Last edited, 29 May 2020.
Hi, good day to you!
We would like to encourage more people to consume greens and less animal-based foods… Simply for whichever reasons that can make better sense to you? For health, to save the ailing earth, prevent animal cruelty or, for religious reasons 🙂
The nutrients our body need, can always be obtained from a variety of plant foods, legumes and grains, that Mother Nature has provided us.
Animal protein and calcium, according to various Research, pose burden to our body’s immune system when consumed[1]. The high saturated fat and cholesterol are the leading causes for heart diseases[1].
A soybean, weight by weight, has protein two times that of meat, four times that of chicken eggs, and 12 times that of cow’s milk. And like an egg, it is a complete source of protein[2], containing all the essential amino acids needed by our body.
Protein derived from meat and milk cannot be broken down by our body effectively; and excess animal protein which remains undigested can cause allergies. Diets high in animal protein can also cause calcium to be excreted through urine and increases the risk of osteoporosis. High milk intake is associated with higher mortality. [3]
We can consider dark leafy green vegetables and some types of legumes as other sources for calcium.
There are also some important reasons milk may not be the best source for everyone: the high saturated fat content and the high levels of D-galactose. D-Galactose causes oxidative stress in our body which accelerates aging, impacts the heart, and decreases mean lifespan. [4]
Animals, also carry with them various viruses. Scientists have found 630,000 to 820,000 different types of viruses in animals! We have seen several epidemics and pandemics in recent years and, they are caused mostly from animals’ viruses (example SARS, Ebola, H5N1, H1N1, MERS),[5].
In wet markets where live animals are all cramped and caged, line with their faeces, the probability of viruses crossing the species and infect human is high [6] and, a matter of time.
There is also this thing called the prion disease. If it does not ring a bell, how about Mad Cow Disease? Or Scrapie disease?
Prion disease is not caused by virus. Neither is it caused by bacterium nor parasite. It occurs when normal prion protein, found on the surface of many cells, becomes abnormal and clump in the brain, causing brain damage[7]. Prion diseases can affect both humans and animals and are sometimes spread to humans by infected meat products.
People can get a human form of mad cow disease called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), which is fatal. And this can happen if you eat nerve tissue (the brain and spinal cord) of cattle that is infected with mad cow disease. Over time, vCJD destroys the brain and spinal cord. As of 2019, 232 people worldwide are known to have become sick with vCJD, and unfortunately, they all have died. The rendering process – cooking of dead, often disease-ridden, animals – used to make supplements for animal feed, also cannot kill the infection, and only serves to spread it[8].
The key point is, heat does not destroy prion disease. Even if the meat is cooked to 100% or beyond, one still can get infected.
An interesting read from Center for Food Safety (CFS), a national non-profit public interest and environmental advocacy organization on Mad cow disease:
https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/issues/1040/mad-cow-disease/risks-from-vitamin-supplements
With all the above risks, lets put our health as priority, start progressively to eat more greens and lesser meat.
Reference:
1 Ioannis Delimaris (2013). Adverse Effects Associated with Protein Intake above the Recommended Dietary Allowance for Adults. ISRN nutrition. doi: 10.5402/2013/126929
2 Michelfelder AJ (2009). Soy: a complete source of protein. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19145965
3 Karl Michaëlsson, professor, Alicja Wolk, professor, Sophie Langenskiöld, senior lecturer, Samar Basu, professor, Eva Warensjö Lemming, researcher, Håkan Melhus, professorLiisa Byberg, associate professor (2014). Milk intake and risk of mortality and fractures in women and men: cohort studies. BJM. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g6015
4 Cui X, Wang LN, Zuo PP, Han ZT, Fang ZY, Li WB, Liu JK. (2004). D-Galactose-caused life shortening in Drosophila melanogaster and Musca domestica is associated with oxidative stress. Biogerontology 5, 317–325 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-004-2570-3
5 Colin R. Parrish, Edward C. Holmes, David M. Morens, Eun-Chung Park, Donald S. Burke, Charles H. Calisher, Catherine A. Laughlin, Linda J. Saif, Peter Daszak. (2008). Cross-Species Virus Transmission and the Emergence of New Epidemic Diseases. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. doi: 10.1128/MMBR.00004-08
6 Woo PC, Lau SK, Yuen KY. (2006). Infectious diseases emerging from Chinese wet-markets: zoonotic origins of severe respiratory viral infections. Curr. Opin. Infect. Dis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16940861
7 Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/prion-diseases
8 U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/all-about-bse-mad-cow-disease
