VEGETARIAN DIETS by Lawrence Wilson, MD © October 2014, The Center For Development For over three years, I lived and worked as the Health Director at a vegetarian health spa in Cuernavaca, Mexico. It is no longer open. However, while living there I learned the Vegetarian philosophy and practiced it thoroughly. I gave three lectures a week about it to all the guests. Unfortunately, my health became much worse on a regimen of mostly raw, vegetarian food, and the imbalances and problems took years to reverse. I could not figure out why until some years later when I met Dr. Paul Eck and began leaning and using hair mineral analysis and nutritional balancing science. With this personal introduction, please allow me to discuss what I have learned about vegetarian and raw food diets. First, I would like to list the benefits and problems of vegetarian diets briefly. The rest of this article then answers many common questions asked by vegetarian clients. BENEFITS AND PROBLEMS WITH VEGETARIAN DIETS This short section is excerpted from another article on this website, entitled The China Study: A Book Review. The benefits of vegetarian diets. These diets tend to be higher in fiber and generally higher in fresh fruits and vegetables. They also tend to be higher in some vitamins, such as vitamin C and E. Eating less fat, junk food and even less meat is also beneficial for some people, especially those with weak digestion, food allergies, iron toxicity and other bowel problems. These are the main benefits of vegetarian regimens, in my experience with thousands of American and European clients. Problems With Vegetarian Diets. High in copper. This may not seem to be important, but it is critically important today when most people are already extremely toxic with copper. Low in zinc. This is also a very serious and almost universal nutritional imbalance already, and vegetarian diets tend to make it much worse. The main foods that contain zinc are meats. Too high in carbohydrates. This applies especially to vegan diets that do not contain eggs or dairy products. The remaining foods available are mainly high in carbohydrates, such as grains and beans. Most people already eat too many of these foods, so they become even more imbalanced and malnourished, even if the quality of the food is excellent. Low in protein. This is not necessary, but often occurs with vegetarian and especially vegan diets. There are simply many fewer protein foods to choose from, so people tend to live on more pasta, bread, grains, fruits, and other non-protein foods. Poor quality proteins. Most vegetarian proteins do not seem to nourish the body nearly as well as does meat, eggs, and possibly raw dairy products. Most vegetarians, however, exist on more soy protein, nuts and seeds, and some protein from grains. This is not as good for one’s health and causes low phosphorus readings on hair tests, telling us that these proteins do not rebuild the body as well. Very low in the important sulfur-bearing compounds such as taurine, cysteine, carnitine and methionine. This is a very serious problem with vegetarian diets, perhaps one of the worst. These amino acids are essential for liver detoxification of the heavy metals and of all toxic chemicals as well. No matter how clean the diet, without them the body cannot remove toxins as well, and this shortens the lifespan in all cases, in my experience. Extremely low in vitamin D. This is another critical problem today. Most vitamin D comes from fish oils, and perhaps a little from organic, raw dairy products, though not enough for most people. The sun, meanwhile, is not providing enough vitamin D, even if you sit in it all day long. Extremely low in omega-3 fatty acids. This is another critical deficiency, although this can be corrected by adding at least two tablespoons of ground flax seed to the diet every day. Often low in B-complex vitamins. Many people obtain the bulk of their B-complex vitamins from meats, which are rich sources, along with eggs. This problem with vegetarian diets is quite harmful and makes them particularly unsuitable for most people today, especially those of the white or Caucasian race. Orientals such as the Chinese seem to need less B-complex and zinc, for which reason they have been vegetarian-oriented people for thousands of years. The author of the China Study bases a lot of his work on a study in China. However, comparing the needs of Chinese peasants to those of Americans is thus incorrect due to racial differences mentioned above. This is a serious flaw in the China Study, in my view. A much better book on this subject is by Weston Price, DDS, titled Nutrition And Physical Degeneration. He investigated not one race, but all races on planet earth. He found that meat-eating preduced far better health, especially inter-generationally, something that Dr. Campbell did not investigate at all, but a most important subject and a subtle one. In other words, even if you feel better on a vegetarian regimen, how will your grandchildren fare on this diet? The answer was, not well at all. Dr. Price found that vegetarian diets lead to more birth defects, for example. This should not be surprising because zinc, for example, is critical to prevent birth defects, and is very deficient today in the Western world, in particular, in the soils and in the food supply. NOTE: The Weston Price work also needs to be updated. This is discussed in detail in the article entitled Weston Price, DDS. Much too yin. Yin and yang are qualities of matter, including the human body. The concept is of primary importance in Chinese medicine, and important as well in nutritional balancing science because it is a true concept. Yin roughly means cold, more watery and expanded. Yang roughly refers to more heat, more contracted and more dry. Most bodies are very yin today, and require a more yang type of diet. The foods that are most yang are meat and eggs, followed by the whole grains and cooked vegetables. This is a major reason why cooked vegetables are emphasized in nutritional balancing science. Raw foods, raw vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans and especially fruits are move yin, so they are much less desirable foods. Yin imbalance is a serious problem today, discussed in a separate article on this website entitled Yin Disease. Yin and yang are discussed in several article on this website as well. Very low in etheric energy. This is a much more subtle problem with all vegetarian diets. It has to do with a subtle form of energy that is found in some foods, but not others. The foods with the highest amounts of this type of energy are meats, eggs and whole grains, in that order. The foods with the least of this type of important energy are fruits, nuts, seeds and raw vegetables. Cooking food actually increases its etheric energy. This is discussed in an article entitled Macrobiotics on this website. The etheric energy content of a food has a lot to do with yin and yang, above, although it is more than this. Unfortunately, vegetarian foods tend to be extremely low in this energy. What occurs is that the sodium/potassium ratio tends to invert as a result, as it causes a type of electrical imbalance in the body. It is well-known that meat-eaters tend to have more vitality, in general, and meat-eating populations tend to live longer, on average, for this reason, along with the reasons given above. Women’s craving for male sexual fluid. Some women develop a strange craving for male semen, also called male seminal fluid or male sexual fluid. This may sound odd, but it is quite common, especially among semi-vegetarian and vegetarian women. They want frequent sex without condoms because they feel better when they absorb more male sexual fluid. The problem is much more common among semi-vegetarians, and especially those raised on a semi-vegetarian or vegetarian diet. The problem is these women literally wear out their husbands and boyfriends, wanting sex daily or every other day in most cases. It is not about enjoying the orgasms and some women don’t even have orgasms and don’t care. It is the fluid they want. This can be very hard on marriages and other man-woman relationships. If the man in their life cannot satisfy their new craving, some are tempted to go outside the marriage or relationship for sex. This, of course, is extremely disruptive to their primary relationship, especially if the partner finds out, it spreads disease fast, and it puts the woman in physical danger although she may not realize it. One solution is simply more sex. However, the craving easily becomes an addiction if one chooses this route. Then it is even harder to control A better solution is less sex, more love and more red meat. This will help preserve the marriage or relationship, since for almost all men, sex once a week is plenty, and once a month is fine, too. Sex with ejaculation is quite depleting for men. Red meat and sex addiction among women. I am not sure why eating red meat is so helpful, but it is. It could be the high content of zinc and selenium, and perhaps B-complex vitamins in male seminal fluid. However, taking these as supplements does not work. The only thing that works besides more sex seem to be that these women must eat red meat such as lamb, wild game or perhaps some beef several times weekly. Only then does the craving seem to subside. Sadly, many do not like red meat, but this is needed. Taking a powerful digestive aid such as GB-3 from Endomet labs may help to digest meat. This topic is discussed in more detail in the article entitled Sexual Fluid Craving. TYPES OF VEGETARIANS 1. Those who only avoid red meat. This is not healthful in my experience. Lamb is a wonderful food, eaten at least once or twice a week by most people. A little naturally-raised or even supermarket beef is okay too, though not as good as lamb by any stretch of the imagination. Red meats are the best sources for zinc, sulfur-containing amino acids and other vital nutrients. Some say falsely that meats are not “high nutrient density” foods. This is ridiculous. They are one of the best high-density nutrient foods. Red meats are also more yang, which is helpful for almost everyone today. All vegetarian diets are more yin in Chinese medical terminology and this is harmful in almost all cases. In terms of yin and yang, the worst diets are the raw food vegan diet and the fruitarian diet, described below. 2. Those who avoid red meat, chicken and turkey, but will eat fish and perhaps shellfish, for example. This is a even worse than the above, in terms of nutrient deficiencies. Sadly. most fish, except for about 3-4 cans of sardines or herring weekly, are much too high in mercury. Shellfish are even worse, with high levels of mercury, arsenic and cadmium in many cases. As a result, these people often become quite poisoned with mercury. Unfortunately, it is not wise to have fish as your primary animal protein today for this single reason. Some companies claim to sell low-mercury baby tuna, for example, or other fish. In my own research, this is better, but still a problem. Wild-caught fish are no better, though they may be cleaner in other ways in some cases. 3. Lacto-ovo vegetarians. These people choose to avoid all flesh foods, including fish. They eat eggs, cheese, milk and yogurt. This diet is far more deficient than a diet that includes fish, poultry or red meats. The only good from this diet and the ones below is that mercury toxicity does not occur as much, in most cases. 4. Vegan vegetarians. These people avoid all flesh, as well as all dairy, eggs and often even all bee products such as honey and bee pollen. This diet is even worse than those above, and always leads to ruinous consequences eventually in my experience. It is just a matter of time. I did it myself and work with many who have followed a vegan diet. Unfortunately, it is becoming more popular as a way to lose weight and feel good for a time. Some tolerate it better than others, and it does require getting off junk food, so people will feel better for a while. 5. Raw food vegetarian or raw food vegan. This is far worse than the diets above. Our digestive system does not break down raw vegetable fiber enough to absorb most of the minerals in the vegetables. Also, salads and fruits take up the stomach capacity, so one eats much less of them than if they were cooked, which concentrates the food and allows one to eat more of it. Also, some raw food is contaminated, especially in restaurants, and spreads parasites and other diseases. Never eat raw food in restaurants, I would suggest. Raw food is even more yin than vegetarian food, and this is another serious problem with it. 6. Fruitarians. This is another suicide diet, in my view. It is completely deficient in nutrients, extremely yin, too high in sugars, damages the teeth and bones in all cases, and the minerals are not balanced properly for optimum health. For more on this very appealing, but harmful way of eating, please read Fruit-Eating on this website. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT VEGETARIAN DIETS This section of the article is designed to answer many questions that I am asked by people who are researching vegetarian diets. THE HISTORY OF VEGETARIAN DIETS Many vegetarians believe that mankind has lived a vegetarian lifestyle for centuries. While this may be true for the Chinese and Indian people, it is certainly not true for most Western people, in spite of propaganda spread by some dietetic groups. They claim that "most of mankind for most of human history has lived on vegetarian or near-vegetarian diets." This is simply not true. Weston Price, DDS, and many other anthropologists have found that many humans were hunters and gatherers. Most groups, in fact, ate animals, fish and dairy products all throughout history. Humans have not been vegetarians, except when there was nothing else to eat. For example, Native Americans depended heavily on Buffalo meat, while they also ate many smaller animals as well. On every continent, mankind has killed animals and fish for food. ARE HUMAN BEINGS DESIGNED TO BE VEGETARIANS? The Swedish scientist Karl Von Linne states, "Man's structure, external and internal, compared with that of the other animals, shows that fruit and succulent vegetables constitute his natural food." Let us examine this carefully. Contrary to the statement, humans have sharp teeth for cutting meat called the incisors. So it is a lot of fudging of facts to fit a theory. Their intestines are also rather short compared to vegetarian animals. This is also a sign that they are not designed primarily as vegetable eaters, as are cows, horses and some other animals. These animals spend all day chewing up grasses, and the cow then “chews its cud”, meaning it regurgitates the grasses and chews it some more. People do not do this. Cows also have 4 stomach pouches, as do some other vegetarian animals, while humans do not. Therefore, the statement that humans are designed as vegetarians is an exaggeration and not true. DO WE NEED MEATS? Vegetarian books and authors tell us "we can easily live without eating meat and killing, not to mention that we would be healthier". At one time, I believed this, too. My experience, however, has been the opposite. I don’t force my clients to eat meat, but I do observe their health status. The vegetarians are not healthier at all. It is quite the opposite. As my teacher, Dr. Bernard Jensen, once explained, “There is bad meat, but meat is not bad.” He also told me “It is not wise to drive the LA freeways and be a vegetarian.” By this he meant that if one were to live isolated in a cave in India, perhaps a vegetarian diet would be okay. However, living in a modern nation with plenty of stress, one needs what he called “the animal fats and proteins”. I have yet to read statistics anywhere that vegetarians live longer, healthier lives. The exception are certain groups such as Seventh Day Adventists. However, they also abstain from alcohol and are religious people. So it is not fair to attribute their improved health just to a vegetarian diets. The Japanese live the longest, among civilized nations today. They are not vegetarians at all, since they eat a wide variety of fish, seafood, animals and more. So the idea that vegetarianism is healthier is simply not true. DOES MEAT JUST ROT IN THE BODY? Many vegetarians claim that "meat and seafood putrefies within 4 hours after consumption and the remnants cling to the walls of the stomach and intestines for 3-4 days or longer if a person is constipated". This, of course, is true if one’s digestion is very poor. However, it is not true if digestion works well. If one cannot digest much meat, then the quantity must be reduced, as with any food. Better still, one should take a digestive enzyme supplement with each meal, at least until digestion improves, or forever. In fact, for most people, meat is a lot easier to digest for human beings than raw salads or worse, raw grains or very starchy vegetables that are not cooked sufficiently. I find that these foods cannot be digested well by anyone, in fact. Saliva of human beings. Some vegetarians say that “the reaction of saliva in humans is more alkaline, whereas in the case of flesh-eating or preying animals, it is clearly acidic. The alkaline saliva does not act properly on meat." Anyone who studies nutrition knows that saliva actually varies in pH, from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline. However, the saliva is not intended to digest meat. It has some amylase and other starch-digesting enzymes in it, but the main thing that occurs in the mouth is mechanical chewing, not digestion of much of anything. Carnivores often swallow their meat without chewing it because they have few grinding teeth. But that does not mean mankind can't eat meat and that it automatically putrefies. It does not putrefy providing that digestion is adequate, that one does not overeat, and that the food combinations are good. WHY ARE SOME PEOPLE AVERSE TO EATING MEAT? Some vegetarians write statements such as "The thought of eating such meat makes one’s stomach turn.” In my long experience, this occurs when digestion is poor and often when copper is out of balance in the body. It can also be the result of a mental or emotional attachment or love for animals. However, it is not physiological, meaning it is not a fact of human life for most people. Most people relish the taste of meat when their bodies are in balance. When I began a nutritional balancing program about 30 years ago, I, too, did not like the taste of meat. That changed completely, however, after a few years as the body was rebuilt and rebalanced. In fact, raw hamburger, some raw fish, some raw turkey and other meats are delicious and sweet when the quality is excellent. However, when the body is out of balance, one cannot digest the meat and it becomes “disgusting”. Dr. Paul Eck called such individuals obligatory vegetarians. This term means that when the body chemistry is sufficiently out of kilter, one cannot digest certain foods, including often meats, and one thinks that it is the fault of the meat when, in fact, it is the fault of the body chemistry. WHAT ABOUT ANIMAL RIGHTS? Animals should be treated humanely. This is an excellent concept. However, animals do not have rights, as do human beings, because humans also have responsibilities and duties to each other, to their families and to their communities. Rights are there to balance the responsibilities and duties. Animals, by contrast, are basically survival-oriented only. They will kill if they need to, and have no compunction about doing so. They are therefore not responsible for their actions in the same way that a human being is responsible. Rights are given to balance responsibilities and if there is no responsibilities, rights are not the appropriate word to describe the treatment of animals. Having said this, animals should not be killed for fun, but only for useful purposes, which includes using their flesh for food. By advocating meat-eating, I do not wish to mistreat or abuse animals. This is a serious spiritual issue, and is discussed in more detail in some of the sections below. DOES MEAT DESTROY THE BRAIN? Eating meat actually feeds the brain very important nutrients such as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, amino acids and more. Dr. Bernard Jensen said that meat contains “brain fats”. Zinc, sulfur-containing amino acids and many other nutrients mainly found in animal products are also absolutely required for the brain. The general statement that meat destroys the brain is completely backwards. In fact, some of the greatest harm is done to children, in particular, when they are not fed meat to nourish their brains. An important exception. Pork, ham, bacon, pig intestines used to make sausages, and other products of the pig may contain the eggs or ova of Trichina and other parasites. These can and often do lodge in the brain. This happens even if the meat has been frozen, and is well-cooked. It is quite a common problem, though it is not often discussed. For this reason I suggest strictly avoiding all products of the pig. ISN’T CHOLESTEROL IN MEAT BAD? Cholesterol is the raw material from which our bodies make all of the sex hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and others. It is also the material from which we make all of our adrenal hormones such as adrenalin, cortisone, and aldosterone. Thus, cholesterol is not a bad substance, as some are made to believe by their poorly informed physicians. Most cholesterol is made in our bodies, though it can be obtained from our food as well. The only time cholesterol is a problem is when it is too high. This is a stress indicator, in my experience, and nothing more. Eating the correct food, which includes some high-quality animal foods, usually helps lower a high cholesterol when that food is eaten in combination with other high-quality foods such as plenty of cooked vegetables, and when a person takes the correct nutritional supplements with it. In fact, healthful fats, including some cholesterol, at time, are critical nutrients. For much more about cholesterol, read Cholesterol-phobia on this website. WILL EATING MEAT MAKE ONE FAT? The most overweight people today are often the vegetarian types that live on a lot of carbohydrate foods such as breads, beans and rice. Robert Atkins, MD, spent many years researching weight loss. He showed unequivocally that the reason people are overweight is not usually from eating too much fat and meats. It is from eating too many carbohydrate foods such as breads, potatoes, sugars and even fruits and milk, which are also high in sugars. Unfortunately, this understanding of the cause of excessive weight still is not recognized enough in America, land of the overweight, or in other nations that also suffer from the problem. DOES EATING MEAT MAKE ONE LESS SPIRITUAL? No. Quite the opposite is true today. At one time in history, meat-eating was not needed. This is why in yoga philosophy for example, they teach that meat-eating is not needed and is harmful. This was true when yoga was formulated some 5000 years ago or even longer. Today, the situation is apparently very different, because we find that meat is quite essential for spiritual development. Today the planet is very polluted, the energies on the planet are very different, and so the needs of the bodies are different. Yoga was also designed for Oriental genetics, which seems to require less animal protein than the Caucasian and black races do. Today, our bodies need the nourishment meat provides. For example, many do not know that the Dalai Lama eats meat on a regular basis, though sadly he tells his followers not to do so as it their tradition. Reasons why eating meat is important today for mental and spiritual development are: · Meats contain zinc, a nutrient needed for developing some of the finer brain centers and for the nervous system. Most vegetarians are very zinc deficient, as zinc is not found abundantly in any vegetable quality foods. It is difficult to obtain enough zinc even if one eats meats. · Meats are high in etheric energy. This is because animals are more advanced creatures than plants or minerals. By eating their flesh, we can absorb some of this energy. More about this important topic is found in the article entitled Food And Etheric Development, and in the article entitled Spiritual Development. · Meats are more yang foods, generally, in Chinese medical terminology. Today all of the bodies are quite yin due to radiation poisoning, toxic metal and toxic chemical poisoning, and perhaps other reasons such as vital mineral deficiencies and diseases in the body such as yeast infections. To develop properly, the bodies need to be made more yang, so meat is helpful for this, whereas raw vegetables and fruits are very yin and further unbalance the body and mind. DOES EATING MEAT CAUSE OSTEOPOROSIS? Yes, if one does not eat plenty of vegetables, too. But meat-eating all by itself does not cause osteoporosis at all. It is quite the opposite, in my experience. Many women with osteoporosis have been or are vegetarian types, meaning they do not eat much meat. They begin to develop deficiencies of zinc, boron, manganese and other critical minerals needed for the bones. When they correct their diets, including adding back some animal protein, and taking the correct nutrients on a nutritional balancing program that will eliminate lead, aluminum and other toxic metals, and rebalance the body, the osteoporosis problem subsides. DOES MEAT-EATING KEEP US STUCK IN OUR LOWER ANIMAL NATURE? Eating the food that is needed for health and mental development does not keep a person stuck. In fact, it does the opposite. It is true that vegetarians need not kill for food, and this is excellent. However, this is the only way in which being vegetarian may help a person move beyond the animal nature. While vegetarian books say that aggression is higher in meat-eaters, this is not always true. Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian, for example, and I cannot imagine anyone more aggressive. In fact, human beings often become more aggressive when they are lacking in animal protein because they are basically more hungry. When they are satiated or well-fed, people often calm down. This has been shown to be true in some studies. So it is my experience that meat-eating does not make people more angry or more aggressive. DOES EATING MEAT CAUSE BAD KARMA? According to Buddhist and Hindu philosophy, taking the life of another being is a form of murder and violence that causes horrible consequences for a person, no matter what the reason for the murder. This is why most Oriental gurus, yoga teachers and some other philosophers endorse vegetarianism. In the West, the Hebrew bible gives mankind “dominion over all the animals”. Presumably, this means the power to decide to take the life of an animal, if needed. However, the same bible also warns against murder and against being careless with the life of any other being. Early in the book of Genesis, god states that one will eat of the fruits of the earth. Later, after the flood of Noah, God commands that one may also eat meats and even blood. I, too, wish we did not have to kill animals to live healthfully. However, if we cannot be healthy without some animal protein, then killing may be justified. Perhaps the “system” is set up on earth by which some animals agree to serve as food for others. I believe this is the case. I find that at this time in history, it appears necessary, at times, to kill animals food. This subject is discussed in an interesting book entitled Love Without End – Jesus Speaks, by Glenda Green. This fascinating book is supposedly a kind of interview with the master Jesus, who appeared in to the author in her art studio because she wanted to paint a picture of Jesus that would be genuine. The author was able to speak to him, though of course I don’t know if it was really Jesus. She asked him many questions, including one about vegetarianism. The answer surprised me. He said: “the problem today is not eating meat. The problem is eating loveless food”. This means food that is slaughtered and prepared without much love or care for the animal, or for the person who will be consuming it. IS THERE ANYTHING POSITIVE FOR ANIMALS REGARDING EATING MEAT? Yes. When animals spend time around human beings, even penned up in cages the way chickens and cattle often are, they advance spiritually. This is the truth. The same is true of owning pet animals, too. DOES EATING MEAT CAUSE CANCER AND OTHER DISEASES? The answer is that any food can contribute to cancer if the person eating it does it improperly. Meat, by itself, does not cause any disease and can actually prevent some cancer and many other conditions that vegetarians suffer from. The only way meat contributes to cancer, in my view, is eating too much of it – like several times per day – or if it is not digested well, or if it is contaminated and bad quality. This is the only sense in which meat can cause cancer. ARE KETONES BAD? Some vegetarians claim that ketones, which are chemicals formed from the digestion of fats, are bad for us. This is untrue. Mild ketosis is not harmful to the body. In fact, the so-called ketogenic diet is used for weight loss and even advocated by medical doctors for certain illnesses such as seizure disorders. (I do not recommend it, however, in most cases.) Ketones are simply byproducts of fat breakdown. Since meats tend to have more fats in them, a person may produce more ketones when it is eaten. But it is not harmful at all and may be helpful, as they are far better than candida albicans infection and other problems that stem from overeating on sugars and starches. Just because one eats meat does not mean one will go into ketosis. This only occurs if one eats mainly fats for calories and does NOT eat carbohydrates much at all. I do not advocate a ketogenic diet, as I think it is not needed and is a bit stressful for most people. However, ketones, by themselves, are not harmful in small quantities. DO MEAT-EATERS SUFFER MORE FOOD POISONING? The answer is not necessarily. Some meat is of poor quality. If one eats it, one will get sick. However, plenty of food poisoning occurs due to bacteria such as E.coli on tomatoes, peppers, milk products, bean dips, salad dressing, sauces and hundreds of other vegetarian items. In this regard, more vegetarian items are sources of food poisoning only because there are many more of them. IS QUALITY MEAT MORE EXPENSIVE? It used to be. However, today I find that organic vegetables and fruits can be more costly than eggs or even chicken, for example, in terms of weight or protein content, which is an excellent measure. Vegetables such as carrots are still cheap, but turnips, rutabagas, beets and many greens are more costly often than even beef, chicken or turkey. WHY DO MANY PEOPLE FEEL BETTER ON VEGETARIAN DIETS, AT LEAST FOR A WHILE? This is a very important question, and perhaps the most frequently asked question. There are several reasons for this: · Food allergies. Some people are allergic to eggs, dairy or even chicken in a few cases. Stopping these foods causes them to feel much better because they are avoiding an allergic food. · Different digestive requirements. Those with a weak digestive system may feel better without meat. Digesting meat requires more hydrochloric acid and pancreatic enzymes to digest the protein and the fat. Many people are low in these enzymes. The answer is to take a digestive enzyme supplement. · Eating meat often causes copper to be eliminated from the body. In part, this occurs because meats are higher in zinc, a powerful copper antagonist. Eating meat thus can cause symptoms in some people related to the removal of copper. For more on this subject, read Copper Elimination Symptoms. Eating less meat also lessens the copper elimination, and causes some people to feel better. However, the copper eventually builds up and causes far worse problems. · More fiber, vegetables or something else. Some people feel better on a vegetarian regime because they start eating much more fiber and more vegetables, which is helpful for almost everyone. They believe they feel better due to less meat, when this is not the reason. · The stress of the higher dynamic action of meat protein. Meats are more stressful on the body in some ways, as they are building foods. This quality of meat protein is called its specific dynamic action, although the term is not used much any more. Eating meat encourages the body to produce more protein to rebuild the tissues, and with it certain toxic waste products that may cause symptoms. Stopping all meats, poultry, eggs and cheese can cause a temporary uplift for this reason as well. All of these problems with eating meat are not really problems at all. However, they do cause people to feel better, at times, off meats, and they cause some people to decide falsely that a vegetarian diet is best. I suggest if you are having symptoms when you eat meat, then eat only a small amount at a time, be sure to take a powerful digestive aid whenever you eat it, chew it thoroughly, and eat it alone or with perhaps just a few vegetables in a very simple food combination. All of this will help. Also, never overcook meats. Eat them rare, preferably. This can also help the digestion of meat as well. CAN VEGETARIANS BENEFIT FROM A NUTRITIONAL BALANCING PROGRAM? The answer is definitely yes. Many clients who continue to be vegetarians improve their health greatly with a nutritional balancing program. It works as well with them as with anyone. A few modifications of the usual programs are needed, such as eliminating the animal-based supplements such as glandulars. Also, the diet won’t be quite as varied. This will slow progress, a little. However, they do extremely well. SHOULD WE EAT ALL OUR FOOD RAW? Some vegetarians and others also believe that we should eat our food mainly or even completely uncooked. They cite the fact that animals do not cook their food, and they can maintain excellent health this way. Also, it is true that cooking destroys some nutrients and denatures proteins, and damages fats as well to some degree. I agree with the raw food advocates to the extent that fats and oils are often best eaten raw. For example, pasteurizing and homogenizing milk damages it severely, in fact, and most dairy products are best avoided for this reason alone. Organic dairy products do seem a little better, but not as good as raw ones. However, I suggest lightly cooking all meats, poultry, fish and eggs. The egg yolks should be runny. The main reason is to kill possible parasites, bacteria, viruses and other pathogenic organisms that are very common today. Cooking food can also offer some other advantages. It helps release many more minerals, especially in vegetables. It concentrates the food so you can eat more of it, makes the food more yang which is generally very helpful, and it can even increase the etheric energy of the food. For more information about raw versus cooked food, read Raw Foods on this website. MORE ARGUMENTS FOR VEGETARIAN DIETS AND RESPONSES Physical Arguments Health. Books such as The China Study by T. Colin Campbell and Terence Campbell II, offers a variety of health studies to support vegetarian diets. While there is a bit of truth here, there is also a vast literature such as the work of Weston Price, DDS, showing that animal products are very needed in our diets, though not the amounts that many Americans eat, for example. Read a review of The China Study by clicking here. Most, if not all vegetarians are very ill, in my experience. It does not matter if they look good for a while. They usually die young and are not healthy at all. Their diets are usually deficient in zinc, vitamins A and D, B-complex vitamins, sulfur-compounds such as taurine, cysteine and methionine, alpha-lipoic acid, L-carnitine, and other nutrients that are still being discovered. They are also low in many types of fats that are still being discovered as helpful for human health. Please listen to this advice. Obligatory Vegetarians. Some people just feel better on vegetarian diets. Most have food allergies, leaky gut syndrome, low digestive enzyme levels, and other digestive problems. They feel heavy and ill after eating a steak, for example, and it just doesn’t taste good to them. Dr. Eck noted this and called them ‘obligatory vegetarians’, meaning they have trouble digesting meat. I was one of these individuals, so I understand it well. It is a huge appeal of vegetarian diets among health-conscious people. Unfortunately, it led to a health disaster in my case, and it often does the same for others after a few months or a few years, perhaps. It can take years to recover, if recovery is even possible. I say this not only as a warning, but to help you know that I have nothing against vegetarian principles, which are quite wonderful. The problem is that to get all your nutrients from only non-animal sources is very difficult, if not impossible today. I felt good for a few years, as will many people because stopping certain foods often gets rid of food reactions that can cause bloating, gas, and many other symptoms. However, eventually, deficiencies develop, especially in those with blood type O, but with most everyone, in fact. I cannot agree with the blood type diets and others that suggest vegetarianism for some people. When I began a nutritional balancing program, Dr. Paul Eck told me that he understood the problem, and that as I healed I would develop a taste for meat. He was correct about this. He also told me that I needed to take a digestive enzyme when I ate it, and to eat it alone, in small quantity, or with just a very simple meal to ease its digestion. The comparative anatomy argument. This is the concept that our human bodies appear to be designed more like vegetarian animal bodies than like the bodies of carnivorous animals. For example, vegetarian animals tend to have longer intestinal tracts, they tend to have grinding teeth like molars, and tend to have weaker stomach acid, as do human beings. Carnivorous animals tend to have fewer molars for grinding grain and vegetables, a shorter intestinal tract to move the meat through faster, and very strong stomach acid to prevent infection from tainted meat. While there is some truth to this, it is not true that meat is “poisonous” for human beings, in my experience. We cook the meat to kill the germs, and eat it judiciously to derive the benefit without overeating on it. In fact, the human being has both grinding and canine or tearing teeth, unlike some vegetarian animals such as horses and cows. In fact, the human intestine is in between the length of the vegetarian animals and the carnivorous animals. So the comparative anatomy argument is weak, at best. It also does not matter if conditions are such that some animal protein is needed today. Mental and Emotional Arguments The animal rights and cruelty argument. Some people object to the treatment of livestock and other animals used for food. They also object to the slaughter of animals for any reason, and their use in medical research, for example. It just does not feel right to them and they consider it murder and violence. However, this is a rather limited and materialistic view. Perhaps giving one’s life to be food for other beings is a form of service that some species have agreed to. How does one know that this is not the case? The bible teaches that mankind has dominion over the animals and plants. Perhaps this means that we are to treat them humanely, but we are to take from them what we need. Jesus, Moses and even Buddha originally taught that you should eat what is best for your body, and that by appreciating the sacrifice of the animal you reduce any problems incurred by having to kill the animal. An interesting rebuttal to the cruelty, murder and karma argument is given in the book, Love Beyond End - Jesus Speaks. Compassion is the answer, not restrictive diets that harm the body. No one advocates the wanton slaughter of animals, and few, if any, ranchers and growers of food have any desire to slaughter animals for fun or profit. They are in a service business, and processing the animals is part of that business. This argument is important to refute, as it is a logical one. Guilt and vegetarianism. Many people practice vegetarianism out of guilt, I have noticed. Unfortunately, this is encouraged by some Oriental spiritual teachers and gurus. They constantly remind their followers that killing animals causes “bad karma”. This issue is discussed above, so I won’t repeat the answer to this assertion. Suffice it to say that feeling guilty is never healthful, especially when you are not really sure if it is even justified, which it is not in the case of eating meat to improve and maintain your health. The “hate the rich, fat-cat Western males” argument. This is an interesting one. Some vegetarians are really very angry people. They are specifically angry at what they see as the disparity in wealth between the rich countries of the West and the poor countries of Africa and Asia. Confused, but well-meaning authors and doctors. These abound, and I was once a member of this group many years ago. I am always trying to make sure things have not changed, but they have not. People need to eat animal foods, including red meats. This group of authors and programs include those who advocate the Hallelujah Diet System, Joel Fuhrman, MD and others, who are widely endorsed in some Christian groups. These people mean well, no doubt, but their advice I find dangerous, nevertheless, and I urge people to proceed with caution and not to eliminate all animal protein or even all red meat from their diets. Mistaken and lower integrity authors and doctors. I have been intimately involved with the natural health movement for 35 years. I have found that some vegetarian authors simply lie about their own habits. These authors sadly included Normal Walker, a famous author of the twentieth century who wrote a few excellent books. Today, a number of prominent physicians and authors I am aware of advocate a vegetarian diet and seem to do well with themselves. What some do not tell the public is that they must take about $1000.00 per month of supplements to do this. I consider this totally dishonest and deceptive, and they are killing people, as far as I am concerned. Energetic Arguments Vegetarian diets are also ungrounding. This has to do with the first chakra and its opening, which is needed for mental and spiritual development. To read more about this concept, read Keeping Your Feet On The Ground. Please stay away from vegetarian regimens. Spiritual Arguments Buddhists, Hindus and some other religions teach vegetarianism for spiritual reasons. This argument has been dealt with earlier in this article. I learned from a close friend who spent time in Tibet that the Dalai Lama eats meat. However, he preaches a vegetarian diet for others. The Dalai Lama is a fine man, and probably just figured out that if he is to work in the world, he needs to eat some animal protein. He is a wise man, and I wish he would allow all his followers to see the folly of following old dietary concepts that worked well years ago, but today just do not work well. This has to do with changes in the earth’s electromagnetic field, changes in the food supply, and even changes in how people think. Ethical and Scarcity-belief Vegetarians. Another reason for vegetarian diets is the writings of authors such as John Robbins. He claims that raising animals takes far more land and far more food and water, than raising vegetables and fruits. If we wish to feed everyone on earth, he suggests, we must all become vegetarians to save the earth from destruction and allow enough food to be grown for all her people. While this argument has some merit in some locations, it is totally incorrect. Anyone who studies agricultural science knows that there are many places on earth where vegetable and grain cultivation is difficult, but animal husbandry and livestock raising are eminently practical and often the wisest use of the land. This is true of large areas of the United States, for example, where cattle have been raised for 100 years with no problems, while the land is difficult to grow vegetables upon because it is too dry or the soil is not of the right quality. Also, other authors point out rightly that the starvation of nearly half of the inhabitants of the earth, while totally tragic, is not due to meat-eating in the Western world. It is due to systematic bad farming practices, lack of resources such as tractors, seeds, etc, and sadly it is often due to political oppression of people by their own leaders, who prefer the people to be starving and weak so they will not rise up against the leaders. Frances Moore Lappe is one of the authors who discussed the issue better in World Hunger: Twelve Myths. Sadly, she still advocates a vegetarian diet in some of her later books. So, on balance, John Robbins and many others are: 1) Not correct in their analysis of the starvation problem on earth, and 2) Their solution is dangerous for your health and silly, and wouldn’t solve the problem of starvation, either. Hating yang and perhaps running away from men. Some vegetarians hate or move away from all things yang. This may sound strange, but it is true. Meat is a yang food, with lots of yang, male energy in it, compared to eating vegetables and fruits, in particular. These vegetarians are mainly women. Their bodies are more yin to begin with, and for some reason they are far more attracted to yin energy, rather than more male and yang energy of meat and eggs. This is actually a common phenomenon. These women must fight against this somewhat natural tendency to make themselves more yin, as it is not healthful, no matter how good it may feel. I hate myself. Some vegetarians do not like themselves. This is obvious because they choose to eat foods that do not work well for them. This is an interesting attitude, often motivated by guilt and fear about the world, often promoted by left-wing liberal activists. My people loathe meat – past life reasons for not eating meat. It is possible that some vegetarians are this way because in the past they did not do well on meat. Thus they have decided they will not eat it, although now they need it. This does not affect too many people, but it affects some and makes them very stubborn on this issue. Scriptural arguments. Before the flood of Noah in the book of Genesis, we are commanded to only eat the vegetables and grains, but not the flesh of animals. After the flood of Noah, God commanded the Hebrews to eat meat as well, provided it is raised, inspected and prepared in accordance with the Kosher or Kashrut laws. These laws are found in the book of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, and are quite strict. For the most part, they are good rules designed to prevent illness from eating tainted or unhealthy meat. Kosher products even today tend to be a little better quality than non-kosher meats. For the most part, I agree with this perspective. I believe that anyone who says the bible recommends a vegetarian diet is incorrect. It clearly does not. Jesus ate lamb, and quite often had meals with meat in them. The vampire argument. It is true that eating meat one is indeed living off the blood and flesh of dead animals. This is upsetting to some people. Once again, while true, this is not a good reason to stay away from eating meat if the body needs it, which it does at this time in history. The vampire argument is an interesting one because in ancient Oriental lore, eating meat is a kind of vampirish activity that was frowned upon for this reason. It was thought that one actually takes on some part of the animal’s soul or essence. However, this is more superstition than fact, in my view. Social and Cultural. The purist or cleanliness arguments. Some people do not want to eat meat because they think it is toxic , smelly, greasy or otherwise contaminated. They say it makes their bodies smell like dead flesh, and it tastes dead. This aesthetic argument is an interesting one, but not a good way to design a diet. Laziness. Others are just lazy and don’t want to clean up the pots and pans needed to cook the meat. While this argument is understandable, and is common among some young people, it is wholly stupid as a reason not to eat meat. One must eat what the body needs, whether or not it is greasy and dirties up a pot. Ways around this problem are to use a crock pot or steamer, which are somewhat easier to clean, or even a barbeque that is easier to clean, perhaps. One could eat canned meat like canned salmon and sardines. Sardines are fine up to three cans per week or so, and perhaps one can of salmon, but that is all, as salmon is too high in mercury. Another solution is to buy fresh sliced chicken or turkey at the deli counter at many supermarkets if one does not wish to cook meat. It is best to cook it fresh, but this will work. The global warming argument for vegetarianism. John Robbins and others also believe that methane gas from cow poop and other livestock manures is a serious pollutant, contributing to global warming and climate change. They forget that climate change has always occurred on planet earth, long before there were cows. The climate is always changing. It helps some species and decimates others, like the dinosaurs. We must be flexible, and we are not powerful enough to stop it by simply changing our diets and driving electric cars. It is far beyond these silly measures that do very little to alter the climate. Traditional vegetarians. Vegetarian diets are practiced in India and China, but those people usually do it out of necessity as meat is costly and often not very fresh. Also, the genetics of the Asian people is different, and they do best with less animal protein of any kind. This is not true of the Caucasian race, basically. However, I work with many Asians and those who follow a strict vegetarian diet are less healthy, in general, than those who eat some animal products. Most Asians, by the way, especially the Japanese, love seafood, eggs and some meat. Anyone who tells you differently is lying. The politically correct argument. For many young people today, eating meat is just not as politically correct. It is not always clear what they mean, but eating meat seems less spiritual, more toxic and more “violent”. Poor people don’t eat much meat, and these young and idealistic people often sympathize with poor people. All of the above may be true, but we find that some animal protein is still essential for health and ignoring this fact will cause ill health in almost everyone, eventually. So politically correct arguments are dangerous ones to base one’s diet upon. Pure economics. Some people do not eat much meat because they say it costs more than living on foods like bread, peanut butter, rice, and beans. These are usually students or perhaps old people living on a fixed income. While this may be true, in fact meat such as chicken can usually be purchased at a very reasonable price. If one buys on sale, the prices can be close to the price of rice and beans. Although I sympathize with those living on a very low budget, skimping on food is not a wise way to live, if at all possible. Eggs, chicken, turkey, sardines and a few other animal products such as butter are important for good health. For more about The Essene Gospel Of Peace, Volume I, which recommends a vegetarian diet, read The Flood Of Noah And Your Health on this website. For more about vegetarianism, read The China Study, Book Review. References Price, W., Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, Price-Pottenger Foundation, CA , 1945,1979. This is a much more thorough and scientific review of many types of diets around the world than any vegetarian-oriented books I have ever seen. This book also discusses the effects of many other dietary factors upon human health. While the book is very dated, the research it contains is still valuable for modern mankind.