Meat and dairy consumption take an incredible economic toll on the United States. This occurs directly by the $40 billion in subsidies given to the farmers to keep prices low and then indirectly from a portion of the incredible $2.5+ trillion spent annually on healthcare. Now, not all of the healthcare costs are directly related to meat and dairy consumption, but much of this cost is. Keep in mind that the majority of the healthcare costs are related to the management of chronic disease; chronic disease related to poor diets heavily based on meat and dairy.
Here are 10 reasons to re-think the consumption of meat and dairy............
1. According to a great number of large, well-designed population studies it has become obvious that as meat and dairy consumption increases within a group of people their likelihood of developing chronic diseases increases. That is, if a group of people eats about 10% more meat and dairy they tend to develop about 10% more chronic disease. The China Study is clearly the most notable, but many more have found this general connection between meat and dairy consumption with poor health.
2. By contrast the healthiest groups of people had plant-based diets high in nutrients like Omega-3 fats and fiber while low in overall protein and most of them were low to very low in meat and dairy types of food. There tends to be a direct correlation as well; if a group eats 20% more plants they develop 20% less disease. When a person consumes meat and dairy a person they are also missing out on the chance to consume more plants, more Omega-3 fats and more fiber while eating more protein than healthy populations have been shown to eat.
3. The amount of protein in a groups diet was the focal point of many of these studies, and this makes sense as more protein almost always equaled more chronic disease. Protein composes about 7% of the entire human body, yet tends to make up over 40% of the calories for many misguided Americans. The human body doesn't need protein to operate; the body needs amino acids, which make up proteins, to function adequately. How does one figure out how much protein they need?
There is no rational way to figure out just how much protein a person needs, but by following the design of the human body (which is 7% protein by composition) and researching the healthiest populations (which tend to have about 5-12% protein of total calories) we can get a solid idea of what we need for daily protein intake. Exercise can also be factored in to our computing of just how much protein to consume; as the more active someone is, the more protein they may need.
At most, 20% of one's total calories should calories should come from protein and this can be found in green leafy vegetables, seeds, nuts and even fish, which is a much healthier alternative to meat and dairy. Green leafy vegetables are actually 50% protein by composition, meaning they are more protein-dense than any kind of meat. The proteins in these plant foods also tends to be incomplete, which is a GOOD thing as it makes digestion much easier and more suitable to the design of the human body.
4. Digesting meats and dairy are incredibly stressful on the body, which has a digestive system that appears to be designed for eating a plant-based diet. The human digestive system is over 30 feet long, with over 7,000 sq. feet of surface area in the small intestine to absorb the foods we have ingested. No other living creature on earth that consumes a diet with meat and dairy has a digestive system like ours.
Creatures designed to eat mostly animals have short, simple digestive systems. Ours is long, complicated and easily damaged; damage often times occurs from the complete proteins found in meat and dairy. The 7,000 sq. ft. of surface area in the small intestine is made up of tiny finger-like projections that absorb foods; but many of the protein molecules found in meat and dairy are too big for the micro-villi of the small intestine.
These large protein molecules can cause damage which initiates a mucus secretion, inflammation and can even create areas of the gut where it is permeable thus allowing these large protein molecules into the blood supply without proper absorption by the micro-villi. This is known as 'leaky-gut syndrome' and is thought to be wide-spread among the meat and dairy consuming public. 'Leaky gut syndrome' can initiate patterns that are expressed with poor immune system function, persistent allergies and chronic fatigue
5. Within the human body meat and dairy have the potential to initiate many health-damaging patterns. Many of these harmful pattern are from the metabolic acids directly produced from consuming meat and dairy; these include uric acid (think gout) and sulfuric, phosphoric and nitric acids (think osteoporosis) while dairy has lactic acid (think cancer). These acids are powerful and initiate a cascade of events the body must deal with, and as the body wears down with age the person becomes more susceptible to the chronic diseases noted here.
Uric acid has been shown to directly cause gout, while all of these acids from meat and dairy have been shown to initiate osteoclasts in the human body; these signal the break down of bones and lead to the condition of osteoporosis. Lactic acid may be worse, as it is a metabolic waste product of cellular function; we have all felt the effect of lactic acid generating in our own bodies when our muscles fatigue, tire and "burn".
In fact, lactic acid has been observed by nobel prize winner Dr. Otto Warburg as promoting the environment for cancerous cells to maintain and possibly prosper. Cancer cells have the ability to consume their own waste (lactic acid) in order to survive and possibly thrive; the same waste is generated directly in the body from dairy consumption.
Meat and dairy directly generate powerful metabolic acids in the human body which have been shown to cause serious health issues. A young, reasonably active person may not develop these issues for some time because their body has the ability to use homeostatic mechanisms to handle these powerful acids, but these mechanisms are bound to break down when they are constantly employed.
6. The homeostatic mechanisms employed by the body include the aforementioned breakdown of bones in order to obtain calcium for the blood to neutralize the acidity (lowered pH) resulting from meat and dairy consumption. Meat and dairy directly lower the blood pH in the human body, but the blood pH must stay at about 7.365 for the body to function, so a variety of homeostatic mechanisms are designed to maintain this necessary pH.
The kidneys play an important role in maintaining the blood pH by filtering the blood and removing these acids via urination. The kidneys also have the ability to generate ammonia, a powerful chemical the body uses as a 'last resort' to stabilize the blood pH. When the body is constantly given meat and dairy the kidneys become overworked; this is proven by the conventional medical finding that high-protein diets corresponds to a number of kidney disorders and diseases.
7. Dairy has been shown to directly initiate mucus secretion in the small intestine. Mucus is secreted by the body in order to protect the tissues; in this case protection from the acids within dairy. Mucus secretion may also occur within the nasal passages and possibly the lungs as well, depending on the amount of dairy consumed and the sensitivities of the individuals body. Sinus congestion and lung inflammation are often times found to be the direct result of dairy consumption.
Integrated medical physicians like Dr. Joel Furman, Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. Noel Gallagher among many more point to dairy consumption as the cause of sinus issues for more than half of the millions suffering from this. They have each found great success by working with patients to remove dairy from their diets and found great success in reducing sinus problems and other health issues as well.
8. Meat and dairy consumption has also been shown to play a role in the development of heart disease within a population. First, there are multiple studies where researchers evaluated the dead bodies of young people, from the early teens to the mid-twenties and found that over 70% of them had significant signs of heart disease. This means that heart disease may develop for 20 years or more until people develop symptoms which signify this potentially deadly (from heart attacks) and life restricting chronic disease.
Secondly, there is the work of notable physicians like Dr. Dean Ornish and Dr. Caldwyn Esselstyn who have been significantly reversing heart disease in patients by instructing them to remove meat and dairy from their diets. If removing meat and dairy from the diet can reverse damage and patterns that have been taking place for 20-30 years then we must acknowledge that a diet rich in these types of foods is harmful and potentially disease promoting.
9. Free radical damage and inflammation of blood vessels are now conventionally pointed to as the conditions of heart disease. Free radicals promote oxidation of body tissues, which is clearly damaging and inflammation is the body's response to this pattern. Free radicals can be neutralized by substances we know of as 'antioxidants', which have become quite popular in recent years; and for good reason.
Meat and dairy have been shown to leave an acidic ash in the blood vessels upon consumption, and this ash has a low pH which directly oxidizes whatever tissues it comes in contact with (blood vessels). So, the more meat and dairy one eats the more free radicals their body is exposed to and the more antioxidants required by the body to neutralize these harmful substances. Antioxidants are dense in plant foods and even fish, but are low and in some cases completely absent in meat and dairy foods.
Furthermore, the process of inflammation is also initiated in the blood vessels from the meat and dairy which leave the acidic ash within blood vessels. The inflammation process is generated by a fatty acid called arichidonic acid which is a result of consuming meat, dairy and poor types of fat (among others). Meat and dairy consumption generate arachidonic acid in the body which then initiates the hormones that signal the inflammation process.
The inflammation process is like free radicals, this can be neutralized; in this case by Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fats can be found in fish and fish oil, organic oils like hemp and flaxseed, nuts like walnuts and even many types of seeds; but they are low to non-existent in the meat and dairy foods consumed by much of the public.
So, meat and dairy consumption causes free radicals (which lead to damage if not neutralized by antioxidants) and leads to inflammation (if not balanced by Omega-3's). Free radical damage and inflammation are shown to be the underlying conditions of heart disease by conventional medical research. So, by eating meat and dairy one is not only promoting heart disease but also likely not consuming enough antioxidants and Omega-3's to neutralize and balance the potentially harmful substances.
10. Meat and dairy probably cause significantly more free radicals and inflammatory effects in the body due to the lives of the animals which make these foods. First off the animals eat diets they are not suited to, rich in soy, wheat and corn that are made possible from the $40 billion in government subsidies used to keep meat and dairy production affordable.
The cows, chickens and pigs developed for thousands of years from eating diets that never included soy, wheat and dairy; so it should come as no surprise that when these animals are only fed these foods they become terribly unhealthy. The poor health of these farm animals is signified by the incredible amount of antibiotics that are used to keep them alive; over 50% of all antibiotics in the U.S are given to farm animals!
In addition to the incredible amount of prescription drugs used on farm animals is the actual hormones given to them in order to 'fatten' them up and make them bigger. Estrogen and estrogen-promoting hormones are given to the farm animals in significant amounts and they have been shown to pass into the human body upon consumption of dairy foods specifically, especially in cheese which is a super-concentrated form (20x) of dairy.
So, if you want nice doses of antibiotics and estrogen then consume meat and dairy in your regular diet. Humans have been eating animals for thousands of years, but we have never consumed this much and from animals living in large-scale farms that ate incompatible diets and used drugs and hormones to stay alive and get fat. Furthermore, dairy is a new thing to humans; after all our ancestors probably never sucked on a cow or goat's nipple.
Would you suck on the nipple of a cow or goat? Humans are the only species who consume the milk from another species; milk that is intended for baby cows and baby goats! We should be drink mother's milk until we are a few years old and our mother no longer produces it, then we stop and grow up; it's that simple.
The next time you make the choice of eating meat and/or dairy keep in mind there is nothing healthy about eating these types of food. You are eating these foods for taste or other seemingly egotistical reasons like promoting musculature (these large-molecule protein do promote muscle growth but at the cost of health!), alleviating stress or satisfying taste buds.
There are also plant foods rich in protein that can replace animal foods and also initiate protein synthesis in muscles to promote muscle building; and with significantly less stress than animal proteins. There are a lot of vegan protein muscle powders, made with brown rice concentrate, hemp seed concentrate, pea concentrate and a few more if you desire more protein. And if you desire milk, go ahead and try almond milk or coconut milk which are dense in 'good' fats and clearly a healthier alternative than cow milk.
There is no rational justification for eating meat and dairy; but when you do just be honest with yourself and do some of the things that can help your body cope with the stress and harm from their consumption. The first thing that can be done is to consume foods rich in antioxidants (like green plants or colorful fruits) or supplement with antioxidants like drink mixes, wheatgrass or some of the pill-forms of specific antioxidants. Next, you can supplement with fish oil or some form of Omega-3 fat in order to initiate anti-inflammation.
But most importantly you should keep the consumption of meat and dairy to special occasions and not make it a part of your regular life. And when you do, be happy and make it worthwhile but keep it in perspective. You can eat these types of foods when you you are at a nice restaurant or someone else prepares a meal for you; just don't make these foods a regular part of your life. You now know the dangers and the truth, you can begin reducing your consumption of these foods today and by doing this you will be empowering yourself and taking control of your health.
No comments:
Post a Comment