The Green Fork is the official blog of the Eat Well Guide. Click here to Find Good Food.

Joining the Green Fork to serve up Healthy Monday tips and more, Pooja Mottl comes to Eat Well after spending several years living (and eating) as a committed greenmarket supporter in London, England. With degrees in Economics and International Relations, Pooja is interested in helping pave the way for Americans to learn how to eat their way to healthier living by seeking out local, organic and sustainable food sources. Pooja is a freelance writer and is currently works as a consultant with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). Pooja writes from New York City.

Today’s Healthy Monday Tip: Add “good fats” to your diet by eating grass-fed meat and dairy.

Although the very word may strike fear in the hearts of dieters, fat is a necessary, even vital part of our diets. Fats not only help maintain skin, hair and body temperature, but without it, key vitamins like A, D, E and K cannot be digested or absorbed properly in our bodies.

However, as mentioned in a previous post, some “bad” fats, such as trans fats, should be avoided at all costs while the consumption of good fats, particularly omega-3 fatty acids should be our aim.

Research has shown that omega-3 acids – ALA, EPA and DHA to be exact – have a slew of health benefits, particularly a possible reduction in one’s risk of coronary heart disease. And the only way to obtain these “essential” omega -3’s is via food and although fatty fish like salmon, walnuts and tofu are continually mentioned as good sources of omega-3’s, beef and dairy products produced from pasture fed/grass fed cattle have also been shown to provide these good fats to our diets.

A well-known 2006 study from Union of Concerned Scientists found “statistically significant differences” in fat from conventional, industrial raised cattle versus grass-fed cattle. In particular, the research states that meat and dairy from grass-fed cattle tend to have higher levels of the omega-3 ALA and that steak from grass-fed cattle was shown to at times have higher levels of both EPA and DHA.

So if beef and dairy comprise a portion of your diet, try hard to seek out grass-fed/pasture-raised varieties at your local greenmarket or grocery store (or search for pasture-raised in the Eat Well Guide) to ensure you get your essential, nutrient-rich fats from these food sources.

And when eating grass-fed meat and dairy, we can also rest assured that not only are we receiving loads of health benefits, but environmental benefits such as decreased soil erosion, improved animal and farmer health, and safer water accompany pasture-based, sustainable farming methods.

It’s win-win situation, particularly if we keep in mind that cows are ruminants and are designed to eat grass in the first place!