Why You Should Reduce or Avoid Red Meat & Pork
“The bottom line is the health risks of consuming red and processed meat outweigh any benefits” ~ Donald Hensrud, M.D., Director of Mayo Clinic’s Healthy Living Program
Nutritional bandits gum up our body signals, confuse our internal conversation, create a toxic overload in the body, and rob us of our health when consumed regularly. Today we take a look at Nutritional Bandit #8: Beef and Pork.
Ethical and planetary reasons aside, there are many health reasons to reduce or avoid eating meat and pork. Research shows that “red meat” - which includes beef, lamb, and pork - along with processed products such as deli meat, ham, bacon, hot dogs, and sausage - are most dangerous when consumed frequently.
First of all, they are the most difficult of all foods for our system to digest and eliminate and they promote more aggressive behavior. They also cause the body to become highly acidic - which is the basis for all disease (Read about The Importance of Acid/Alkaline Balance).
Meat has changed since the 1950’s when farmers started started giving more and more antibiotics to their livestock to increase their weight and the farmer’s profits! This practice has nurtured bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics used by humans and then passes it on to you. In short, today’s meat can make you sick and also make it more difficult to treat that sickness.
Every time you eat meat, not only are you are ingesting bacteria, but also antibiotics, toxic chemicals, hormones and a host of other harmful substances that can accumulate in your body and remain there for years.
In addition, meats are loaded with artery-clogging cholesterol and saturated fat which increases our risk for cardiovascular disease and overall mortality, and it is even now rated as a carcinogen. It also promotes chronic inflammation which, in addition to heart disease, is linked with stroke, obesity, diabetes, impotence, arthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, and a weakened immune system. And pigs are scavenger animals and frequently contain parasites and viruses that are not killed with cooking. And processed products (ham, bacon, salami, lunch meat, etc) have high sodium content and contain harmful preservatives such as nitrates and nitrites.
“Eating less meat is crucial for a healthy lifestyle and a healthy planet… The research is clear - a diet heavy in meat increases the risk of obesity, cancer, and heart disease. But it also makes the planet sick.” ~ Greenpeace.org
Personally, I do enjoy some red meat, pork, and especially lamb - mostly for special occasions like holidays. But I ALWAYS make sure to purchase high-quality organic, grass-fed meats from a reliable source to at least reduce some of the problems associated with it. And that, my friends, is VERY EXPENSIVE, so that’s a bit of a deterrent for sure!