09 Nov Is Meat Bad For Me?
For decades we have been told that saturated fats and red meats are bad for us, too many eggs will cause high cholesterol or constipation and the best way to keep our weight healthy is to be sparing with cheese and butter. As for suet, dripping and tallow – well, that’s a heart attack waiting to happen.
The emerging research in nutritional science shows us how wrong we are and how slowly, but surely, we have created a diet that is totally inconsistent with our evolution and is no longer species appropriate.
Margarine and ‘spreads’, hybrid grains that are high in gluten and sprayed with pesticides, processed shelf stable ‘products’, trending toward low fat- high carb or vegan diets, pasteurised dairy, and cheap factory farmed meat that is fed corn and soy means that our diet has become highly inflammatory, and it’s caused a global health crisis the likes of which we have never witnessed before. All of this combined with repeated misinformation that “meat and fat is bad” means many people are confused about what to eat. We have forgotten how to follow our instinct, and even if we do try to, our hormones and hunger signals are often messed up because of the food we have eaten historically.
These beliefs around nutrition were started in the 1950’s before we had the capability to conduct proper research but sadly this misinformation has lodged itself in the collective consciousness.
The truth is that the way out of this mess and the path back to great health involves protein.
Not a food that has some protein in it (like quinoa, nuts, or cheese) but a whole protein food source. That means meat, fish, and eggs.
As a nutritionist I am always educating people about eating “PFC”. That means that at every meal we eat a protein, fat, and carbohydrate. We know about having our “five a day “of fruits and vegetables so if you have a proper protein source and combine meat with proper meat fats such as suet, dripping or tallow and good old-fashioned offal and bone broth then your diet will truly be balanced. Without these food sources we cannot get the full spectrum of nutrition in our diet, and we will continue to career towards ill health and metabolic issues.
Animal products are the ultimate super food. No other food on the planet contains all the minerals, vitamins, fatty acids, and amino acids we need to be fully healthy without supplementing if we are eating a full spectrum of animal products (meat, offal, and fat). On top of that, if we are eating free range, hormone free and grass-fed meat there are no other compounds contained in it that causes us harm unlike most other foods.
I am often asked “can I have too much protein” the short answer is no. In fact it is impossible to have healthy hormones, thyroid, blood sugars and immune function without it.
Finding fantastic farms and butchers that focus on sourcing animals that have eaten a species appropriate diet and lived a species appropriate lifestyle is the way to make it more affordable and ethical.
The bottom line: If we want to achieve or maintain exceptional health, we can no longer ignore the weight of research that shows we must include meat and meat products in our diet.