Meat, Inflammation, Chronic Disease

Since becoming a plant-based vegan, I have become what I like to call a nutrition enthusiast. While I am not a certified nutritionist, I would spend a lot of time listening to plant-based doctors' lectures and researching online the information they share. I then like to take what I have learned and share it with everyone around me. Unfortunately, I find that not everyone is ready to learn and stick to analogies and their beliefs, rather than listen to the research I have gathered. 

One of the greatest arguments I hear from meat eaters is that there is no one diet that fits all. And while I will agree that we are all different and certain foods can affect us differently, physiologically, we are all the same. We don't see some rabbits that eat meat and some that eat vegetables. All rabbits are herbivores because their bodies have evolved to eat plants. I apply the same argument for humans. On the inside, our bodies are all the same. ​

What I have learned about meat is that it causes inflammation in our bodies within hours of consuming it. Inflammation is a natural reaction your body has to protect itself. There are two types of inflammation: acute and chronic. Acute inflammation occurs when you're injured, when you get an infection and many other types of insults .  It is your body's defense mechanism that begins the healing system. Chronic inflammation occurs when the acute inflammation isn't shut off and the body begins to attack healthy tissues. Research has been shedding more light on inflammation as the cause of many diseases. 

How that inflammation presents itself can be different in us. For me, chronic inflammation showed up as migraines, seborrheic dermatitis, chronic back pain and other ailments. For someone else, it could be irritable bowel syndrome, eczema, rheumatoid arthritis or any other host of issues. When chronic inflammation is unchecked, it can lead to autoimmune diseases, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and cancer.

We are just now learning more about inflammation and how our gut bacteria plays a huge part in our aging. You know, all those little aches a pains you feel that you attribute to getting old. I used to blame my old age on my chronic back pain. I remember "throwing out my back" and not being able to walk for a weekend because I was in so much pain. I joked that I no longer had a 20 year old back. Well, since I went completely plant-based, I no longer get back pain and I carry heavy boxes often.

If you consider how our diet truly affects our bodies, then the changes we make would be felt. You wouldn't put diesel into your car when you know it runs on unleaded. It's the same thing for us. We know that we should eat healthy, however, the argument is the 'how to eat healthy' that most of us can't agree on. Food companies purposely mislead us into believing there is 'healthy' meat and other forms of animal products are good for us. Think about yogurt...we're told it's healthy because it is probiotic, but it is dairy since it's made from milk. Milk carries hormones from the pregnant cow and poses a risk on your health. It's all so confusing!

Studies have shown that consuming meat has inflammatory responses in our bodies. For those of us on the Standard American Diet, that means we're constantly assaulting our systems and causing inflammation. Eating foods with anti-inflammatory properties, such as plants, will keep your body regulated and can even reverse diseases that are caused by chronic inflammation. ​