Eat healthy live healthy


Red meat and colon cancer

A new study published in the Journal ofimportant to realize as our world
the American Medical Association shows apopulation grows and it becomes
doubling of the risk of colon cancer forincreasingly difficult to produce the
people who are heavy consumers of redprotein required by the population.
meat. More specifically, it shows thatHow to make the transition away from red
the risk doubles compared to those whomeat
consume smaller quantities of red meat.These are all reasons to avoid an
But how does this compare to people whoanimal-based diet and pursue a
consume no red meat at all?plant-based diet. Many people reading
This is conjecture, but I'm willing tothis are already following a plant-based
bet that heavy consumers of red meatdiet, but some of you who might be
probably have quadruple the risk (orconsidering making the change probably
more) of colon cancer compared toaren't sure exactly how to do it.
vegetarians or people who consume no redPerhaps you want to merely reduce your
meat. By the way, you don't have to be aconsumption of red meat but not give it
vegetarian to boycott red meat. You canup completely yet, which is fine, since
still be a consumer of other sources ofthat's the way all of us ex-meat-eaters
animal protein (fish, seafood, etc.)got into plant-based diets to begin
while avoiding red meat.with. Few people ate more meat than I
There are plenty of health reasons todid because I grew up in an environment
avoid eating red meat, and a higher riskwhere we had all the red meat we wanted
of colon cancer is just one of them. Theat no charge (my grandfather was a
saturated animal fat found in red meatcattle rancher). We had a freezer full
products contributes to heart diseaseof red meat at all times, and we could
and atherosclerosis. In addition, redhave as much hamburger, steak or other
meat can contain contaminants such ascuts of meat as we wanted. I consumed
heavy metals, pesticides and undesirablelarge quantities of red meat for nearly
environmental pollutants that tend to30 years.
collect in the fat tissues of cows,I found the transition away from red
which are absorbed into your body whenmeat to be difficult at first. I started
you eat cow fat. And you can't eat redconsuming less of it and eating other
meat without getting some animal fat.meat alternatives, and pretty soon I
Then, of course, there's what I call thebegan to view red meat in a different
vibration of red meat, which concernsway, because if you eat less of it, you
the homeopathy of the meat, or theeventually start to lose your appetite
environment in which the cow was raised.for it. And within less than a year, any
Was it a natural environment? Did thetime I would see red meat at the grocery
cow have access to open fields, sunlightstore, it would gross me out. I look at
and clean water? Or was this a cowit and I realize what it is: a chunk of
raised as part of a slaughterhouseflesh sliced off the carcass of a living
operation, produced for the sole purposecreature that has been ground up and
of generating profits? If you eat cows'stuffed into a box. Usually there's some
meat that has undergone that kind ofblood running around in the container as
experience, you are consuming a productwell. Every time I would look at that I
that is tainted with the negativewould get grossed out and think to
experience of the animal from which itmyself, "Gee, is this really what I want
came.to eat for the rest of my life? This
There are a lot of negative effectssliced up chunk of a dead cow?" And the
associated with the consumption of redanswer was, "No." So it didn't take very
meat, and this is why more and morelong before I didn't want any red meat,
people are now giving up red meat andand now I can't imagine eating it.
moving to healthier foods like fish,That's one way to get rid of red meat in
free-range chicken, or better yet,your diet, but there are many other ways
plant-based proteins like spirulina orand I encourage you to experiment and
soy products like soy milk and tofu.see how you'd like to approach it. But
This is where you'll get your bestthe bottom line on red meat is that
protective effect and diseasethere is an increasing body of evidence
prevention, and you will be helpingsupporting the notion that you can
protect the environment at the sameprevent cancer by pursuing a plant-based
time. After all, it's far less stressfuldiet. If you want to be healthy, it's
on the environment to produce food astime to join the vegetarians. Maybe even
plants than as animals.join the vegans, if you have the
It takes 10 acres to produce the samecourage.
amount of red meat protein as it does toThink about limiting or eliminating your
produce one acre of soy beans. Andconsumption of red meat and instead
producing spirulina yields a tenfoldnourish your body with the
increase over the production ofphytonutrients, phytochemicals,
soybeans. So think about it: one acre ofvitamins, minerals and even the living
farmland used to produce spirulina canenergy of plants. That's how you'll be
produce 100 times as much protein asthe healthiest you can be.
beef and red meat. That will be very



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