Why A Plant Based Diet?

There’s a lot of arguing that goes on about whether man was designed for a plant based diet or is essentially an omnivore. To add to that pot, I recently heard a new one on a Ted Talks: man is a ‘coctivore’ – the species that cooks. It makes me laugh at times. Because whatever he (or she) is or was, let’s face it: man has proven that he will eat pretty much anything.

Are We Made For Meat-Eating?

We can look at the basics, though. It took a hell of a lot for man’s jaw to even evolve to the point where meat-eating became easier. There was one indisputable ingredient involved in that recipe too. Fire…. We figured out how to keep it going and that lead to… cooking; making meat and other things that were previously inedible due to our own physical inadequacies, soft enough to comfortably consume. Enter: the coctivore. But the bottom line is that regardless of the fact that man learned to eat meat and even had to as a matter of survival during the Ice Ages, our bodies original design was not geared towards this.

And it’s not just about teeth. When we get a manicure, we’re not exactly prepping for tearing up a wild animal. Similarly, our digestive tracts are completely prohibitive as well. The human liver has a low tolerance for uric acid, a by-product of digesting animal protein. In contrast the liver of carnivorous animals contains uricase, an enzyme specifically used to break down this acid. The stomach juices of carnivores are ten times more acidic than ours. Why? So they can more efficiently break down the high concentrations of animal protein that constitutes their diet.

Not So Fast…

As for the digestive tract, the carnivore has a short intestine so that it can quickly eliminate the acidic waste matter produced by animal protein; ours is about thirty feet of twists and turns. It’s not exactly easy in, easy out. The human digestive tract is designed so that food can pass through slowly, allowing us to fully absorb minerals and nutrients provided by fruit and plant matter. These will naturally break down and move on through our bodies at a much quicker rate than animal protein. Obviously, in the course of our ‘original design’ not much thought was given to the absurd fact that we would be passing everything and the kitchen sink through there… hell, there’s things we eat that make meat seem like a good choice in comparison.

Have you ever noticed too that carnivorous animals can eat raw meat and not get sick? Why do you think that is?

Evolution Takes Time

There is an interesting dichotomy here; many claim that the reason our brains developed to the point that we actually evolved into the intelligent species we are today (and I think you would agree that that is sometimes debatable), is as a result of cooking that essentially ‘grew’ our brains through an overabundant source of protein. Maybe that’s true but, the fact is, the rest of our bodies haven’t changed enough to handle this.

Something just like this happened with the advent of the electric light too: all of a sudden the ‘day’ could be artificially extended and whereas that might be great for ‘getting things done’ our health, as a species, has suffered for it. Sleep deprivation is one of the main causes of illness. Our bodies are just not up to it; they are supposed to be in rhythm with the earth, not responding to a switch. The human body is stressed operating outside of its naturally prescribed environment.

A Long, Hot Journey to Aging…

Enormous stress is placed on the human liver to process the excessive uric acid produced by animal proteins. The intestine is no better; the long, hot environment that the animal protein is required to pass through for digestion can actually cause meat to rot, encouraging bacteria to grow and causing toxicity mostly through  ammonia by-product of  high flesh food. Ammonia is extremely toxic to our system and its presence is associated with more rapid aging. Considering the amount of wrinkle creams sold every day in this country and the increasing use of botox, I think it’s safe to say that no one is aspiring to age.

And What About Protein…?

There’s no doubt that we need protein.  There’s also no doubt that the kind of protein we need is readily available from the amino acids in plants. The combination of plants and grains makes for complete proteins. No meat needed. The argument that animal protein is necessary to building muscle is a bogus claim. Some of the strongest, most impressive animals on earth get ALL of their protein from plants. Exhibit A: Elephants. Hippos, too. Maybe you don’t like to be compared to a hippo? OK. Well, check out our own close relatives… the great apes.

And take a look at this guy! He’s a vegan. And judging from him, we’ve got to give kudos to the plant-based diet. He doesn’t exactly look like he’s hurting for anything – least of all muscle.

Clean and Non-Toxic

Toxicity leads to aging. More than ever there is evidence that a plant based diet is optimal for health and beauty! And by beauty I don’t mean looking like Cindy Crawford but achieving your own personal best: when you put the right food into your body the reflection is good health. And that looks beautiful on everyone.

The ‘food pyramid’ is gradually becoming modified to reflect new findings and the meat industry is gradually beginning to feel it as more and more people get wise. Vegans aren’t even that controversial anymore and plant based meat substitutes are popping up all over the place. Our body works more efficiently when we’re eating a plant-based diet, flushing out toxins at a greater rate. This cleansing effect shows up in every aspect of our constitution promoting better sleep, greater energy, less illness and healthy hair, skin and nails. Whereas diets high in animal protein and dairy have been proven to contribute to a slew of health issues from headaches to cardiovascular disease, a plant-based diet contributes to our body’s peak performance.

It’s a no-brainer really. Our mom’s were right all along when they told us to eat our vegetables. Just don’t cook them all the time!