Okay, so here goes another touchy subject…meat eating. Should you or shouldn’t you? It’s good for you, it’s bad for you. On and on and on.
Now first of all, WARNING: If you are a vegan or aspiring to become one, you may wish to leave this post because this is NOT going to be a vegan-friendly post.
Yeah, I know…so am I. There is a LOT of information out there indicating that eating meat is not good for us…but at the same token, there is also a lot of information saying that it is. Not here to debate it either way, but what I am here to do is to give some pointers and tips for those of you who want to keep it in your diet without compromising your health.
Now I realize that some reasons for not wanting to consume any animal products whatsoever are based upon animal rights and feeling badly about another living creature being killed and used for food. I get that. But this post isn’t directed towards you. This post is directed towards those who may be confused due to varying opinions about whether or not it’s healthy for humans to eat animal products. So here we go.
1. Eat meat or other animal products including dairy that is organic, grass-fed (not grain-fed) and farm raised. Or even if not necessarily organic, at the very least, farm-raised in your local area at a trusted farm source. If you are limited to eating meat from unreliable sources or the cheapest you can find, then it’s probably best to just avoid it altogether or cut back on it GREATLY.
The reason is that, anything else is grown in unclean, unsafe, unnatural conditions. Animals were NOT meant to be raised in tight, compact quarters where they get no sunshine, no exercise, can’t move and are fed questionable ‘food’ items. These types of conditions make for very sick animals that are then given antibiotics as well as growth hormones. And diseased, drugged food can’t possibly be good for YOU, right?
2. Eat meat sparingly. I don’t care what the arguments may be…I don’t care what anyone says or believes…I believe that humans were NOT originally created/designed for serious, carnivorous meat consumption! We don’t have the claws for (killing) it, the teeth for ripping it apart and eating it as TRUE carnivores do and…we do NOT produce a strong enough hydrochloric acid in our stomachs to digest it in large quantities. So what this means is, when you fix your plate at dinner time or when you go to the buffet, don’t pile up a plate full of meat! Instead, pile it up full of veggies (preferably green) with roughly 20% being meat.
3. Be mindful how you prepare the meat. You don’t want to be eating deep fried this and deep fried that. Bake, stir-fry, pan sear in coconut oil or even real (preferably organic) butter – NO vegetable oil, shortening or other artery clogging trans-fats.
4. Avoid processed meat. Sausages, cold cuts, turkey bacon, etc. all fall into this category. However, if you are going to eat those types of meats, try to get them minimally-processed and without nitrates, nitrites and fillers.
5. Be sure your body is digesting and eliminating properly! This is SO important, I can’t stress it enough! You see, (too much) meat has a tendency to… “clog up the pipes”, if you catch my drift.
Many health issues stem from poor digestion. A lot of digestive issues stem from poor elimination… food we ate, that our bodies haven’t or weren’t able to digest properly, sitting and plugging up our colon. It’s evident with that tummy bulge you just can’t get rid of or worse yet, that huge spare tire’ish midsection. It’s evident in the thousands upon thousands of cases of constipation and colon cancer. So do yourself a favor, invest in a non-laxative, natural herbal colon cleanse AND a good, high quality digestive enzyme and probiotic!
Also, because gluten is one of the main culprits these days in people’s poor health as well as the inability to lose weight and keep it off, especially around the midsection, you may want to rethink coating your chicken or chops in wheat flour and instead, use a gluten-free flour, coconut flour or even almond flour.
So yes, to eat meat or not is definitely a highly controversial topic, but if you desire to keep it in your diet, hopefully these tips have helped you to do so in the most healthful manner possible!