Pico de Orizaba

Pico de Orizaba
Taken from Huatusco, Veracruz, the closest town to Margarita's family's ranch.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Killing a dog with Protein... or a human with a Vegetarian diet?

"It is faster to kill a dog feeding them 100% Protein or 100% fat than feeding them nothing...(starving them to death)"  

To a different extent, this applies to humans too...  However, I imagine no one is doing the research, since it would be considered inhumane.  In as active is PETA, the scientists will continue killing animals for understanding how "things" work...  Don't get me wrong.  I am certain that there are prisons all over the world where people are placed solely for the purpose of these types of experiments.  However, you won't find their findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association...  In order to truly understand how eating habits/diets affect human beings, one would have to control families and communities and what they place in their bodies for decades... The reason being that most degenerative diseases (if not all) are related to long term eating habits... that don't result in the break down of organs until well into that person's life... In fact, most degenerative diseases or the affects of those eating habits don't become apparent (symptoms) until after the person has turned 40-years-old...  Imagine, you could have all but "destroyed" your pancreas, be 36-years-old, be eating a ton of refined carbs and not burning them, and the glucose in your blood tests comes back normal...  I've read that the person is diabetic 5-10 years before it shows up on blood tests...  

But, back to protein and fat...  if you've gotten this far...  In order to form connective tissue, the human body needs both lipids (fat) and animal protein... Why animal protein?  Because of its sulfur content...  The reason why the dog dies without protein or fat is because their organs break down...  

So...  put yourself on a very low-fat vegetarian diet and see what happens...  Granted, I imagine that the average vegetarian is a bit more intelligent than the average person and would learn how to make sulfur from vegetables (onions, garlic...) work with vegetable protein from black beans...  I don't suggest soy products if it isn't guaranteed 100% organic...  The problem with vegetarianism is that there are certain vitamins you obtain from muscle meat and organ meat that you don't obtain adequately from vegetables.  And like Vitamin D (which you should obtain from the sun) and Vitamin A, the molecular structures differ between that of vegetables and that of animal sources.  That said, vegetable sources for Vitamin A (Beta Carotein) are much better than Vitamin A (retinol) from animal sources (eggs, shrimp...)...  

Contrary to popular belief, the Vitamin A (beta carotein) from Vegetables (Carrots) is not for helping your eyes...  Does retinol have a familiar ring?  Retina... Part of the eye... It is the Vitamin A found in Animal Sources that aids in eye sight...  Not Beta Carotein from Carrots (kale, spinach etc... #1 is Sweet Potato, not Carrot)...  However, eat your carrots...  Beta Carotein is a very powerful anti-oxidant that strengthens your immune system...  and is incredibly necessary in the process of metabolizing fat or converting fat to energy... and equally important for converting Omega 3 Fatty Acids to HDL Cholesterol. It is a precursor.  

Irreplaceable for increasing HDL Cholesterol in your body are Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Zinc, Magnesium, Vitamins B3 and B6...  It is easier to obtain the vitamin Bs from animal sources, although you can obtain them from vegetable sources.  That said, all bodies are different and absorb or metabolize nutrients differently. Not all vegetarians can live without animal protein or the vitamins and minerals derived from those sources.  Some develop problems in their livers... I knew a Vegan in college who's vegetarian accupressurist/nutritionist told her that she would die if she didn't start eating chicken.  She had been rushed to the hospital twice that semester because of some sort of collapse and jaundice (the yellowing of the skin, fingernails or eyes) because the liver isn't able to rid itself of bile, which is the process of removing excess cholesterol from the body...  But, how could she have excess cholesterol in her body if she was a vegan and cholesterol is only produced in animals?  Because the liver also produces cholesterol...  

This brings me back to the argument (by the Paleos) that vegetarians can't produce their own HDL cholesterol from plant sources of Omega 3 fatty acids and must eat cold water fish or grass fed cattle...  or truly free-range chickens...  Those "experts" claim that it is too difficult for the human body to convert Omega 3 from vegetable sources into EPA Omega 3 (exclusively found in cold water fish) that is then converted into HDL Cholesterol, that contributes in the removal of LDL and VLDL cholesterol from the body and prevents blood clots or the thickening of blood (caused by sticky platelets) that leads to blood clots... which is much worse if an over consumption of simple carbs has led to the damage of and subsequent thickening of arteries... leading to heart attacks and strokes...  That said and that said... and that said... Then, how do they explain that groups of strict vegetarians are found with high levels of Omega 3 Fatty Acids in their tissues and high levels of HDL cholesterol in their blood?  How do they explain that high levels of EPA Omega 3 Fatty Acids are found in the breast milk of vegan mothers?  I've found that when I increase my consumption of ground flax seed, my BP lowers.  And when I lower my consumption of flax seed and increase my level of consumption of Saturated Fats, eggs, beef or pork products, no matter how much I'm running... my BP rises... And, I'm more likely to combine high levels of virgin olive oil in my diet the days that I am eating more meat than when I'm consuming ground flax seeds.  Why?  Because monounsaturated fatty acids (Olive Oil, Macademia Nuts, Avocados) compete with the metabolism of Omega 3, leading to a decrease in production of HDL cholesterol.  And these days I'm trying to increase my HDL Cholesterol without having to eat cold water fish... because in Mexico, cold water fish is difficult and very expensive to come by...  

Last night I prepared a wonderful hummus with fresh ground sesame tahini (I ground) and home boiled chick peas... and a lot of fresh lime juice and a lot of Extra Virgin Olive Oil...  I will not consume the hummus with flax seeds due to the extreme level of dietary fiber that would give me... Due to my surgeries, excess dietary fiber means blockage and not laxative...  So, I won't be having the Monounsaturated Fatty Acids compete with the SuperPolyunsaturated Fatty Acids (Omega 3)...  With or without the avocados, macadamia nuts or Olive Oil, consuming an excess (what is an excess?  Difficult question with a complex answer) of saturated fats in animal products will raise my BP...  But does that mean that it will put me at risk of a heart disease or a stroke? 

Animal Protein and Omega 3 Fatty Acids for health...  It's an interesting subject...  If you can explain adequately how removing the animal source from the equation doesn't remove health, your explanation will be much appreciated...

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