7 Things That Happen When You Stop Eating Meat

[dynamo]

People go plant-based for lots of reasons. These include losing weight, feeling more energetic, reducing the risk of heart disease, decreasing the number of pills they take… there are dozens of great reasons!

For even more inspiration, check out these other benefits you can expect when you go plant-based.

1. You’ll reduce inflammation in your body

If you are eating meat, cheese, and highly processed foods, chances are you have elevated levels of inflammation in your body. While short-term inflammation (such as after an injury) is normal and necessary, inflammation that lasts for months or years is not.



Chronic inflammation has been linked to the development of atherosclerosis, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases, among other conditions.

In contrast, plant-based diets are naturally anti-inflammatory, because they are high in fiber, antioxidants, and other phytonutrients, and much lower in inflammatory triggers like saturated fat and endotoxins (toxins released from bacteria commonly found in animal foods).

Studies have shown that people who adopt plant-based diets can dramatically lower their level of C-reactive protein (CRP), an indicator of inflammation in the body.

2. Your blood cholesterol levels will plummet

Elevated blood cholesterol is a key risk factor for heart disease and strokes, two of the leading killers in the United States. Saturated fat — primarily found in meat, poultry, cheese, and other animal products — is a major driver of our blood cholesterol levels. Cholesterol in our food also plays a role.

Studies consistently show that when people go plant based, their blood cholesterol levels drop by up to 35% .

In many cases, the decrease is equal to that seen with drug therapy — with many positive side effects! People who require cholesterol-lowering drugs can further slash their cholesterol levels and cardiovascular risk by adopting a plant-based diet.

Whole-food, plant-based diets reduce blood cholesterol because they tend to be very low in saturated fat and they contain zero cholesterol.

Moreover, plant-based diets are high in fiber, which further reduces blood cholesterol levels. Soy has also been shown to play a role in lowering cholesterol, for those who choose to include it.

3. You’ll give your microbiome a makeover

The trillions of microorganisms living in our bodies are collectively called the microbiome.

Increasingly, these microorganisms are recognized as crucial to our overall health: not only do they help us digest our food, but they produce critical nutrients, train our immune systems, turn genes on and off, keep our gut tissue healthy, and help protect us from cancer.

Studies have also shown they play a role in obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis, autoimmune disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and liver disease.

Plant foods help shape a healthy intestinal microbiome. The fiber in plant foods promotes the growth of “friendly” bacteria in our guts. On the other hand, fiber-poor diets (such as those that are high in dairy, eggs, and meat) can foster the growth of disease-promoting bacteria.

Landmark studies have shown that when omnivores eat choline or carnitine (found in meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and dairy), gut bacteria make a substance that is converted by our liver to a toxic product called TMAO.

TMAO leads to worsening cholesterol plaques in our blood vessels and escalates the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Interestingly, people eating plant-based diets make little or no TMAO after a meat-containing meal, because they have a totally different gut microbiome. It takes only a few days for our gut bacterial patterns to change – the benefits of a plant-based diet start quickly!

4. You’ll change how your genes work

Scientists have made the remarkable discovery that environmental and lifestyle factors can turn genes on and off. For example, the antioxidants and other nutrients we eat in whole plant foods can change gene expression to optimize how our cells repair damaged DNA.

Research has also shown that lifestyle changes, including a plant-based diet, can decrease the expression of cancer genes in men with low-risk prostate cancer.

We’ve even seen that a plant-based diet, along with other lifestyle changes, can lengthen our telomeres — the caps at the end of our chromosomes that help keep our DNA stable.

This might mean that our cells and tissues age more slowly, since shortened telomeres are associated with aging and earlier death.

5. You’ll dramatically reduce your chances of getting type 2 diabetes

An estimated 38% of Americans have prediabetes — a precursor to type 2 diabetes. Animal protein, especially red and processed meat, has been shown in study after study to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

In the Adventist population, omnivores have double the rate of diabetes compared with vegans, even accounting for differences in body weight. In fact, in this population, eating meat once a week or more over a 17-year period increased the risk of diabetes by 74%!

Similarly, in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and Nurses Health Study, increasing red meat intake by more than just half a serving per day was associated with a 48% increased risk in diabetes over 4 years.

Why would meat cause type 2 diabetes? Several reasons: animal fat, animal-based (heme) iron, and nitrate preservatives in meat have been found to damage pancreatic cells, worsen inflammation, cause weight gain, and impair the way our insulin functions.

You will dramatically lessen your chances of getting type 2 diabetes by leaving animal products off of your plate and eating a diet based in whole plant foods. This is especially true if you eat whole grains, which are highly protective against type 2 diabetes.

You read that right: carbs actually protect you from diabetes! Also, a plant-based diet can improve or even reverse your diabetes if you’ve already been diagnosed.

6. You’ll get the right amount — and the right type — of protein

The average omnivore in the US gets more than 1.5 times the optimal amount of protein, most of it from animal sources.

Contrary to popular perception, this excess protein does not make us stronger or leaner. Excess protein is stored as fat or turned into waste, and animal protein is a major cause of weight gain, heart disease, diabetes, inflammation, and cancer.

On the other hand, the protein found in whole plant foods protects us from many chronic diseases. There is no need to track protein intake or use protein supplements with plant-based diets; if you are meeting your daily calorie needs, you will get plenty of protein.

The longest-lived people on Earth, those living in the “Blue Zones,” get about 10% of their calories from protein, compared with the US average of 15-20%.

7. You’ll make a huge impact on the health of our planet and its inhabitants

Animal agriculture is extremely destructive to the planet. It is the single largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and is a leading cause of land and water use, deforestation, wildlife destruction, and species extinction.

About 2,000 gallons of water are needed to produce just one pound of beef in the U.S. Our oceans are rapidly becoming depleted of fish; by some estimates, oceans may be fishless by 2048.

The current food system, based on meat and dairy production, also contributes to world hunger — the majority of crops grown worldwide go toward feeding livestock, not feeding people.

Equally important, animals raised for food are sentient beings who suffer, whether raised in industrial factory farms or in farms labeled “humane.” Eating a plant-based diet helps us lead a more compassionate life.

After all, being healthy is not just about the food we eat; it’s also about our consciousness — our awareness of how our choices affect the planet and all of those with whom we share it.

[Cardillac]

"Elevated blood cholesterol is a key risk factor for heart disease and strokes, two of the leading killers in the United States"-

this NOT TRUE!- we're supposed to have higher cholesterol levels with increasing age because the heart muscle draws on the increasing cholesterol levels in our bodies to repair itself-


one of the leading killers anyware is/are Statin drugs- my GP (smart man) refuses to prescribe them-

Larry

[WhaleRider]

About cholesterol and inflammation, this is also interesing:
Dr. Eric Berg

https://youtu.be/C6SVB99mJHA

[conk]

No discussion of meat can be of benefit until the studies account for what the animal ate. Grain fed meat is unhealthy. Grass fed is healthful. Most certainly the studies showing negative effects from meat consumption used grain fed. Just like studies that claim certain vitamins are a waste always use synthetic junk vitamins.

The debate will likely never be settled to satisfy the majority. For every case made in support of vegetarianism, there is a very good for eating meat. I think the Asian cultures have it right, using meat more as a condiment than a main item.

[onawah]

"75 percent of the grassfed beef consumed in America comes from Australia, New Zealand or Uruguay"
May 24, 2018 Organic Consumers Association by Ronnie Cummins
https://www.organicconsumers.org/blo...our-meat-comes

Consumers know if the tomatoes they buy in the supermarket were imported from Mexico. They know if the sweater they purchased was made in Vietnam.

They also know if the chicken they toss in their grocery cart was imported from another country. Under Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) laws, these products are required to carry labels that tell you if the product was imported from another country.

But beef and pork? Those products are exempt from COOL laws. That means consumers have no idea where their steak and bacon came from, unless the producer chooses to label it.

U.S. cattle ranchers say the failure to require COOL labels on beef is hurting their industry. That’s especially true for ranchers serving the fast-growing grassfed segment of the beef industry says Will Harris, president of the board of directors of the American Grassfed Association (AGA) and a fourth-generation cattleman.

The grassfed industry suffers the most because, as Harris told us:

“The U.S. leads the world in the production of grain-fed beef. This production advantage primarily exists because grains and soy are so heavily subsidized under the USDA federal farm program. Grassfed beef producers in America are unsubsidized.

“The subsidies on grain permits our domestic grain-fed beef products to be marketed below the pricing thresholds that would allow stiff competition from imported product. The big winners in the repeal of COOL are the multinational meat companies. This has allowed them to shop for meat in the cheapest markets in the world, and bring it into the best market in the world, and sell it to consumers as ‘Product of the USA,’ even though the animal had never drawn a single breath of air in the United States.”

Harris, who estimates at least 75 percent of the grassfed beef consumed in America comes from Australia, New Zealand or Uruguay, says American consumers are being intentionally misled. Millions of pounds of beef, imported from other countries, are being wrongly labeled as “Product of the USA,” Harris said.

Mike Callicrate of Ranch Foods Direct agrees. He told us that:

“U.S. grassfed producers can’t come close to competing with cost of production of South American, Australian and New Zealand imports, especially considering producers in the exporting countries are similarly being exploited, forced to produce below cost, by the same multinational packers.

“The loss of COOL was a huge hit on the cattle price, especially grassfed prices due to extremely low cost of supposedly ‘grassfed’ imports, which allow importers and retailers to make ridiculous margins.

“I just returned from a ranch tour in Argentina. They think it’s funny that most South American beef is considered ‘grassfed.’ They said that may have been true 20 years ago, but not today. Their highest-quality cattle prices were 30 percent below the U.S. at the time of my visit. South American beef has also been falsely considered organic by default.”

Ranchers and other advocates of COOL are hoping a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will help them restore COOL labels on beef—but time may be running out.

Why are beef and pork exempt from COOL labeling laws?

COOL was first established under the Tariff Act of 1930 which required that, “unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked with its country of origin.”

Over the years, COOL, as applied to meat, has evolved with a convoluted history.

Things dramatically changed in December 2008 when Canada and Mexico filed suit against America’s COOL requirements for beef and pork. After much back and forth with rulings and appeals, in May 2015, the WTO determined that the U.S. COOL requirements violated international trade law by discriminating against Canadian and Mexican livestock. The WTO also said the countries could impose $1.01 billion in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.

Soon after the WTO’s ruling, in December 2015, Congress repealed COOL and Agricultural Sec. Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA will no longer enforce the labeling law on beef and pork products. The repeal was a part of the $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill, which was signed by President Barack Obama.

The USDA justified its decision by arguing that imported beef is a product of the U.S. even if it comes from a different country, as long as the country of origin has food safety standards similar to that in America.

U.S. ranchers rise up in defense of COOL

Ever since COOL was repealed in 2015, U.S. cattle ranchers, including those in the grassfed beef industry, have been vocal on the need to reestablish the labeling law.

According to a lawsuit filed in June 2017, by American ranchers and cattle producers against the USDA and Sec. of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, millions of pounds of beef are now being imported from various countries and labeled as “Product of the U.S.A,” despite only undergoing repackaging in the U.S. The lawsuit alleges that this practice violates the Tariff Act of 1930.

While the lawsuit makes its way through the courts, Kenny Graner, president of the U.S. Cattlemen's Association (USCA), is looking for an opening in the recent NAFTA negotiations to strike a deal with Canada and Mexico that restore the labels on beef. (The WTO governs global trade, while NAFTA resolves trade disputes that erupt between only Canada, Mexico and the U.S.).

In a written statement, Graner said:

As talks continue on a modernized NAFTA, U.S. cattle producers remain disappointed in the lack of discussion on a WTO-compliant country-of-origin labeling (COOL) program. Country-of-origin labeling remains an important issue for cattle producers across the U.S. and consensus must be reached on how to best respond to consumer demand for accurate information. USCA continues to work toward truth in labeling on all fronts, and we hope the administration will do the same.

Graner cited industry figures showing that the combined cattle and beef trade deficit with Canada and Mexico tripled over the life of the agreement, from $752.1 million in 1994 to $2.259 billion in 2016.

Political commentator Tomi Lahren expressed similar concerns in a Fox News Insider report, saying that U.S. ranchers and cattle producers have been “squeezed, poked and prodded by the meat packing industry.” She went on to say:

They [the foreign beef producers and the big meat packers lobbyists] control the market. They control the price. They buy this cheap foreign beef, and your American ranchers are going under—and not because they can’t compete in quality, but because that can’t compete with mystery meat brought in from who knows where.

If the repeal of COOL is hurting the beef industry, it’s even worse for grassfed producers, Harris told us. In an email he wrote:

“I was among the earliest of the American cattle producers who embraced the grassfed protocol. I have seen steady increases for demand of this product for the last 25 years. In the last few months, I have seen most of the necessary-for-production margin premiums eroded by imported grassfed beef."

U.S. cattle producers continue to lobby to get COOL reinstated, as they believe it will help create competition in the beef market, put a stop to consumer deception, reduce market manipulation, enable price discovery and support America’s rural economy.

As Carrie Balkcom, executive director of American Grassfed Association, says:

“Consumers want to know when they go to the market that the grassfed meats they are buying are from these farms and farmers. Farmers that are restoring and regenerating their farms. Farmers and farms that are preserving and restoring their rural economies. Farmers and farms that are saving a way of life by allowing these farms to survive so the next generation can be supported.

“Feeding Americans with American products without the worry of whether or not other countries will or will not provide us with food. COOL provides these consumers with the knowledge that they are helping with these efforts. We cannot allow marketing and food conglomerates to decide what goes on a label.”

If you want to support American-grown grassfed meat and dairy, buy directly from a trusted farmer near you or look for products that bear the American Grassfed Association logo to ensure that your food is truly a “Product of the U.S.A.”

Ronnie Cummins is international director of the Organic Consumers Association, a nonprofit consumer advocacy and grassroots organization.

[onawah]

Eating Ourselves to Death
Alexandra Bruce, Forbidden Knowledge
(Some common sense info about diet, nutrition)
https://detoxestrogen.com/heart/

HEART DISEASE PODCAST
ALEXANDRA BRUCE & DR. NICK DELGADO
The Western diet is the #1 killer of Western people. Two thirds of the population of Developed countries are overweight or obese, leading to heart disease, which is the leading cause of death. We are eating ourselves into an early grave.

An environment as deadly as this is fertile ground for fad diets. We’ve been hearing a lot lately about the Keto Diet and the Paleo Diet, both of which eschew refined carbohydrates. That’s pretty much where their good ideas end, from a health perspective, according to biochemist, Dr. Nick Delgado, who joins me to dispel the nonsense coming from the current onslaught of fad diets.

From Forbidden Knowledge's email update today 6/3/18

The Western diet is the #1 killer of Western people. Two thirds of the population of Developed countries is overweight or obese, leading to heart disease, the leading cause of death. We are eating ourselves into an early grave.

This deadly environment is fertile ground for fad diets. We’ve been hearing a lot lately about the Keto Diet and the Paleo Diet, both of which eschew refined carbohydrates – but that’s pretty much where their good ideas end, from a health perspective, according to biochemist, Dr. Nick Delgado, who joins me in this podcast to dispel the nonsense coming from the current onslaught of fad diets.

here: https://detoxestrogen.com/heart/

Bulletproof Diet: May as Well Shoot Yourself in the Heart

Dr. Nick says nobody waved a magic wand and made chugging coconut oil good for you, as Dave Asprey’s Bulletproof Diet would have you believe. “People are getting it wrong. These oils are toxic. They actually deplete the body’s Essential Fatty Acids. It’s been proven in the literature!” Dr. Nick laughs at the whole idea of Extra ‘Virgin’ Olive Oil, “As if that’s somehow better.”

Keto & Paleo: Delusional Fad Diets

While the Keto Diet has been found to help control extreme cases of pediatric epilepsy, it is not a diet adults want to pursue longterm, as it contributes to the ectopic deposition of visceral fat around the organs, leading to disease – and while the Paleo Diet may be preferable to the Western diet, there is evidence that it may lead to inadequate calcium intake, due to its avoidance of legumes and whole grains.

As for the meat part of the Paleo Diet, the modern-day supply of meat and fish is laden with cancer-causing toxins that are best avoided. Besides, cavemen were lucky to make it into their 30s. What’s to emulate about that? Seriously, the digestive abilities of anatomically-modern humans are different from those of Paleolithic humans – which undermines the Paleo Diet's core premise.

As for claims that the Ketogenic Diet helps Alzheimer’s patients,
Dr. Nick reiterates that the #1 cause of Alzheimer’s is cholesterol-clogged blood vessels in the brain – due to a Western diet high in animal fats, such as the Keto Diet. He goes so far to call Robert Atkins, creator of the eponymous low-carb Atkins Diet “an idiot!”

Nutritional Health Is Not Rocket Science, Folks

It’s called the Pritikin Diet. It’s been around for over 30 years. It’s the “rabbit food” that you were always told to eat to be healthy and to maintain optimal bodyweight – until these latter-day fad diets came along to lead you astray by preying upon your food addictions.

A Word About the Addiction Crisis

There is mental health component to our heart disease-inducing obesity crisis. A vicious cycle of emotional eating, followed by the dopamine reward can lead to obesity, depression and a full-blown dopamine-driven food addiction that is completely unconscious.

The brain’s dopamine reward system is the same neurochemical cycle involved in all addictions, be they to food, sex, gambling, shopping, drugs, cellphones, etc. The more pleasure you seek, the more unhappy you get, due the oppositional neurochemistry of pleasure (dopamine) vs. happiness (serotonin).

Ideally, we want to look for ways to boost and sustain serotonin production, or a diet low in fructose (which depletes serotonin), high in L-tryptophan (a serotonin precursor abundantly available in seeds, nuts and legumes) and high in omega-3 to support serotonin transmission.

Troubleshooting the Pitfalls of the Pritikin Diet

The problem with the Pritikin Diet, is that it can seem boring and leave you hungry at first, before your dopamine receptors have been re-calibrated. A great way to create satiety with unprocessed whole foods is to eat plenty of those rich in Essential Fatty Acids, like avocados, coconuts, seeds and nuts.

A healthy balance of omega-3, -6 and -9, would come in a bowl of flax seed, chia, walnuts, almonds, cashew and Brazil nuts soaked in water overnight, drained and mixed with some blueberries in the morning. Endless studies show that these foods lower blood pressure, fight Alzheimer’s and provide the Essential Fatty Acids that the brain so desperately needs.

For optimal health, eat ten daily servings of fruits and vegetables, prepared without added oil. “The higher the fiber, the higher the starch-resistant carbs, the less the insulin resistance, diabetes, cancer and heart disease,” says Dr. Nick.

You Don't Have to Be a Food Nazi!

The Pritikin Diet may seem challenging, at first. And, really, how many people out there are prepared to be total diet Nazis like Dr. Nick, with all of those French fries and quesdillas out there? Well, if your care about your loved ones...just go easy on that stuff! You don't want to leave them widowed and orphaned...trust me on this.

The point is, we want to incorporate as much of these Pritikin principles in our diet as possible and to avoid as much of the bad stuff as possible.

There is Help!

To help ensure we get more of the organic foods that detoxify and stimulate health and vitality without the hassle, Dr. Nick has created easy-to-use whole food supplements, like:

Slim Blend Pro, an all-natural organic superfood powder and meal replacement with cleansing fiber and nutrition you can use on a regular basis to feel vital. Offering protein, fiber, essential fatty acids, probiotics, greens, fruits and algae, made with vegan, non-GMO, whole raw food ingredients, it supports healthy pH balance and healthy nitric oxide production.

Beet Vitality, Delicious organic beetroot & amino acid powder and nitric oxide booster for explosive energy, improved athletic performance, heart health, & youthful appearance.

Beet Vitality is one of the best delivery systems for nitric
oxide ever devised. Nitric oxide was named “Molecule of the Year”
in 1992 by the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, due to its importance in neuroscience, physiology and
immunology and Louis Ignarro won a Nobel Prize in 1998 for
demonstrating the cell signaling properties of nitric oxide.

Dr. Nick has a wide range of nutritional whole food supplements tailored to your specific needs, which detoxify your body from pollutants, like the xenoestrogens that you absorb from your foods and the environment. These are the highest-quality, most effective products of their type on the market today. You can learn more in our talk, linked below.