermented foods in the refrigerated section, not on the shelf with canned foods. Shelf-stable canned foods were subjected to high temperatures. The probiotics and enzymes have been denatured. Look for “live cultures” or “live probiotics” on the label. Eat something lacto-fermented every day, like your ancestors did. Just a tablespoon or two of sauerkraut or an ounce or two of cheese is enough to have the desired effect. Choose a salad dressing made with raw apple cider vinegar, or a tablespoon of a fermented condiment such as ketchup, mustard, or mayonnaise. Try a fermented beverage, like kombucha, beet kvass, or ginger ale. (Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon has some great recipes for all of these.) The original condiments were digestive aids. They’re easy to make. Try it. May you be deeply nourished! Susan

Eating with the Season: Pastured Eggs

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