
Most people don't think of food as being HARMFUL. We think if the food we are eating is 'bad", we would become sick immediately after eating it. You know, like the child that went to the fair and ate too much cotton candy, fried dough and hot dogs, (UGHHH, please never eat hot dogs), then rode the Ferris wheel and felt sick.
What you might not realize is that many of the foods you eat without suddenly feeling sick can be quite risky. Meat, poultry, fish, seafood, milk and eggs are a slower type of toxin, but they are every bit as dangerous as the ones that let you know right away that you made a big mistake by eating it. You may never suspect these foods as the culprit when you become ill with heart disease, cancer, or inflamed joints as long as four decades later. Because these illnesses do not happen overnight, people are fooled into believing the foods they are eating are perfectly safe, and worst of all, they believe they are HEALTHY foods. In fact, the overabundance of protein, fat and acids in these foods will lead us down an extremely dangerous path from the moment we take the first bite.
Imagine this...what if the effect of our food choices were instantaneous? What if eating a plate of fried eggs and bacon caused excruciating chest pain? Or, a person suffered from a stroke and paralysis followed by a prime rib dinner--a cancerous lump appeared a week after eating a grilled cheese sandwich--would a person continue to eat those foods?? I highly doubt it. If these effects came quickly enough that we EASILY SAW the effects of these foods, we would recognize animal products as the culprit and feel the serious risk they pose. Because the effects are not immediate, and because the meat and dairy industries "feed" us all kinds of misleading information, most people have no idea their health is DIRECTLY related to what they are feeding themselves.
Choices about what we eat aren't very different from other lifestyle choices. If smoking a pack of cigarettes was followed by a week on a respirator, or drinking a bottle of gin caused instant liver disease and coma, few people would make the choice to use these toxins. But, choose them they do, because although they may have some effects, the pleasure that people get in the moment wins out over the damage that comes later. With tobacco and alcohol, the risks are universally understood--we all know the facts. However, with food choices....not so much.
Meat, poultry, fish, seafood, cheese, milk and eggs on the other hand, are widely considered an essential part of a healthy diet. Most people eat these risky foods believing that they are nutritious and life sustaining. They may know that too much fat or cholesterol, or too many calories is not healthy, but that doesn't stop them from eating those foods. Some people believe the "leaner" versions of their favorite foods are a healthier choice. What they don't consider is how dangerous these foods are to our body. Unfortunately, we have been misled by medical doctors, dietitians and advertisements bought by the food industries. It's not a conscious effort to harm us and our families, (although they KNOW the harmful effects their foods cause), it's "just business" to them. Bottom line--they are out to make MONEY. If people will buy it, they will provide it. Period.
In countries where people eat vegetables, fruits, beans, whole-grains, potatoes, corn, rice, and very little or no animal products whatsoever, there is no heart disease, strokes, cancers, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, and the rest of the chronic medical conditions we have in this country. We are eating ourselves into our graves--or, worse yet, we are going through life suffering from the symptoms of these serious diseases. I see this first-hand everyday in the medical practice I work in--never mind the people in their 70's and 80's with all kinds of medical complaints, but people now in their late 20's coming in with high blood pressure and heart disease...or people in their 30's, 40's, and 50's with a whole list of issues and medications to go along with them.
I am here to tell you IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY!!! Cut off the CAUSE of the problem, and the problem GOES AWAY. Eat the foods your body truly needs--vegetables, fruits, beans, whole-grains, nuts and seeds, and get rid of the food that is the MAIN CAUSE--animal products--and you can truly have a life free from all kinds of diseases.
My goal is not necessarily to live to be 120 years old, but to be as healthy as I can be without relying on doctor visits and medications. I plan on running well into my 70's and 80's, (don't laugh, there are hundreds of people this age out there doing this everyday) with my grandchildren. I want to be the grandmother running around and playing with them...jumping off the diving board and teaching them how to swim, ride bikes, and play sports.
I will not be the grandmother in a rocking chair watching my grandchildren out the window...I will be the person they are trying to keep up with!!