Veganism or vegetarianism has never been a temptation to me. I love....LOVE meat! But there are many people who see these lifestyles as superior to other diets including meat and animal byproducts. My goal for this blog isn't to share my opinion on everything under the sun, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to share some shocking articles that have been published recently about this subject.
Steve Jobs was a famous vegan. Some, including Dr. John McDougall, believe that is vegan diet is to credit for Jobs living as long as he did with pancreatic cancer. There are others, like Dr. Kaayla Daniel, who believe that vegan diet (particularly Job's excessive consumption of fruit), may have worsened or even caused the cancer.
Both of these positions are quite intriguing, but then this story pops up in the news...
Steve Jobs’ Fruitarian Diet Lands Ashton Kutcher in the Hospital
Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/29/steve-jobs-fruitarian-diet-lands-ashton-kutcher-in-the-hospital/#ixzz2JUZSUnV3
According to Kutcher, his steady diet of apples resulted in him being "...doubled over in pain...", being rushed to the hospital and learning that his "...pancreas levels were completely out of whack...".
WAIT...WHAT?????
Yes, you read correctly. Apples were wreaking havoc on Kutcher's pancreas as he worked to become the man who died from pancreatic cancer not two years ago.
So this is where I must give my opinion:
Do I believe eating fruit will lead to cancer? No.
Do I believe eating meat will lead to cancer? No.
Do I believe eating wheat will lead to cancer? No.
What I believe is the human was created to live on a variety of whole foods. No one food will harm you...unless it's poisonous. The real problem isn't the food, it's the volume and variety of those foods that are, or aren't, being consumed on a regular basis. The unfortunate thing is that Conventional Wisdom does not teach variety very well. It tells us that the majority of our plate should be grains, with some vegetables OR fruits (because they're all the same, right?), and a bit of LEAN meat protein thrown in for satisfaction sake. They don't take into account what state any of those parts of the plate are in (they could be covered in cheese, or a sugary sweet glaze, or plain...that doesn't matter). It doesn't matter where those components come from (they could come from a can, a garden, or pieced together molecule-by-molecule by some food chemist). All that matters is the "pyramid".
That's right. The USDA and the FDA are just a big pyramid scheme.
I wanted to share this because I want people to have research at their disposal, not just my opinion. Yes, I will choose research that usually supports the choices I have made. But if I find a really thought-provoking article that tells of the dangers of cutting out grains and refined sugars from my diet, I will share that as well. But I wouldn't hold your breath :)
What did you think about the Ashton Kutcher story?
I was a vegetarian for 9 years and it seriously messed up my health. I thank Sally Fallon for getting me back to meat and traditional foods. I do believe that sugar is more of a culprit in the health issue of today and that well, fruit is mostly sugar.
ReplyDeleteYou're totally right! Spending time on the WAPF website has taught me so much about what these processed foods loaded with GMOs, sugar, and soy are really doing to our health. I'm so thankful for what they, are you, are doing to educate and encourage people to make the changes necessary to live healthier, full lives.
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