Even when one is seemingly prepared to hear and live the truth
It is quite a formidable undertaking that cannot be approached with anything less than an impassioned devotion and an earnest heart. For the temptations regarding the food we eat are far greater and more insidious than that of any other temptation that plagues the flesh.
This is true, not only because we all NEED to eat, but moreover by the time we are 3 years of age, our appetites have been formed. The veracity of that last statement is clear when one considers the ease with which a two year old can be persuaded to eat something new, but try that with a four year old.
And, as if that weren’t enough, we have been inundated with myths and false claims regarding diet and health; mostly by commercial interests but even others who actually ‘believe’ the pseudo-academics they profess.
One of the most powerful of all these myths and one, which is responsible for more deaths than all the wars of the 20th century, is the protein myth. The angelic and pristine minds of our children sit as helpless prey to the vultures of commerce as they turn over, not only their minds, but also their innocence to the producers and financiers of “TV entertainment”.
These myths and mistruths have so permeated our culture that they have become constituent to all curricula and are now considered to be a priori knowledge….that is they are thought to be self evident. And accordingly then, these ‘untruths’ have become integral to our most sacred institutions from schools to churches, and from sports to business to government.
“If you repeat a lie enough, it becomes the truth” is a concept that arose out of the Nazi propaganda machine.
That we are omnivores by perversion and not by design is clear to anyone who has sought in earnest to understand the subject. All true omnivores must be anatomically capable of killing their prey when there are no suitable plants available. Killing must be practical and efficient and in that regard, all mammalian omnivores have snouts and pointed claws to rend, kill and devour their victims just as proficiently as carnivores.
Bears, raccoons, skunk and rats are among this group wherein it can be seen that they possess much of killing apparatus of carnivores, such as sharp teeth with elongated cupids (“eye teeth”), no cheeks to get in the way of delivering a death bite to the neck and large, sharp claws for shredding the flesh into bite size pieces. What is not outwardly visible are the adaptations these creatures have in their intestinal anatomy allowing them to digest and assimilate large volumes of plant material. These are all true omnivores.
Clearly, humans are neither adapted to killing animals without the use of tools (weapons) nor instinctively driven to eat them.
We do not look upon a cow grazing in the field and lick our lips while salivating. Lions do! Neither do we come upon the corpse of an animal and begin to sniff the remains carefully while salivating. Hyenas do! As a matter of fact, we find that our usual practice is to disguise the decayed flesh that has found its way to our dinner plates to such an extent that it no longer resembles the corpse from which it was removed.
In large part, it is actually the sauces and gravies that enslave our palates, not the actual flesh itself.
The butter, garlic and lemon used to sauté mushrooms is the same as is used to prepare escargot (snails). If the snails were simply placed on a plate without any preparation, this “delicacy” would lose its savor and favor, I might add. Consider, though that when mushrooms are sautéed in this same delicate sauce, not only are the aroma and taste preserved but also the texture of the snail remains for the epicurean who has decided to eat with a bit more wisdom while satisfying his perverted tastes. Likewise, an extracted muscle from either side of the spine taken from the carcass of a steer would have very few takers, unless it were broiled and prepared with a particular culinary artistry to earn it the designation as “filet mignon”. The old American standard, the hamburger is simply ground up muscles, organs, brain and spinal tissue and yet it is renown worldwide to both delight and addict people by the billions. What, then can account for its distinction and acclaim; certainly not the usual body parts. No, it is the mixture and preparation of sauces and spices that have been empirically tested on billions over the decades that account for its almost immediate acceptance into every culture to which it is exported
Flesh eating is so antithetical to our very natures that we not only must camouflage the sight, smell and taste of the animal parts we consume, but we must also assign them different names, such as hotdogs, chops, nuggets, etc. Hence, rather than offering our loved ones pig corpse and chicken embryos for breakfast we entice them with words like, ‘bacon & eggs’.
Protein, carbohydrates and fats constitute the macronutrients required for life
While micronutrients are composed of vitamins and minerals. That proteins are necessary for structure and function is not the question but rather from what source and what quantity are proteins compatible with health?
Anyone who has witnessed a helpless, newborn baby drink luxuriously from its mother’s breast and over 9 to 12 months, double in weight and size can attest to the fact that there is ample protein available for humans in human milk. The percentage of calories derived from protein in human milk is the lowest of all mammalian milk. Whereas rats’ milk is approximately 49% protein, cats’ milk approximately 32% protein and chimpanzees’ milk approximately 7% protein, human milk only contains from
3 – 5% of its calories from protein. This then is the amount of protein ordained by Nature (God) to be necessary and sufficient for humans during that period of life when their growth rate is at a maximum. Teenagers, who grow at a fairly rapid rate don’t even double their size. They don’t grow from 4 feet to 8 feet in height.
As can be seen by the following partial list, it is quite difficult to NOT get adequate protein from vegetables. In other words, the reason that you prefer to eat grass fed cows is due to the fact that both the size and health of their muscles (‘meat’) is far superior to those poor creatures forced to feed on other cows, road kill and euthanized pets as is common in modern farming and agribusiness.
- SPINACH = 49%
- BROCCOLI = 45%
- CAULIFLOWER = 40%
- LETTUCE = 34%
- PEAS = 30%
- GREEN BEANS = 26%
- CUCUMBERS = 24%
- CELERY = 21%
- POTATOES = 11%
Next time you see a gorilla, ask him/her, “where do you get your protein?” Even a peach contains 6% protein and a banana 5% protein by calorie.
“If a little is great, and a lot is better, then way too much is just about right!”
This quote by Mae West from the early part of the 20th century pretty much sums up the American attitude about most things, which is why we Americans consume the majority of the world’s resources. This however turns out to be true of absolutely nothing. Too much oxygen and we develop emphysema, too much water and our blood becomes diluted to the point of not being capable of sustaining life. When the protein content of our diets averages around 5%, we are able to meet all of our protein requirements. Once our protein intake exceeds 10%, we develop chronic, degenerative conditions, known as “diseases”. And once we exceed 20%, cancer can be expected.
So, “we need what we need in the amount that we need, nothing more and nothing less”, would be a wiser aphorism by which to live.
Hearing and/or reading about these truths must become part of our daily life, if we are to successfully remain unentangled by our ferocious appetites. However, even daily reading and fruitful discussions with friends regarding these truths is still not enough.
The power of appetite should never be underestimated.
Witness the smoker, the alcoholic, the drug addict and the morbidly obese. Every one of them knows in their hearts that they “should” stop and, in fact shed many a tear on their way to procure their addictive substances. It is possible to satisfy your appetites while preserving health. Remember, just because you want to indulge, it doesn’t need to cost you your health!
