Plant-Based Diet, All the Way!

My last post centered around how I would go on a plant-based diet to see how it might help my symptoms. After doing some more research, I know that I'm on the right track. Even if it doesn't help my Parkinson's symptoms, it will certainly be a more healthy way of eating.

There are many in our society who believe that a healthy diet includes some form of meat. Indeed, my wife often said, "Where's the meat in this meal?" If you look at the FDA food recommendations, they all suggest that eating meat is a healthy thing to do. We've been convinced, primarily by our culture, spurred on by the meat and dairy lobbies, that eating meat is an essential and necessary part of our diet.

But is it really?

Now, I've heard people say in response to my pronouncement that I'm going plant based, something along the lines of "I could never give up meat, or cheese, or eggs."

Let me, in all sincerity, ask you: even if it would save your life? Even if you suffer a heart attack? Are you aware that heart disease has been proven, not merely speculated, but proven to actually be REVERSED when people go on a plant-based diet?

Here's the truth of the matter. Heart disease and cancer are our number one and two, respectively, killers in the Western world. In places that haven't yet adopted a Western diet, like Kenya, they have a near non-existent death rate of heart disease and cancer. Study after study, as a matter of fact, every single study ever done on this topic, were talking clinical controlled studies, all show without exception that anyone who eats meat has a much, much higher chance of cardiovascular disease and cancer than those who are on a plant based diet. There are no studies anyone can point to that show that eating meat has a lower risk of heart disease and cancer. The studies that purport to do so are ones funded by the meat and diary association, and are relative to a much worse diet. But anytime eating plant-based is compared to eating animal products, the result is always the same: a marked absence of heart disease and cancer rates in those eating plant-based diets.

I don't care how much you like cheese, eggs, and a steak. Is it really worth the risk of dying earlier than you would have? Do you seriously want to indulge in those things knowing you'll most likely be leaving before your grandchildren or great-grandchildren are born? What exactly are you willing to sacrifice to stay eating meat, dairy, and eggs?

Now, I understand. Sometimes, due to eating necessity, one must eat some meat or other such bad thing. But more and more I'm loathing doing so. That's because I know what it is doing to my body. This past week, my daughter and her family were staying with us. We had a great time. Still, I was forced to eat stuff I would not normally eat. And I could tell the difference. Sugar out the ying-yang. Processed foods containing who knows what. I drew the line at drinking real milk (otherwise known as a pregnant cow's estrogen-laden party). But I felt the differnece in my body. My Parkinson's symptoms even got worse. So much so that I had to turn my left side up one notch on my DBS controller because my left hand felt stiffer than it had.

Now my diet isn't perfect by far. That said, I always recall Dr. Gregor's advice about eating meat on occasion: when you eat some meat, it is like kicking your shin against something, hurting it. Left alone, it will heal in time. But if you keep kicking it over and over again, three times a day, it will never heal, only get worse.

I can hear someone say, "But grandpa lived to be 120 years old smoking and eating eggs and bacon every morning."

One can always find an exception to the rule. The question is, are you willing to bet your life that you will be one of the few, one of the rare cases when it doesn't affect you? That is a serious question. If you are willing to die of a heart attack, cancer, or deal with diabetes, eat that steak, gouge on those eggs. That is the sure route to end up later in life with a heart attack, cancer, diabetes, or all three.

As a matter of fact, the evidence is so overwhelming that eating meat and dairy will kill you, the Surgeon General should force meat and cheese producers to put a warning on all their products that eating this can cause you to die early of a heart attack or cancer. He did if for cigarettes, he should do it for meat and dairy. Because that's how serious this is. Lung cancer from cigarettes is minimal compared to the cancer risk from eating animal products day in and day out.

But he won't because the meat and dairy lobbies are too powerful and entrenched. But that is what should happen if we seriously followed the science.

God created us herbivores, not omnivores.