Ok I’m going to begin this logically with an open mind.
First of all, it is scientifically proven that meat is harmful to the human body.
It is highly acidic which causes an imbalance in our pH level which increases toxins in our system which increases weight gain, cellulite, acne, poor digestion, bloating, disease, etc. (Check out the dairy page for more details)
The ideal human blood pH level should be from 7-8
Animal protein is the hardest food group to digest. It takes on average 34-42 hours to digest which is THREE days!
As if it wasn’t acidic enough, it sits in our digestive tract rotting, releasing MORE toxins and creating a very sludgy and acidic environment in our gut. It creates a wall of sludge over the villi in our intestines so we can’t absorb nutrients sufficiently and always end up wondering, why am I still hungry even though I just ate?
It creates an acidic environment when we eat it, and pertains this acidic, toxicity for days while it ferments and putrefies in our small intestines. This means that whatever we then eat for the next couple of days will not be able to be broken down properly as we need an alkaline environment to digest food – and on top of this – it will get logged back behind this ‘traffic jam’ as Kimberly Snyder analogises it, unable to digest, and THAT fermenting AS WELL.
Oh. My. God. Boy, did we have it wrong when we thought we needed to eat meat to survive. Yes, maybe we did when we were in the ice age and there were no plants growing but this does not mean it is optimal health.
“But you need protein and iron.”
Oh gee this really is such a myth. Worse than a myth in fact because even mythology has some metaphorical relevance to it. This ideology that we need meat is just down right silly.
First of all, we don’t really get any iron or protein from meat. Look at how long it takes to digest. Taking into consideration that digestion takes up 80% of the body’s stored energy which requires our minerals and enzymes, imagine how much digesting this meat drains us of nutrients?
Unlike plant protein, animal protein has NO fibre what so ever. How on earth can this be good for digestion and absorption?
The amino acid chains are completely different to the amino acid chains our body recognises to break down. So, our enzymes have to sit there and rearrange the whole bloody amino acid chain just to use it – and by the time that happens – you would have been better off not consuming the meat at all – you probably lost more nutrients in the process than what you gained.
Also, what is this trend and raving on about protein? Our bodies don’t even use protein, per se. It uses amino acid chains to build it’s own protein. So surely, wouldn’t we be better off consuming the most digestible source of amino acids? Dark leafy greens are absolutely PACKED with them. If you eat dark greens every day you wouldn’t have to worry about protein. Period. (I’m not even American.)
My vanilla take on Kimberly Snyder’s GGS: dark leafy greens are PACKED with amino acids – the building blocks of our protein!
Beautiful hemp seed pate – kale wrap
Avocado & Basil pesto sauce on steamed broccoli and spiralised zucchini, carrots, & bell peppers – I don’t know why – but it tasted like pesto pasta!
Try my meatless, cruelty free, puss free, dairy free, oil free, salt free, spaghetti bolognese – “Mm, it tastes like Domio’s Bolognese pasta sauce!” – my flatmate
Protein is absolutely packed into the vegan way of living, anyway – and so is iron for that matter. Just to name a few…
Sea vegetables like seaweed, kelp, dulse, nori, spirulina, chlorella, etc are absolutely packed with amino acids, and many more benefits which I won’t go into now.
Quick’n’easy vegan sushi with sea kale + nori + dulse
Nuts and seeds have more than enough protein.
Soaking and dehydrating my nut mix for one of my nutella recipes
The superseed – chia seeds – are A COMPLETE SOURCE OF PROTEIN [contains all nine essential amino acids] WITH THE PERFECT RATIO OF FATTY ACIDS (Omega 3: Omega 6).
My go-to super seed mix
The even more super seed of the marijuana plant – hemp seeds – are also A COMPLETE SOURCE OF PROTEIN – and in my opinion is the best source of protein for human kind – as they provide 25% RDA protein in just ONE TBSP along with 16% RDA Iron, 48% RDA Magnesium, 23% RDA Zinc, and fibre. The key thing about hemp seeds is that the protein they provide is 60% Edestin – the ‘backbone protein’ of our DNA.
Alkaline grains such as raw oat groats (my favourite!), raw buckwheat groats, quinoa, millet, and amaranth are all high-carb-low-fat grains which provide an enormous amount of protein and are delicious and UN bloating unlike the regular wheat products such as ‘healthy’ wholegrain pasta, etc.
Quinoa-brown rice sushi
Nutritonal yeast, a type of yeast grown from fungi, is also amazing as it is 50% protein and adds a thick, creamy texture with cheesy, nutty flavours to your food. Could the vegan diet get any better?
Cheesy Zucchini Boats
It would also be beneficial for you to note, if you do not know already, that too much protein is actually very unhealthy as it causes an acidic environment when it’s on overload. We should back up from protein a bit here. Society has conditioned us to believe that we need so much protein to the point where we have forgotten about the other essential food groups like complex carbs, vitamins, minerals and enzymes.
There are tons of studies that have clearly demonstrated the adverse effects animal protein causes to the body, such as calcium loss, cancer, increased bone fractures, diabetes, cholesterol, heart attacks, and many more. It saddens me that human beings on this planet would actually condition their fellow human beings to believe they need animal products to live optimally healthy when the fact is the exact opposite.
WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION: We only need 2.5% of our daily calorie intake to come from fats and protein in order to flourish, anyway! Anywhere between 2.5% and 10% is our optimal range – which is what high carb foods naturally contain anyway! (fruits, vegetables, potatoes, rice, oats, gluten free pizza/ bread)
If you have the audacity to eat meat, you should have the audacity to know where it’s come from:
But on a brighter note, by consuming less meat, we are thriving and flourishing! Not just us, but our planet and animal life too.
1/2 of all water in the US goes towards animal breeding on farms for human consumption.
1/3 of all water on the PLANET goes towards animal agriculture.
It takes 2400 gallons water to produce 1 pound of meat versus just 25 needed to grow 1 pound of wheat.
Just one quarter pound burger = 660 gallons water!
COWSPIRACY: The Sustainability Secret
If every American cut one serving of chicken per week from their diet it would be the same amount of CO2 emissions as taking 500,000 cars off the road! – not to mention all of the Global Greenhouse Emissions (*Why Dairy Free?*)
1 calorie of animal protein requires 11 times as much fossil fuels as 1 calorie of plant protein.
Farm breeding takes up 30% of landmass (about the same size as Asia!?)
So for every person who turns vegan, for every person who cuts back on meat, for every serving that is deducted from someone’s weekly diet, the demand for meat is decreasing, the CO2 emissions caused by transporting dead animal meat is decreasing, and these innocent animals are being left alone.
The world is transforming for the better with our conscious changes. We might not realise because we can’t see them from our standpoint right away, but it’s all happening, right now.
olympiaconsciousliving 