It’s true there are a variety of ways to be healthy but eating animal flesh and consuming dairy is not one of them. The main reason for this is that these things are not meant for human consumption. When scientists go out and study animals and classify them as herbivores, carnivores, etc. they look at the physiology of the animal and compare it to what they know herbivores and carnivores to be.
The physiology of the human body clearly shows us that we are not carnivores, but I will only focus on the digestive system in this blog for brevity. The intestinal tract of humans is really long, about 30 feet, which is great because it allows for slow absorption of sugars and nutrients from fruit. This is the complete opposite of a carnivore, which has an intestinal length more than 4 times shorter than humans. This is good for their natural flesh eating diet. With such a short intestinal length, they avoid rotting decomposing flesh in their system. The human stomach has way less acid than that of a carnivore because we don’t need to/shouldn’t be consuming raw meat. The high acid content also allows for quick digestion and absorption of nutrients for the carnivore. Humans sweat from sweat glands, while carnivores sweat from their tongue only. This is crucial when you think about how the human body gets rid of waste and naturally detoxifies. Sweat is one of the vehicles for that. While carnivores have molars that are pointy and sharp for ripping into flesh, ours is flat for mashing food. Our canines are like baby teeth compared to real canines of that of a carnivore. There is no way we could dig into the flesh of an animal with our teeth. Not to mention if we ate raw meat, we would get sick and die. So before fire was discovered, we should have died off. No! I am sure they were eating primarily fruits and maybe some plants. I was not there so I can’t say that they ate only fruits and plants. Knowing how the body tends to fight to survive, science shows proof in a variety of ways that it is possible people can put lots of stress on their bodies through diet and lifestyle choices and the body still runs. I will talk about this more later on. There is more on the differences in physiology between carnivores and humans in The 80/10/10 Diet book by Dr. Doug Graham. I highly recommend reading that book.
Now, let’s say you want to be bad and go against what nature is telling you and eat meat anyway. Let’s see what science has to say about that. Actually, this has been written about so many times that I’m actually surprised the entire world is not vegan already. You can catch up with this nice summary here on Bustle.
If you don’t believe them, you can check what the research papers have to say about:
Cancer
Heart disease
Diabetes
Weight gain
Erectile dysfunction
Hormones
Antibiotics
How to reduce the risk of sudden death
Now on to the case of us not being herbivores. This will get controversial so hold on and hear me out. The plant cell walls are known as cellulose and the human body does not have the enzymes to break the cell walls down. Cows do. They have 4 stomachs with the acid and enzymes to break down plant cell walls. Humans do not. While we may not be herbivores, we definitely do receive benefits from consuming plants raw (in juices/smoothies) without any damage to our organs. Thanks to juicers and blenders, the cell walls can be broken and we can then consume the phytonutrients and enzymes the plants have to offer. This is well known that we can’t digest fiber, which is what this is. However, fiber is good to sweep the colon clean once in a while. Also, there is healthy bacteria in our gut that feeds off the fiber.
So, what’s left…FRUITS! Delicious sweet and tart fruit. Fruit full of color that we can see (because our species has the capacity to view a full range of color) and salivate over (because who does not love seeing all that color?). Think back to a time of no fire and you’re walking through a wheat field. Does it look appetizing? You walk by a cow. Does the cow look appetizing? You walk by an orange tree. You see where I am going with this. We are naturally drawn to color and the color in fruit is the phytonutrients our body needs to work optimally. It’s the nutrients that your body absorbs and knows how to put to work so the immune system is strong and not overreacting, hair is growing and looking vibrant, cardiovascular system is clean and running smoothly, the neurological system is working properly, etc. We have opposable thumbs to peel fruit and open it. We have the right teeth to bite into it. And guess what? It is better for us raw. No heat needed. Actually, heat kills off the beneficial enzymes and bacteria. The fruit has inside of it enzymes our body needs to help us digest it. It is basically like putting a key in a lock. It is a perfect fit. Ding ding ding …WE ARE FRUGIVORES!!!!
Some people say “it depends on your genetics”. Genetics plays a huge role on your digestive system and how it reacts to certain foods, i.e. the gut bacteria you have, the foods you like or don’t like, etc. so the foods you eat will be different than the next person. However, that does not mean we should be eating non-food substances. Genetics for me manifests in that I do not like probiotic rich foods like sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi, etc. Jamaicans don’t really eat that. However, my polish in-laws love it. Sauerkraut is something they grow up eating and they eat it regularly. They love it because their pallet is used to it going back generations. So for me, I need probiotic supplements to get my microbiome balance in tact if necessary. I always tell my clients that the only way of eating that will work for them is the one they will do. This will never mean eat meat and dairy because that is not food for humans.
You may be thinking that you know several healthy people who have lived well to age 100 who ate animal products. I feel you on this. I know them too. I know Jamaicans who smoked everyday and drank alcohol daily and lived to their 90s. Some may say that’s a nice long life. The Blue Zones by Dan Buettner even talks about this when discussing centenarians. They are not vegan. However, meat is not a staple in their diet. It is consumed sparingly. The body is strong and can withstand lots of toxic substances we consume like cigarettes, alcohol, soda, etc. Our bodies are so amazing that even while we inundate it with toxic substances and put it under stress, it is always working to preserve itself. For this, we should give God thanks for this amazing gift called a body. One of the ways I give thanks is by not taking it for granted and treating it with respect by avoiding non-food substances and other acts that basically beat up my organs, like alcohol that beats up kidneys, soda that leads to obesity and puts pressure on joints, cigarettes that beat up the lungs, etc.
You have to find what works best for you but within the realm of a plant-based lifestyle – the natural diet for the human body.
OK, so I don’t want to leave any rock unturned here. You may know someone who will bring up the Bible and say that Jesus ate animal products. Besides the fact that I am sure those animals were not shot up with as many hormones and chemicals and fed corn feed and forced to be cannibalistic and eat their own, which is unnatural for them (if you don’t know what I’m talking about with this and are disgusted that cows would be fed dead cows, please do read Animal Factory by David Kirby), they did not consume the huge portions and as often as most people in developed nations are consuming now. A pound of meat was rationed to feed a family once a month or something because even in the 1950s in Jamaica, meat was expensive so I could just imagine during the time of Christ. Plus, these people had to hunt it down and clean it up for consumption. They did not have refrigerators. They did not have factory farming. So, it is not even comparable.
This is what PETA has to say about it. There was a time when people were using the Bible to justify slavery, so I don’t really use that as a metric for how I should conduct my life to be honest. I have a relationship with God, not with the Bible. When I was a youth, I read it forward and backward and asked my uncle, who is a reverend in the United Methodist Church organization, many many questions. This was all necessary for my own spiritual awareness and growth. If the Bible spoke about how to be healthy in the physical form, churches should be health havens and they are the opposite of that currently. Hopefully, PETA’s list will be sufficient for you to honor what science is saying.
So, in summary, put the meat down, pick up the fruits and vegetables and if you are ready to make the transition but want a process to follow to make it happen in a healthy sustainable way, check out my book, You Can Afford to Be Healthy.
“Not to mention if we ate raw meat, we would get sick and die” If you want to promote veganism for ethical reasons that’s fine but please don’t lie about digestion scientific facts. No we don’t die from eating raw meat, unless it is with some kind of toxic bacteria like salmonella. People consume raw meat and don’t die. Ever heard of steak tartare? Or thinly sliced meat, usually beef carpaccio. How about raw fish–sushi, sashimi?
I actually don’t advocate not eating meat for love of animals. It is solely on the grounds of health and in regards to eating raw meat, anyone that works in the department of health and sanitation in any jurisdiction knows this is risky business. You eat raw meat at your own risk. Would you go in the wild and start gnawing on a lion? Good luck with that. Would you eat a rat on the street and not get sick? What about a wild bird in the forest? I learned this basic info in a human genetics class in college at NYU. Humans cannot digest raw meat with raw blood and live a long healthy life. You can try and test it out on yourself but facts are facts.
Yes, human can digest raw meat and raw blood. Whoever taught you that humans can’t is a liar. And your example with a street rat is ridiculous. It might make one sick not because of eating raw meat, but because of the conditions the rat lives in thus pathogens it might carry. A field rat would most likely not cause any sickness. It is not the raw meat that can make us sick but bacteria or parasites, pathogens that might be on it. About raw blood, whoever told you we can’t drink it is uninformed. There are cultures where raw blood is drunk, for example Maasai in Africa drink raw blood, or a mixture of blood and milk, they also eat raw meat. http://www.thomsonsafaris.com/blog/traditional-maasai-diet-blood-milk/ Yes, eating raw meat can be dangerous, but people also can get sik form contaminated vegetables. Grains, especially rye can be infected by ergot which can cause even death. While such poisoning is almost unheard of nowadays in developed countries, it occasionally happens in poor countries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergotism#History People consume raw meat in many cultures, even in the US. Granted that rare steak or black and blue is cooked slightly, it is still virtually raw on the inside. I have eaten raw meat numerous times– I am a big fan of steak tartare and carpaccio, often when I make something from ground beef, pork, veal etc I try the raw meat and I have never got sick from it. Of course nowadays we eat food that has been inspected but that applies to grains, veggies and fruit as well. Once again if you promote veganism for ethical reasons that is fine. For health benefits, sure, why not, for some consuming less or no meat might be beneficial, but please don’t make claims that we can’t digest raw meat, or meat in general because that is a misinformation, you are not a scientist. There are cultures that are almost exclusively meat based (or used to be) for example Inuit, Mongolian and others. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/09/17/441169188/the-secret-to-the-inuit-high-fat-diet-may-be-good-genes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_cuisine
Yes, humans eat mostly cooked meat, but we can eat raw meat too. There is a risk of meat being contaminated, but that hasn’t stopped people from eaten rare steaks or burgers. Chicken and poultry in general are dangerous to eat raw or rare, pork too but beef, venison are fine. The problem is not digesting raw meat but the bacteria on it that can make us sick. Raw fish is usually safe if handled properly. Sushi is extremely popular and it hasn’t caused people to die in droves. Humans cannot digest raw meat, raw blood and live a long healthy life. “You can try and test it out on yourself but facts are facts.” Yes i have tried it. While I don’t drink raw blood I eat steak tartare quite often, especially when I visit my home country and I have never got sick from doing so. My blood work is good and I am healthy. You are probably a good person, you have good intentions, but if you want to convince someone to abandon eating meat you can talk about ethical reasons, environmental, maybe health benefits– though opinions are divided among doctors and nutritionists. However satting that you are using “scientific” arguments by saying that you heard it from a professor is not a valid argument. That professor seems to have told you many things that are not true. https://www.geek.com/news/geek-answers-why-can-animals-eat-raw-meat-but-we-cant-1593883/
Why do you feel you are more educated on this than my NYU college professor? Also, did you read this article and watch the videos and their corresponding research studies? Hundreds of years of studies, including the China Study, which was the largest nutrition study ever done shows that meat consumption leads to higher rates of diabetes, cholesterol, cancer, blocked arteries, etc.
I am not a scientist but I take my information and base my judgements on credible sources of information from scientists running studies that have not been paid for by industries that would benefit from the results and doctors actually working with patients. My knowledge comes from many sources, including:
Dr Dean Ornish
Dr Caldwell Esselstyn
Dr Joel Fuhrman
Dr Neal Barnard
Dr Greger
Dr Sebi
Vegetables have to be contaminated for a healthy person to get sick. Meat can be sterile and a healthy person will still get sick and overwhelming science shows this. Did you read this blog? Did you watch the videos? Did you read the research studies that were referenced? I don’t take information from Wiki as truth or random blogs. I go to sources I trust, which is why I am glad you question me but please do so in an educated fashion by reading the sources cited.
If you’ve eaten raw meat many times, I would highly advise you to get your arteries checked. They are most likely full of plaque. You are at risk for heart disease and stroke. Please check this with your doctor.
At the age of 9, meat eaters are already showing signs of plaque in their arteries.
Consuming less to no meat is an overwhelmingly resounding necessity for a long healthy life and this is backed by science and an increasing number of personal testimonials. Even The Blue Zones by Dan Beuttner showed this. Read my blog. I share all the books I read and the information presented and I like to read stuff from opposite sides of the debate but it is clear what the science proves just based on the numbers. People reversing issues and preventing issues all with plant based diets. I am not talking about weight loss, but rather serious diseases.
Having worked in the food industry, I know even meat eaters will agree that meat, including fish, are high risk foods and vegetables and fruits are not. They are rated high risk by the Sanitation Departments in all cities and I know this having run a juice bar for 7 years.
I honestly don’t understand why opinions can be divided on fact. Seriously, it baffles me. People just want to hear info supporting their bad habits until they get into an emergency situation and then they find their vegan friends for assistance. BTW – vegan does not mean healthy all the time. There is a difference between vegan and healthy. However, even junk food vegans have better bio markers that meat eaters.
Plus the article you shared from geek.com said exactly what I said about the food rotting inside our long intestines because it is not food for us.