Animal Foods
Busting common and uncommon myths about animal foods that are unjustly vilifying their consumption.
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Monogastric animals, such as poultry, pork, and farmed fish, struggle to convert low-quality feed into essential nutrients, leading to excess omega-6 in their fat. Despite the stable consumption of ruminant meats like beef, lamb, and goat, they unfairly receive the blame for the unstable rise in chronic disease. The increasing consumption of omega-6 rich monogastric animals (Poultry, Pork Farmed Fish), nuts, seeds, and oils has not received adequate attention for their role in chronic disease. This prompts questions about the motives of various entities advocating for reduced red meat consumption, including media, studies, governments, Netflix documentaries, and foundations. It's evident that we need to critically assess our information sources, especially considering the fitness and independence from pharmaceuticals observed in people living in the 1950s. While the practices of that era weren't flawless, adopting some of their approaches, such as a robust intake of ruminant meat like beef and and drastically lower consumption of fowl, swine, farmed fish, nuts, seeds and oils could lead to greater success. Ruminant meat offers a complete protein profile, rich vitamin content, and diverse minerals, surpassing vegetables gram for gram in nutrient quality. It's worth noting that while grain-fed beef provides bioavailable protein, Its fat may carry more fat soluble toxins from the feed. Draining some of the excess fat away may alleviate this concern.
What impairs the proper digestion of animal proteins?
Impairment #1 Zinc Deficiency may result from consumption of foods high in phytic acid such as grains, nuts, seeds and legumes. Phytic acid chelates zinc in the digestive tract reducing absorption in the bowel. Corn and corn products are among the worst dropping zinc absorption to near zero. Zinc serves as a cofactor for the enzyme carbonic anhydrase that plays a role in the conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) into bicarbonate ions (HCO3-) and hydrogen ions (H+). These are required for the parietal cells of the stomach to produce stomach acid.
Impairment #2 Iodine Deficiency may result from inadequate consumption of seafood and coastal foods. Iodine is essential for T4 to T3 conversion, inadequate T3 levels can give rise to surges in cortisol that can affect sleep quality and severely impact stomach acid production. Stomach acid production is essential for proper digestion of protein and secretion of enzymes and bile. Potassium Iodide supplementation may be beneficial for those far from coastal regions who do not consume seafood.
Impairment #3 Sleep Disturbances can inhibit stomach acid secretion through various mechanisms. It can dysregulate the HPA axis, activating the sympathetic nervous system, initiating the release of stress hormones that inhibit release of gastrin, a hormone that stimulates stomach acid secretion. These disruptions in circadian rhythm, affect the timing and regulation of stomach acid production, contributing to indigestion and acid reflux, affecting nutrient absorption.
Impairment #4 Lack of Physical Activity that helps stimulate gut motility through the digestive system, encouraging stomach acid secretion.
Impairment #5 Choline Deficiency may affect bile flow leading to a backup of contents in the small bowel. This can lead to bacterial overgrowth and malabsorption of fats. Without the energy from the fats ingested we slowly lose capacity for normal gastric emptying. Food sits for longer in the stomach and the body naturally reduces acid as to not burn through the mucosal layer. If this inhibitory process continues it can result in SIBO and chronic illness. Animal foods are the only significant source of choline and if they are not consumed the body must synthesize it on its own, using vast amounts of energy and S-Adenosyl-Methionine a valuable component of the methylation cycle that could be put to much better use elsewhere in the body.
Impairment #6 Low sodium or potassium levels can affect stomach acid production. Sodium helps by transporting chloride ions. Inside stomach lining cells, a protein moves chloride ions in and exchanges them for bicarbonate ions. These chloride ions then combine with hydrogen ions to create hydrochloric acid. Potassium chloride may be used as a salt substitute or as supplementation.
Impairment #7 Helicobacter Pylori survives in the stomach by secreting urease, an enzyme that converts urea to ammonia. The produced ammonia neutralizes stomach acidity, creating a more hospitable environment for the bacterium. Consequently, the stomach's ability to inactivate pathogens and properly break down food is compromised. As the population of urease-secreting H. pylori increases, acidity levels drop, leading to reduced production of critical digestive enzymes by the liver and pancreas. This can result in bacterial overgrowth, peptic ulcers, stomach and other cancers. The decreased acidity also causes excess fermentation, leading to the opening of the esophageal sphincter with hydrogen gas, resulting in heartburn. Lactobacillus Pylopass, selected from 700 other lactobacillus species, can be used to bind and eliminate H. pylori, a gram-negative bacteria linked to endotoxemia, potentially resulting in fewer side effects compared to simply killing the bacteria.
Many other pathologies can affect the production of stomach acid, its important to speak with someone who can help you find out why.
Now, let's debunk some common myths used to vilify the consumption of red meat:
Myth 1: Red Meat putrefies in the intestinal tract. This would be indicative of a serious problem in the digestive tract rather than suggesting that red meat is difficult to digest. Any combination of the 7 factors we discussed in the earlier section of this page may contribute to a difficulty to digest but rarely putrefaction. Those who have undergone surgery to remove portions of their colon and utilize a colostomy bag will know that any meat consumed is dissolved first by their stomach acid as the only thing they see left in their colostomy bag is undigested vegetable matter. Real accounts of meat putrefaction are almost entirely in the context of an autopsy where there is good reason to see undigested food of all kinds.
Myth 2: Neu5GC in red meat, causes enough damage to warrant elimination from the diet. Neu5GC, a sialic acid in red meat, is linked to potential inflammation and disease in some studies. However, these studies often overlook other important dietary factors like processed foods and seed oils. Neu5GC may disrupt cell membranes by replacing a similar sialic acid in the body Neu5AC. Grass-fed beef tends to have less Neu5GC. And even if consuming grain-fed beef our bodies use antibodies and immune cells to clear Neu5GC. Since red meat provides crucial nutrients that are challenging to obtain elsewhere, this more than compensates for concerns about Neu5GC allowing us to keep the body clear of all kinds of inflammatory substances.
Myth 3: Red meat increases Tri-Methylamine N Oxidase (TMAO), causing inflammation. TMAO is produced in the gut when certain dietary components from red meat, like choline and L-carnitine, interact with gut bacteria. Some studies suggest higher TMAO levels are linked to cardiovascular disease and inflammation. However, inflammation is influenced by various factors, such as overall diet, lifestyle, genetics, and gut microbiota. The body has detoxifying enzymes, like FMO3 in the liver, which convert TMAO into a precursor, trimethylamine (TMA), and eliminate it. Improving liver health enhances this process, even though some liver-healthy foods may raise TMAO. While TMAO increases after eating fish, it doesn't mean avoiding fish is necessary. Cutting out TMAO-increasing foods would mean eliminating essential nutrients like choline, L-carnitine and many more. If we lack dietary choline, the body must synthesize it, a resource-intensive process using many enzymes, potentially more taxing than dealing with TMAO.
Myth 4: Red meat contributes to heart conditions due to its saturated fat content. Saturated fat in red meat is does not have any direct links to the development of heart conditions. It raises LDL cholesterol, that can be a concern for our doctors, however LDL only becomes an issue when it or blood vessel tissue is damaged or oxidized by excess omega 6, excess iron, excess vitamin a, excess phytosterols or a simply poor diet. For an in depth analysis into heart conditions visit the page linked below.
Myth 5: Red meat raises mTor, leading to a shorter lifespan. Recent research indicates that mTor, a molecule in the body, should be activated similarly to a spring rather than chronically suppressed. Activating mTor, as seen during exercise, plays a role in longevity by activating longevity genes. Chronic suppression of mTor is no longer advised by longevity experts.
Myth 6: Red meat causes gout. While red meat contains purines that can contribute to gout, other factors such as excessive alcohol consumption, high sugar intake, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, medications, and underlying health conditions play more significant roles in gout development. Most notable however is iron dysregulation caused by copper deficiency, red meat may contribute to gout if a copper deficiency is present like in our last video on the subject I am going to link it below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmBmYpISzXQ&t=22s
Myth 7: Red meat is bad for the environment. While red meat production has environmental implications, it's important to recognize that not all production systems are equal. Sustainable practices like rotational grazing and regenerative agriculture can mitigate environmental concerns associated with red meat production. The water and feed consumed by cows are transformed into valuable resources like meat, fertilizer and carbon sequestration in the soil. Properly managed grazing can even result in cows sequestering more carbon dioxide than their lifecycle emissions produce. The bottom line is that the inclusion of animals into our food production system is non negotiable, it is a critical element of any ecosystem and the key to creating biodiverse microbial and nutrient rich life in the soils. When considering the impact of methane produced from ruminant animals its important to remember that before humans grew in numbers we had massive herds of buffalo and bison that grazed freely producing physiologically massive amounts of methane. Methane is still an issue however when we consider the lifecycle and ecosystem benefits that ruminant animals provide to geographical locations they are in, living the ancestral life their contributions are massive.
Myth 8: Eating meat is cruel. While certain farming practices can involve animal cruelty, it is important to differentiate between ethically raised animals and those from industrial feedlot operations. Notably all the turtles, snakes, foxes, bunnies, mice and worm populations displaced and shredded alive by massive tractors in the context of huge monocrop operations are standard for the growing of plants around the globe. Ground-nesting birds like pheasants, partridges, and meadowlarks are particularly at risk. Even insects such as bees, butterflies, and other pollinators can be killed by the disturbance of their habitat. Eating a wholly plant based diet is perhaps more damaging to our friendly creatures than anything. Its apparent that we simply need to stop vilifying individuals for their dietary choices and understand that humans must eat something and not just breath air. Therefore by respecting and providing better living conditions for animals, their lives can be longer, happier, and healthier. Death is an inevitable part of the natural cycle, and ensuring a quick and painless death is part of responsible animal husbandry. In contrast, denying humans the necessary nutrients found in meat can lead to chronic disease and inhumane living conditions.
Myth 9: The acidic PH of red meat is a reason to reduce its consumption. Balancing PH in the body has unfortunately become the subject of pseudoscientific activity to sell people expensive alkaline water and other expensive PH related products. Im not saying understanding PH value is pseudoscience tho. The truth is that the body maintains an extremely strict PH value in the blood between 7.35 and 7.45 and various nutrients have different PH values and the body will use those appropriately to buffer and balance our PH. To balance the acidity of red meat due to its high phosphorus and glutamic acid, it is very important to balance this with an appropriate amount of potassium, magnesium and calcium. Here are some examples.
Potassium Foods
Figs (dried): 680 mg
Dates: 656 mg
Potato (baked): 535 mg
Lima Beans (cooked): 508 mg
Avocado: 485 mg
Wild Salmon: 414 mg
Mushrooms: 396 mg
Brussels Sprouts (cooked): 389 mg
Banana: 358 mg
Parsnip (cooked): 375 mg
Broccoli (cooked): 325 mg
Kiwi: 312 mg
Cauliflower (cooked): 299 mg
Zucchini (cooked): 261 mg
Fresh Figs: 232 mg
Dragon Fruit (Pitahaya): 228 mg
Magnesium Fruits
Figs, dried: 68 mg
Dates: 43 mg
Bananas: 27 mg
Avocado: 29 mg
Dragon fruit (Pitaya): 30 mg
Calcium Fruits
Oranges: 43 mg
Figs, dried: 162 mg
Fresh Figs: 35-50 mg
Dates: 15-20 mg
Myth 10: Red meat shortens the telomeres, the endcaps of our DNA strands contributing to the development of cancer related disease. This was the primary bombshell dropped at the end of the twin study in the Netflix documentary "You are What you Eat" funded by beyond meat the company making fake meat burgers. Its essential to understand that the result they achieved was due to a poorly designed diet for the omnivores in their study. They did not take into consideration the benefits of feeding their study participants a diet balancing the high phosphorus, protein and iron content of their omnivores. If they would have taken the simple and careful considerations outlined in this video, the study would have resulted in far different results. However i do not think the funders of the study would have liked those results.
The truth about red meat. Meat contains Creatine, Taurine, Carnitine, Anserine and Sarcosine amino acids that are completely absent in plant foods. These are considered "non-essential amino acids" because our body can create them from the amino acids termed "essential". Understand however that creating these amino acids in our body when they are absent from the diet requires massive amounts of energy and depletes other valuable nutrients and amino acids in the body. Why force all these enzymatic reactions to occur by systematically depriving ourselves of them. This has no biological basis and should be questioned very critically. We developed stone tools for hunting thousands of years ago for a reason. Because our human digestive tract regardless of blood type is purpose built with an incredibly acidic stomach PH of under 2. Suiting us for digestion of animal cells "allulose" not plant matter "cellulose" because we do not poses a cecum or reticulorumen and our colon is very short compared to purpose built herbivores like a cow. This does not mean that we are the elites better than all other living things or that we are more important. We must be respectful in the hierarchy and care for our ecosystems and make this place like the garden of Eden. So that we can be equitable in how we treat our livestock and soils for the plants that we grow. because we are all one fabric and to succeed we must be enlightened enough to share an appreciation for all things and their purpose. This emphasizes the importance of choosing high-quality, responsibly sourced food and incorporating it into a balanced diet of high quality minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
Bottom line is that many studies are currently rigged to sell whatever makes the most profit, not what makes you the healthiest. In almost every country governmentally produced dietary guidelines optimized for industry profit rather than our health. Example from the United States below.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35311630/
Pasture Raised Eggs
Eggs from chickens that have been raised on a diet of grubs, worms, bugs, pinkie mice, and some grains and grass offer improved protein and fat quality. Additionally, eggs from chickens that have spent more time in the sun are richer in vitamin D and other essential nutrients.
Raw or A2 Milk from Grass Fed Cows
Unadulterated milk obtained directly from grass-fed cows is a potent and nutrient-rich elixir, comparable in immunological and bioavailable properties to human breast milk. Its quality far surpasses pasteurized fruit juices found on store shelves. For individuals with difficulty digesting lactose, fermenting milk can be an option as it converts lactose to lactic acid and improves beneficial bacterial species. Raw milk consumption can also enhance lactose digestibility by increasing the intake of lactase, the enzyme responsible for breaking down lactose. Raw milk is generally easier to digest due to its immunological properties, which help restore the immune system's ability to recognize milk as a friend rather than a foreign substance. While there is a slight risk of contamination with bacteria like E.coli, Salmonella, and Campylobacter, this risk is present in other raw foods such as fruits and vegetables to a smaller extent. It is important to consume foods that build resilience in order to handle the potential risks associated with raw foods. Raw egg yolks, milk, and liver are ideal candidates to introduce once infections are cleared, and resilience is built. One of the pitfalls of dairy however can be the addictive quality of the casomorphines this is the part of the protein designed to attract the calf to its mothers milk and it can have constipating effect in susceptible individuals. These casomorphines are mostly concentrated in cheeses, if you don't have issues with it I've also included a button below on the subject of raw and a2 cheeses.
Victims of Monocrop Vegetable Farming
First off, let's talk about the most common victims: small mammals like mice, voles, and rabbits. These little guys often make their homes in fields and grassy areas, which unfortunately puts them right in the path of a rumbling tractor. As the tractor passes through the field, these tiny creatures can get caught in the blades or crushed under the wheels. It's a sad fact of farm life, but it's a reality nonetheless.
Next up, we have the birds. You know those lovely, picturesque scenes of a tractor rolling through a field with birds flying up in its wake? Well, sometimes those birds don't fly up fast enough. Ground-nesting birds like pheasants, partridges, and meadowlarks are particularly at risk. They build their nests right on the ground, and when a tractor comes along, they can be caught off guard and unable to escape in time.
But wait, there's more! Reptiles and amphibians are also at risk. Snakes, turtles, and frogs can get caught in the machinery or be crushed as the tractor passes over them. Even insects aren't safe! Bees, butterflies, and other pollinators can be killed by the disturbance of their habitat.
Now, let's not forget about larger animals like deer, foxes, and even livestock. While these animals are usually more aware of their surroundings and can avoid the path of a tractor, accidents do happen. They can get spooked and run into the path of the tractor, or they may be injured or killed by the machinery itself.
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