|
|
|
|
The Dangers of Meat "The Department of Agriculture's promotional poster used to list milk as the first group and meat as the second. Grains got a group, and fruits and vegetables had to share a group. Because livestock products were assigned two of the four groups, menus developed under this plan were often loaded with at and cholesterol. This is how an entire generation learned to eat, and how they, in turn, raised their children. The results are tragic. There are 4,000 heart attacks every single day in this country. The traditional four food groups and the eating patterns they prescribed have led to cancer and heart disease in epidemic numbers, and they have killed more people than any other factor in America. More than automobile accidents, more than tobacco, more than all the wars of this country combined." Neal Barnard, M.D. Dr. Paavo Airola, a Nutritionist, warns that excessive protein contributes to toxemia, excessive acidity, nutritional deficiencies, uric acid accumulations and putrefaction in the intestines. An over- abundance of protein also contributes to arthritis, kidney disease, atherosclerosis, cancer, osteoporosis, heart disease, schizophrenia and even pyorrhea, which is the inflammation of the sockets of the teeth leading to loose teeth and eventually tooth loss. Heavy consumption of protein lowers life expectancy and leads to premature aging of the body. Although animal protein is the most devastating to the body, too much vegetable protein can also cause problems. Many vegetarians have gone heavy into the soybean-based meat analogs only to discover that the high protein in the analogs cause many of the same problems as the meat! The body does need protein, but it needs to be in a form that the body can assimilate and in much lower quantities than previously thought. Recent studies have shown that less than 20 grams of protein daily is sufficient for the human body while the average American consumes over 100 grams per day. A diet too high in protein, especially animal protein, actually causes calcium loss from the body. Consumption of animal products make the body too acidic, so the body robs the bones of calcium (an alkaline mineral) to help neutralize this excess acidity. We are told to drink milk (cow's milk, of course) for calcium, but numerous studies have consistently shown that cultures with the highest consumption of meat and dairy products have the highest occurrence of osteoporosis, which is loss of calcium from our hones. Consumption of animal products is the primary cause of osteoporosis! Protein is composed of many small components called amino acids. There are 22 known amino acids and of these, eight are considered essential (meaning that these eight amino acids are not produced by the body and must be obtained through our diet). The body must have all 22 amino acids in order to function properly. The body utilizes protein for maintenance and repair. What is left over may be stored as fat; however, excess protein also gives off toxic waste which causes burdens for the kidneys, liver and all other waste-removal organs. What few people realize is that when meat is cooked (heated above 160 degrees), the protein molecules are altered, thus rendering the protein basically unusable by the body. Because the body cannot use the now-altered protein properly, it rots in the digestive system. This creates many problems for the body's defense mechanism. As the body tries to deal with it, the colon often becomes irritated and infected as it tries to eliminate the dead animal flesh and the toxins it contains. When we look at the way God created man, we find the anatomy of man was not designed to consume flesh foods. Carnivores (meat eaters) have teeth and claws designed by God to rip and tear animal flesh. The human body has teeth designed for grinding, not tearing. Our jaws move up and down as well as side to side which a flesh-eater's jaw cannot do. Flesh-eaters also have a high hydrochloric acid content in their stomachs to break down and digest flesh, while humans do not. The digestive tract of the flesh-eater is short and designed to get the flesh out of the system before it has a chance to putrefy. The digestive tract of the humans is long (about 26' long or about four times longer than that of flesh-eaters) with many twists and bends, which produce monumental problems for the colon when flesh foods are consumed. The flavor in meat is derived from the blood and uric acid (nitrogenous waste) within its flesh and other tissues. The uric acid causes tremendous problems for the body, burdening the liver and kidneys as these organs try to deal with all of the toxins contained in meat. The increased consumption of flesh foods can be directly related to the deterioration of the health of the American people. Sadly, we in America have been taught that eating flesh foods is required to receive our protein and for proper nourishment. For a Biblical account of the benefits of a vegetarian diet, see Daniel 1:11-20. Contrary to popular opinion, a vegetarian diet provides sufficient and complete protein. As Dr. Malkmus often asks in his lectures, "If man has to eat the flesh of the cow for protein, what does the cow eat to produce that protein?" And of course, the answer is grass! The protein by which God designed our bodies to be sustained is the living protein found in plants. Protein is found in all green leafy vegetables and, in fact, in all living plants. At one time it was thought that to obtain complete protein, foods would have to be carefully combined. Frances Moore Lappe, the woman who helped popularize the myth that vegetables must be properly combined in order to obtain complete protein in her 1971 book, Diet for a Small Planet, has admitted this premise was incorrect. Even the American Dietetic Association now says you get more than enough protein by simply eating a variety of plant foods. Although public opinion may take a long time to change, there is practically no controversy on this subject among the experts with the most up- to-date information. Nearly all of these experts now agree it is not necessary to "complement your proteins," neither do you have to consume foods from all the food groups at each meal, and you certainly don't have to eat meat to obtain sufficient amounts of protein. Not only is meat consumption unnecessary for protein, this meat-eating habit is killing us! It should be noted that animal products are the only source of bad cholesterol (LDL) in the diet. The main reason approximately 50 percent of all Americans die of heart disease and strokes is that their arteries are clogged up with cholesterol. People who do not eat animal products practically never have a cholesterol problem. Neal Barnard, M.D., President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, reports: "The beef industry has contributed to more American deaths than all the wars of this century, all natural disasters and all automobile accidents combined." And consider the unclean nature of dead animals. When meat is butchered at the slaughterhouse, meat inspectors only have 12 seconds to check inside the dead animal for grubs, parasites, abscesses and disease. A meat inspector is required to check approximately 300 carcasses per hour! Many people are unaware of the cancer growths in animals which must be cut out prior to being sold to the consumer in the supermarket. As these diseases in cattle and poultry become immune to the drugs being used to control them, it is necessary to develop ever stronger and more deadly poisons. Some who have been convinced of the need to avoid red meat unfortunately believe poultry and fish are a healthier choice. Not so! Chicken contains the same cholesterol pound for pound as beef. Plus, it is often contaminated with salmonella and loaded with growth hormones. Is this what we want to feed our precious families? Recent tests have shown that over 50 percent of marketable codfish have been found to have cancer. Fish has been shown to have twice the cholesterol of pork or beef to say nothing of the pollution in our lakes, ponds, streams, rivers and oceans where they swim. Another serious problem with all animal products is that they contain zero fiber. The lack of fiber in meat, dairy and eggs leads them to rot in the colon, causing constipation, body odor and colon problems. It is the fiber, which can only be found in plant life, that acts as an "intestinal broom" to keep our colons clean. Green leafy vegetables and succulent fruits are the primary foods needed to feed the human body. They are also the most healing foods God has given us. Watch an animal when it is sick and you will find that the only thing it will eat is grass. Why? The grass contains enzymes, vitamins, proteins, organic minerals, chlorophyll, antioxidants, and much more. Dr. Malkmus and I use a product called Barleygreen with amazing and exciting results. The original diet God handed down to mankind in Genesis 1:29 was raw fruits and vegetables only! This is the diet that allowed man to live an average of 912 years prior to the flood without a single incidence of recorded sickness. And this is the same diet we are finding today that will restore us to health if we are sick and give us wellness like we have never experienced before in our lives. It is important to note here that even after Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit and were banished from the Garden, the Scriptures indicate that even after the fall, man continued on this raw fruit and vegetable diet and lived an average of 912 years without a single recorded incident of sickness. It was not until after the Flood, when meat and cooked food were added to his diet that man started to experience physical problems. Following the flood in Genesis, Chapters 7 and 8, meat was added to the diet of mankind. In Genesis 9:3, man began eating flesh and cooking his food. As a result of this dietary change, sickness entered the human race and man's life span drastically declined from an average of 912 years before the flood to l 00 years by the end of the Book of Genesis! Dr. Malkmus' theory on this subject, which makes perfect sense, is that meat was added to the diet of mankind at that time because God was very displeased with the wickedness of man and felt that it was not good for man to live on the earth for 900 years. For example, Genesis 6:5-6 states: "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." We must also understand that meat eaten in Biblical times was literally a different animal than the meat being eaten today. Wild animals eaten during Biblical times were only about 3 percent fat. Beef, the way it is grown today is 20 to 30 percent fat, while pork is 40 to 60 percent fat. And the meat of our Biblical forefathers was not full of cancer, antibiotics, growth hormones, preservatives and chemical toxins from feed. It is also interesting to realize that in most cases, the word "meat" in the Bible does not have the same meaning as the word "meat" does today. In 1947 Rev. V. A. Holmes-Gore took on the task of looking up the original Greek Text that referenced the word "meat" in the King James Version of the Bible. The following is what he discovered: Greek - number
of references - translation Not one of these 19 references translates to the common usage of the word "meat" as we have been taught.
|
