VEGETARIAN DIETS

By Lawrence Wilson, MD

© 2008, The Center For Development

For over three years, I lived and worked as the Health Director at a vegetarian health spa. It was called the Villa Vegetariana in Cuernavaca, Mexico. It is no longer there. However, I learned the Vegetarian philosophy and practiced it thoroughly there. I also gave three lectures a week about it to all the guests.

Unfortunately, my health went downhill fast after a while on their regimen of mostly raw, vegetarian food. I could not figure it out until years later when I met Dr. Paul Eck and began using hair mineral testing.

With that introduction of my personal story, let us discuss what I have learned about vegetarian and raw food diets.

THE HISTORY OF VEGETARIAN DIETS

Many vegetarians believe that mankind has lived a vegetarian way for eons. This is not true, in spite of propaganda by the The American Dietetic Association and many other groups. They claim that "most of mankind for most of human history has lived on vegetarian or near-vegetarian diets."

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. The dietetic association does not support their statement with any references, so I give their statement little credence.

For example, Native Americans depended heavily on Buffalo meat, while they also ate many smaller animals as well. On every ontinent, mankind has killed animals and fish for food.

STRUCTURE AND VEGETABLE DIETS

The prominent 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.

First of all, a scientist is not prominent because this author says so. Who is he? What did he discover? He was a vegetarian advocate, that is all.

Animals usually eat insects and other animals if they can. This is simply the truth. It matters not if they have long or short intestines, although a shorter intestine is desirable for meat-eating, as the meat does not require long digestion time and so one can eat more of it.

Contrary to the statement, humans do have sharp teeth for cutting meat called the incisors. So it is a lot of fudging of facts to fit a theory.

DO WE NEED MEATS?

Vegetarian books and authors tell us "we can easily live without eating meat and killing, not to mention we'd be healthier". I believed this, too. My experience, however, has been the opposite. I don’t force my patients 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 expclaimed, “There is bad meat, but meat is not bad.” It is such a wiser statement. 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 to 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 on’e 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. In fact, meat is a lot easier to digest for human beings than, for example, raw salads or worse, raw grains or very starchy vegetables that are not cooked sufficiently. This is simply true and can be proven scientifically.

Also, I have heard the statement by vegetarians 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 if digestion is adequate.

MUST WE EAT ALL FOOD RAW?

Another common lie is that we must eat our food raw, since animals do so. Here is a sample statement from a prominent vegetarian source.

"The final point I would like to make on how we as humans were not meant to eat meat is this. All omnivorous and carnivorous animals eat their meat raw. When a lion kills an herbivore for food, it tears right into the stomach area to eat the organs that are filled with blood (nutrients). While eating the stomach, liver, intestine, etc., the lion laps the blood in the process of eating the dead animals flesh. Even bears that are omnivores eat salmon raw. However, eating raw or bloody meat disgust us as humans. Therefore, we must cook it and season it to buffer the taste of flesh."

I hope this paragraph is seen for what it is. Scary talk but not much science or even fact. Animals don’t build fires so they have to eat their food raw. They also don’t understand the germ theory or they would want to cook it even more.

Humans can, and should, eat some foods raw, such as butter, milk, eggs and others. However, the quality today of these foods is so poor, in general, even in the health stores, that I suggest lightly cooking eggs, meats and most foods to kill bacteria and other micro-organisms that they harbor.

I have written a separate article on this wesite entitled Raw Foods.

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.

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.

I experienced this myself and it took several years of building up the body to restore my taste for meats.

WHAT ABOUT ANIMAL RIGHTS?

This will sound harsh to some, but I do not believe animals have rights, as humans do. This is because animals do not have responsibilities as humans do. Without responsibilities, rights are not the correct term.

Instead, we can believe that animals should be treated humanely. This is an excellent concept. However, they do not have rights.

DOES MEAT DESTROY THE BRAIN?

In fact, some of it does. Pork, ham, bacon and other products of the pig often contain Trichina and other parasites that can lodge in the brain. This is very common and for this reason I suggest strictly avoiding all products of the pig, as the bible states clearly. Christians have often forgotten this part of their bible training.

However, eating meat actually feeds the brain very important nutrients, fatty acids, amino acids and more. So the general statement that meat destroys the brain is completely backwards.

For example, zinc is required for the brain and mainly found in meats.

ISN’T CHOLESTEROL IN MEAT BAD?

In fact, healthful fats are critical nutrients. Excellent sources are grass-fed beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, dairy products, eggs, and certainly cold-water fish such as salmon. In part, this is because there is so much refined vegetable oils in the diet. However, the omega-3 fatty acids found only in the foods listed above, along with flax and hempseed oil, are critical for our health.

For much more about cholesterol, read Cholesterol-phobia on this website.

WILL EATING MEAT MAKE ONE FAT?

Assuming meat is part of a wholesome, balanced diet, the opposite is true. The most overweight people are often the vegetarian types, that is, those who eat a lot of carbohydrate foods.

Robert Atkins, MD, spent a whole lifetime of research showing this to be true and it is finally getting more vindication and support in America, land of the overweight.

DOES EATING MEAT MAKE ONE LESS SPIRITUAL?

It is true that the yogic philosophy does not recommend eating meat. However, this was a different time and place. Today our bodies need the nourishment meat provides.

It is, in fact, true that more meat can harden the body to some extent, and this is not all that desirable. However, once again, nutrition must come first. For example, many do not know that the Dalai Lama eats meat on a regular basis, though he tells his followers not to do so as it their tradition. Those who are really wise eat meats.

DOES EATING MEAT CAUSE OSTEOPOROSIS?

Yes, if one does not eat all the vegetables, too. But meat-eating all by itself does not cause osteoporosis at all. It is quite the opposite, in my long experience.

Many women with osteoporosis have been or are vegetarian types, meaning they do not eat much red meat. They begin to develop deficiencies of zinc, boron, manganese and other critical minerals needed for the bones.

DOES VEGETARIANISM MOVE US AWAY FROM OUR LOWER ANIMAL NATURE?

Not really. It may seem to because one doesn’t feel responsible for killing. However, zinc, alpha-lipoic acid, taurine, carnitine and other nutrients are keys to open our higher nature or energy centers. Read the article on this website entitled Zinc for more information about this critical mineral, for example.

Zinc is found most abundantly and most easily absorbed from meats, fish, eggs and poultry. Vegetables are a poor source, by contrast.

Also, meats contain more etheric or spiritual 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.

While vegetarian books say that aggression is higher in meat-eaters, this is not always true, as Adolf Hitler and others proved. He was a vegetarian and I cannot imagine anyone more aggressive.

DOES EATING MEAT CAUSE BAD KARMA?

This is also frequently heard and is one reason that Buddhists claim to be vegetarians in most cases. However, once again, in today’s society, nutrition must take precedence or we will become ill, in my experience.

So yes, it would be best to live without killing. However, it is not a forbidden practice in Western culture and that is for a reason. It appears to be necessary for survival.

IS THERE ANYTHING POSITIVE FOR ANIMALS OR FOR OUR KARMA REGARDING EATING MEAT?

Yes, surprisingly. When animals spend time around humans, 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. So eating animals is not a total loss, in terms of karma and helping the animal kingdom.

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 many conditions that vegetarians suffer from.

Too much meat, however, can cause cancer if it is not digested correctly or if other foods are neglected in the diet. This is the only sense in which meat can cause any disease.  

ARE KETONES BAD?

Some vegetarians claim that ketones, which are chemicals formed from the digestion of fats, are bad for us. This is untrue, however, or why would the ketogenic diet, for example, be advocated even by medical people for certain illnesses.

Ketones are simply byproducts of fat breakdown. Since meats tend to have more fats in them, one produces 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, the vegetarian nemesis.  

DO MEAT-EATERS SUFFER MORE FOOD POISONING?

The answer is yes and no. 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, 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 are far more costly than eggs, for example, in terms of weight or protein content, which is an excellent measure as well. 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 VEGETARIA DIETS, AT LEAST FOR A WHILE?

This is the best question so far. It is true that getting off meat for many people is of benefit for a while. It allows the digestive system to rest a little, since most of these people do not digest food well. Thus, one feels better.

Meat has what is called a higher dynamic action of its protein. This is more stressful on the body in some ways, as it encourages the body to produce more toxic wastes in the process of rebuilding tissue.

Thus, stopping all meats, poultry, eggs and cheese can cause a temporary uplift for this reason as well.

There are other reasons why some people feel better on a vegetarian regime. Many improve their overall diet, which is a huge factor. Many eat more fiber, which is helpful to everyone. Many eat more vegetables, a decided advantage for everyone. However, they think it is just no meat that is the factor causing them to feel better, when this is untrue.

Thus, the question of why some feel better on a vegetarian regimen has many answers and must be addressed on a case by case basis. However, if continued long enough, most will notice they feel decidedly worse.

I found that the deficiencies I had incurred by my five years or so as a vegetarian could not be easily reversed and my health suffered terribly for some ten years, at least, until I could rebuild my body chemistry. So beware of vegetarian diets. 

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