New to the forum, need advice on what to do about my diet

[Keyhole]

I have just come across a number of threads talking about vegetarianism and how eating meat is vital... i am 18 years old and have been vegetarian for 14 years (my own choice believe it or not)... for reasons i can only describe as empathy (i have always felt very close to animals) - only recently found i have started to lose weight and have trouble putting it back on. I have completely cut soy out of my diet and stick to grains, plenty of fruit and veg and nuts. Eating meat makes me feel sick and always has... My question is, is meat 100% necessary? if so what meat? Am i finding it hard to put weight on because of the earth changes and is it telling me something?

 

[Gaby]

Welcome to the forum Elliot0verton. The answer is yes, meat is 100% necessary. No question about it. Quality matters and the unquestionably best sources of protein are found exclusively in animal foods, i.e. meats and organs. There is nothing more nutritious than animal food sources. Animal products contain all the amino acids, minerals and vitamins essential for life, except perhaps for vitamin C. But the vitamin C in meat products is more than sufficient for health as long as carbohydrates are restricted. You won’t find a single food source which is so nutritionally packed with the things we need for our bodies than animal foods. We thrive on animal fat. It is literally what made us human.

In the past, the organs and the fat were highly valued. Unless people return to the ancestral diet rich in fat and animal foods, mankind will continue to deteriorate as a species. It is arguably at its highest peak of deterioration...

We are designed to eat animal foods and benefit from their nutrients for the protein and fat they provide. Michael R. Eades, MD, author of The Protein Power, has brought to the attention of a wider public what has been known on anthropological circles for a very long time. Citing the “Expensive-Tissue Hypothesis” he explains how we didn’t evolve to eat meat but evolved because we ate meat. And what is more, eating animal foods was essential in the evolution of a larger human brain which then made us human. The Expensive Tissue Hypothesis explains how our brains became bigger at the metabolic expense of our guts, which became smaller as the brain became larger. It has worked like a charm since our gut is geared to digest animal protein and fat (unless it is messed up from a lifetime of eating carbs) and our brains are made out of a significant amount of fat. The author of the Expensive Tissue hypothesis writes :

Aiello L.C., Wheeler P. The Expensive-Tissue Hypothesis. The Brain and the Digestive System in Human and Primate Evolution. Current Anthropology 1995 Vol 36 (2): 199-221

The size of the gastro-intestinal tract is dependent on both body size and the quality of the diet. It is argued that humans (and other primates) could not have developed a relatively large brain without also adopting a high quality diet that would have permitted a reduction in the relative size of the gastro-intestinal tract. Dietary change is therefore viewed as a prime releaser in brain evolution. [...]
The change to a high quality diet, which involved increased reliance on animal products, appears to have been in place by the time of Homo ergaster (early Homo erectus). Homo ergaster has a cranial capacity of just over 800 cm3. This is about 70% larger than the av-erage cranial capacity of adult australopithecines. This marked increase in cranial capacity occurred shortly after 2.0 million years ago.

2 million years ago!! And we suddenly decided a few decades ago that it was good idea to eat less animal foods?! Now get this; it appears that 4 million years ago, Australopithecines, our species' forerunners, already was eating meat. It should not come to a surprise to learn that our brains are getting smaller and we are not near close of getting a hold of a host of cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases that are the norm as we age but also since we are born with epidemic proportions of autism spectrum disorders and ADHD. We lost our heads! Barry Groves, author of Eat Fat, Get Thin explains :

With such a small gut with which to absorb all the nutrients and energy our bodies need, a modern low-calorie, low-fat, fibre-rich, plant-based diet is woefully inadequate as an energy source for our energy-hungry system to function at peak efficiency. That lack has begun to show.

Since the advent of agriculture, there has been a worrying trend as our brains have actually decreased in size. A recently updated and rigorous analysis of changes in human brain size found that our ancestors' brain size reached its peak with the first anatomically modern humans of approximately 90,000 years ago. That then remained fairly constant for a further 60,000 years. Over the next 20,000 years there was a slight decline in brain size of about 3%. Since the advent of agriculture about 10,000 years ago, however, that decline has quickened significantly, so that now our brains are some 8% smaller. [...]

It is obvious that we need to be eating more, not less, meat and animal-sourced foods.

Essential fatty acids from animal sources -omega-6 arachidonic acid (AA) and especially omega 3s- are found in our brains. These fats are essential for our brain’s proper functioning. Fish is exceptionally rich in Omega 3s, that is, when it is not corn fed. These fatty acids make up over 90% of the fatty acids found in the brain matter of all mammal species. This is very interesting since it is strongly argued that we evolved from an Aquatic Ape with lots of sea food around.

Among the essential nutrients for our brain’s optimal functioning we have vitamins, essential fatty acids and minerals like zinc, selenium, omega 3s, etc. that are found classically in a rich concentration in sea food.

As you noticed, there are several threads on the health section including "The Vegetarian Myth" with more information on this topic. But you might want to check this article out to see how you can transition away from a vegetarian diet:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-eat-meat-transitioning-away-from-vegetarianism/#more-22792

 

[mcb]

I have just come across a number of threads talking about vegetarianism and how eating meat is vital... i am 18 years old and have been vegetarian for 14 years (my own choice believe it or not)... for reasons i can only describe as empathy (i have always felt very close to animals) - only recently found i have started to lose weight and have trouble putting it back on. I have completely cut soy out of my diet and stick to grains, plenty of fruit and veg and nuts. Eating meat makes me feel sick and always has... My question is, is meat 100% necessary? if so what meat? Am i finding it hard to put weight on because of the earth changes and is it telling me something?

As far as I know, eating meat is not necessary to survive, as long as you don't live in too hostile an environment. It may well be necessary for your brain to fully develop and operate anywhere near its potential, although any proof of that will have to come from personal experiments that you conduct. There are degrees of "being alive," and it is likely that you are missing quite a bit of what is available. There are also human predators that will take advantage of you for any number of reasons, and encourage you to eat in a way that limits your potential. It's hard to work this out when your brain is operating at a reduced level.

I would caution against changing your diet too quickly, especially after so long and from such a young age. When your diet changes, your body must make numerous adaptations. It doesn't surprise me at all that you would feel sick after eating meat, although unless you have some very rare health condition, that is more likely a reflection of the current state of your general health than any kind of statement about meat (healthy versions of it, anyway) itself.

 

[Mountain Crown]

Welcome aboard Elliot0verton

You may also wish to read the following books asap:

The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability

Primal Body, Primal Mind: Beyond the Paleo Diet for Total Health and a Longer Life

And the following threads in the diet & health board on the forum:

Life Without Bread

Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

 

[Foxx]

I have just come across a number of threads talking about vegetarianism and how eating meat is vital... i am 18 years old and have been vegetarian for 14 years (my own choice believe it or not)... for reasons i can only describe as empathy (i have always felt very close to animals) - only recently found i have started to lose weight and have trouble putting it back on. I have completely cut soy out of my diet and stick to grains, plenty of fruit and veg and nuts. Eating meat makes me feel sick and always has... My question is, is meat 100% necessary? if so what meat? Am i finding it hard to put weight on because of the earth changes and is it telling me something?

It's possible that you have low stomach acid and/or low liver/gallbladder function (I had both when I was vegan) so there may be a physical cause for why eating meat might make you feel sick. For that, taking HCL (hydrochloric acid) as a stomach acid replacement/additive might help, possibly along with digestive enzymes and/or ox bile, and/or milk thistle to stimulate bile production. There are some other possible physical causes, as well, but those are probably the main ones. But do read up on them first before starting to take them so you know what you're doing.

There could also be a mental aspect--maybe feeling guilty or disgusting for eating meat, since you've been a vegetarian for so long at started at such a young age. As our research and experimental data has progressed, humans really appear more and more to ideally be nearly or entirely 100% carnivorous ideally, function dramatically better without plant anti-nutrients, fiber, and the wrong forms of vitamins, and have no essential need for anything from plants, despite what all the mainstream world would say about such things. Realistically, taking this into consideration, it may make it easier if you feel sick from eating meat on a mental/emotional level to consume it if you realize and understand that we are, if not entirely, then primarily carnivores and that we need meat to thrive. It's possible to survive for a period of time without meat and animal fat, but this is really just depleting your internal stores of nutrients until you're no longer able to function (read "The Vegetarian Myth" for Lierre Keith's description of her falling apart from over 20 years of vegetarianism).

So, if you want to live, evolve, and think, then yes, eating meat is 100% necessary. And what meat depends on the person, but generally large ruminants that have eaten only grass (cows, sheep, goats, etc), since that's what they evolved to eat--not grain, which makes them sick, pork, and fish are the best nutritionally for us. Birds aren't as healthy, but are still healthier than being vegetarian.

To understand why all of this is the case, though, you'll really need to do the reading--"The Vegetarian Myth" (book and thread), "Primal Body, Primal Mind" (book), "Life Without Bread" thread, and the Ketogenic Diet thread. These, I think, are the bare essentials, and some other books may have additional information that you might find helpful (I also found "Deep Nutrition" to be very interesting and helpful).

Plus what everyone else said!

And welcome :)

 

[Keyhole]

thankyou for this info, its gonna have to be a gradual (and hard) process! the feeling of sickness has always been due to the emotion, not the physical as i have always loved the taste of meat. and I wasn't expecting such quick replies :) Thank you all again!

 

[Laura]

thankyou for this info, its gonna have to be a gradual (and hard) process! the feeling of sickness has always been due to the emotion, not the physical as i have always loved the taste of meat. and I wasn't expecting such quick replies :) Thank you all again!

In that case, read Lierre Keith's "The Vegetarian Myth" The fact is, there is far more death and destruction on this planet as a RESULT of agriculture than the lives lost to efficiently feed human beings. On an all-meat diet, you eat FAR LESS food than you can imagine, with much better nutrition and health.

Just read Keith first. Or find her on youtube and listen to her.

 

[mcb]

thankyou for this info, its gonna have to be a gradual (and hard) process! the feeling of sickness has always been due to the emotion, not the physical as i have always loved the taste of meat. and I wasn't expecting such quick replies :) Thank you all again!

The caution still applies. Your stomach will need to produce more HCl, the balance of your gut microbes will have to change, and any number of adjustments will be needed in your metabolic pathways, such as reducing supplies of some enzymes while increasing others. Your brain will also have to adjust to having a better nutrient supply. It takes a while -- don't rush! But read.

 

[Laura]

It takes a while -- don't rush! But read.

Exactly. Read and gather data. Don't do anything you don't understand.

 

[seek10]

thankyou for this info, its gonna have to be a gradual (and hard) process! the feeling of sickness has always been due to the emotion, not the physical as i have always loved the taste of meat. and I wasn't expecting such quick replies :) Thank you all again!

There is a nice video about vegetarian myth author, which is a interview with vegetarian myth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNON5iNf07o

 

[Keyhole]

Thank you all for being very helpful. PBPM is sat in front of me on the bookshelf and I am contemplating whether I should read it yet or not (as last two volumes of the wave I would like to finish)... I have been reading some of the threads while I was away and started eating meat when I arrived back in England, it was time. - a few pieces of bacon gradually :D Then a bit of beef in stew, or mince. Possibilities are endless! I was expecting to have some sort of stomach issues although everything has been pleasant so far. I will make sure I buy the enzymes and supplement as the meat/fat intake increases...

Currently cooking a big pot of bone broth in the slow cooker, its been on maybe 15 hours (never thought i would say that!) Im a little nervous... and excited at the same time.. I have decided that if I cannot stomach it, it can be frozen for a later date. We will see!

 

[Chrissy]

Hi Keyhole, it sounds like you've gathered more information and made some positive changes to your diet.

PBPM, in my opinion, is an excellent book and well worth the time spent reading it. It gave me a deeper understanding about how certain foods can damage our bodies and strengthened my resolve to completely avoid them. Changing your diet is a process, so take it one step at a time. Understanding why you are making the changes is very important. There will always be choices on what to eat or not eat. The more informed you are helps to make the choices easier. :)