Most of us have a fair understanding of what is involved with adopting a vegan or vegetarian diet. But is it what is best for our health? This blog from FFA examines both sides of this popular discussion.
A recent program on Netflix, a documentary called Game Changers in which plant-based (vegan) diets appeared to be found superior to any other diet, suggests that eating meat should be something of the past. It has been heavily criticised for being a one-sided documentary, not taking into account other ways to a healthier you. It appears to be clearly promoting the agenda of its executive producers including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan and Lewis Hamilton who all have invested and have involvement in companies to supply supplements or other products and services promoted within the documentary.
But we are not here to be film critics. In many ways it was an interesting and must watch programme, despite its lack of information on the many other ways to become a healthier version of one self. Without becoming vegan or vegetarian most people could do many things to become healthier. Different things are more or less important for each person of course, but there are 10 principles which are universally applicable for people who are thinking about adopting a lifestyle or any other diet:
1) Drink 2-3 litres of water and reduce or cut out fruit juices laden with high fructose corn syrup and sugars. Reduce or cut out fizzy drinks (diet soda’s, etc) as most of them have artificial colours, aspartame, and Bisphenol A which all raise glucose levels, overload the liver and cause one to drink more of these sugar laden drinks. This in turn is contributing to over eating and assisting the excess content to convert into fat. Drink less alcohol - a standard bottle of wine is 900 calories.
2) Eat less. Full stop! Eat to 80% full, eat on a smaller plate, create a deficit (input vs output) in order to lose weight and feel lighter. Eat less fried foods as these have a higher inflammatory effect on the body, are harder to digest and cause higher oxidative stress.
3) Eat less C.R.A.P. foods. Less carbonated drinks, refined sugar, artificial colouring, and processed foods.
4) Eat less sugary foods such as white sugar, cereals, cakes, sweets, biscuits as consumption is linked to diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
5) Eat less desserts, it takes 3 spoonful’s to satisfy our palate.
6) Eat out less in restaurants as portions are often over-sized and contain added hidden calories from sauces and sodium. We often feel we should eat it all because we have paid for it or we can indulge as it is a special occasion.
7) Move more, be more active. Less sitting down, less, screen time. Go for a walk, daily.
8) Interact more with people and get more sunlight for total wellbeing.
9) When overweight, reduce your intake of starchy carbohydrates (bread, pizza, pasta, etc) which will help you start to feel better amongst many other things and it reduces that bloated feeling too.
10) Get more and a better quality sleep and allow proper digestion. This helps reducing stress levels as well as helping to burn calories.
So the big question! Why consume animal related products or not consume them?
Why drink or not drink milk products?
Humans are the only creatures on earth who drink milk from another creature/animal and humans are the only ones who continue to make other products from milk such as cheese and yoghurt. Most animals drink from their mother for the first few months and then cease to drink milk as they have built enough anti-bodies to boost their immunity so they don’t need it.
There are more intolerances than ever nowadays, but for most humans, drinking milk in small quantities seems to be accepted. But like all food production, the process has an impact. Think about the cow or goat for a while. It often has to produce milk on an industrial scale, so for commercial milk production is boosted. This is in addition to the animals having had hormonal and several other injections to prevent them from getting ill. Then humans treat the milk further by pasteurising or homogenising which will kill the majority of goodness of the milk.
Eating or drinking something which our body doesn’t recognise will be easier parked, i.e. stored in our bodies where it can develop in an intolerance and also be stored as fat. So some people have clear and good reason not to drink milk products but the choice remains personal. It would help the environment too, yes ultimately, abstaining would help a bit.
Why consume meat products?
There are religious and many other reasons not to eat animal related products - mainly our love and compassion for animals. It is also more environmentally friendly if we consume less animals or abstain completely. Despite the injections, contamination, environment and sometimes poisons a lot of animals get exposed to, there will always be a demand for consumption. On the other side, animals have always been part of our consumption and animals possess great amino acids, all 24 essential amino acids our body needs in fact which are the essential protein building blocks for the human body to function properly. No consumption of animals means at least 4 essential amino acids our body needs are not in our body to optimise its total function, which is just over 16% - quite a bit!
We are only too aware that meat can easily be treated and conserved incorrectly, it can cause harm and it is harder to digest. Knowledge is power: know what you eat, how much you need and know how to prepare it. There are 2 sides to every argument of course - it is always down to our individual choice and beliefs. Various studies have indicated that eating meat and fish in moderation can be greatly beneficial to your health. Those following a vegan or vegetarian diet have often been found to be lacking in Vitamin B12, Zinc, Iron, Vitamin D, Riboflavin, protein and Calcium. Amongst many other benefits especially oily fish is rich in omega 3 which is superb for our body and red meat especially is a great source of iron.
Whether or not we eat animal products can also depend on other factors such as our immediate genetics, our family history, ancestors, and our DNA. If for generations your family has always been eating a varied diet including meat and fish it is likely to be harder to change this diet and to abstain from eating meat, fish and milk. If your family history is of that of a vegan or vegetarian background, then it would be easier to stick to that type of diet, and it is more likely it would be less harmful to abstain from consuming animal derived products including eggs.
In conclusion, taking the above into account, individual choice should rein.
There is no real right or wrong, but as a simple guide one could and perhaps should, listen to what our body and mind are trying to tell us. Practise trial and error and do what works for you to optimise your health. Do your own research on facts, adjust things to your eating habits, behaviour, style and desire. Adjust as our bodies change, including our activities and abilities over time, and with age. If it falls short or exceeds, adjust. If we don’t feel well after eating cheese, drinking milk, eating pork, egg or fish and if you feel you - after taking all of the things into account that matter to you - are better off not consuming it then don’t but a varied (Mediterranean style) diet still comes - given all current facts and research - closest to the best thing to follow as a so called ‘diet’ for the average human body.