Sunday, October 28, 2012

Reasons to eat more plant-based foods

Seven reasons to eat less meat and more plant-based foods

Not all of us have the same genetic composition or body type. But even so, most of us do well as vegetarians. Not everyone does well with grains, and some of us need or want dairy while others need or want some meat.

Ayurvedic practitioners are usually experts at determining what foods you should eat, and some western health practitioners, whether physicians, chiropractors, or naturopaths have devised methods of their own to determine just what type of diet you should have.

Not all of us can or should be totally vegan, abstaining completely from meat, eggs, or dairy. But most agree that nutrients from greens are extremely vital, and the food you eat should be real and wholesome, which brings us to the first area of selectivity - commercial meat.


Seven reasons to eat no commercial meat and more plant-based food

(1) Commercial meat is factory farmed or CAFO (confined animal food operation). That livestock is cruelly treated and forced into tortuous slaughterhouses that inspire decades of artist renderings of hell. None of this should be supported for obvious humane reasons.

Before their tortuous demise, livestock are crowded into confined, disease breeding spaces and constantly injected with antibiotics and/or GMO growth hormones, all of which get passed on to you when you eat their flesh.

They are force fed grains when they should be grazing on grass or at least eating hay. Those grains are usually genetically modified and overly sprayed with herbicides and pesticides, all of which gets passed on to you too.

So in addition to contributing to obscenely cruel animal treatment, you are contributing to your own bad health.

Select only meat, dairy products, and eggs from farms that don't use CAFO practices but allow their livestock to roam in open areas and graze on their natural diets. This eliminates cruelty and allows the real unadulterated health benefits of meat, eggs, and dairy to get through to you.

(2) Since it takes 100 pounds of grain feed to produce a pound of meat, that much more grain would be available for feeding humans if its not genetically engineered or GMO. Less meat eating allows more soil to be used for plant-based foods while causing less water and soil contamination. It's simply more ecological.

(3) If you buy non-GMO organic bulk grains and dry legumes, you'll get plenty of healthy nutrients and sufficient protein at a fraction of the price of meats. (http://www.naturalnews.com)

(4) Plant-based nutrients provide protein by surrendering essential amino acids that allow your body to form complete proteins. Breaking down complete proteins from cooked meats demands a lot of metabolic enzyme production, straining your pancreas to the point of exhaustion.

Metabolic pancreatic enzymes are proteins strong enough to penetrate and destroy free roaming cancer cells before tumors are formed. You need them for that, and therein lies a reason why heavy meat eaters are more prone to cancer. (http://www.naturalnews.com/031411_cancer_prevention.html)

(5) Most of the industrialized world is magnesium deficient. Magnesium is involved with over 300 metabolic processes in our bodies. Fresh, organic greens are a good source of magnesium.

Even unadulterated meat and raw dairy from grass fed cows can help pass on some magnesium from their consumed chlorophyll.

When it comes to dairy, don't bother with pasteurized products. They are food-like substances and not real food after their enzymes and major nutrients are cooked out. Try to get raw dairy or don't bother.

Meat from antibiotic injected CAFO cows as well as GMO grains or soy destroys your friendly gut bacteria. This intestinal flora is essential for your digestion, and it's a major part of your total immune system. (http://www.naturalnews.com/033094_gut_health_brain.html)