As 2011 draws to a close, here are 11 things to think about for a longer, healthier life:
Ø There’s more to meat than meets the eye. You are what you eat, and oftentimes what you kill can kill you back. Many of modern man’s health miseries originate from the place we would rather not see, smell or hear: slaughterhouses and animal farms. Inside these establishments, God only knows what industrial chemicals, pesticides and growth hormones are being injected, and new strains of bacteria and viruses are being incubated. Countless interviews with toxicologists, meat inspectors and veterinarians confirm this writer’s worst fears. Even a former health secretary has warned the public about animal meat, especially processed meat and animal milk and milk products like butter.
Ø Too little greens on the plate. Doubtless, the country’s top causes of death are cardiovascular diseases and cancer. This is to be expected of a society that eats too little fruits and vegetables. The Philippines shows the lowest annual per capita vegetable intake in Asia—a measly 40 kg as compared to China with 250 kg. The World Health Organization recommendation is between 146 and 182 kg. If we just ate enough fruits and vegetables to reach the minimum range, 31 percent of ischemic heart diseases, 19 percent of strokes and 19 percent of stomach cancers could be prevented.
Ø Got milk? Got problems. This has something to do with item No. 1. Farm-bred cows, in order to speed up their production of milk, are injected with a wide range of drugs, chemicals and hormones. The “best” thing about it is that this is all legal.
Ø Processed foods are the bomb. And that’s because of the sort of chemicals put into your neighborhood longganisa. Some government veterinarians even call them longganisa embalsamado, because of the horrendous amounts of nitrate put into them.
Ø The real inconvenient truth: Worldwide meat production (beef, chicken, pork) emits more atmospheric greenhouse gases than do all forms of global transportation or industrial processes. That’s according to researchers of Scientific American in its February 2009 issue. Each human will consume 2,400 farm animals in his/her lifetime. We increase our carbon footprint every time we eat our burgers, bacon, ham and eggs. Imagine multiplying 2,400 farm animals by 7 billion people on earth.
Ø Directly related to item No. 5, livestock production is hard-pressed to meet this demand for meat. Cattle raising then becomes a primary factor in the destruction of the world’s remaining tropical rainforests, as cited by Jeremy Rifkin, author of “Beyond Beef: The Rise and Fall of the Cattle Culture.”
Ø Beef and brain disorder. The connection between Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and humans was uncovered in Great Britain in the 1990s when several youngsters died of a brain disorder, which was discovered to be a variation of a rare brain disorder called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), which typically strikes elderly people. CJD is a progressive deterioration of the mental status of a patient who may have ingested infected brain from cattle and other livestock. BSE has been implicated in the use of ground beef and infected cow parts as part of cattle feed.
Ø Going on a plant-based diet will not make you physically weak. There are a number of vegetarian athletes, even up to Olympic levels all over the world. This writer has met and interviewed Filipino athletes who are vegetarians.
Ø There are patients who have reversed their diseases by shifting to a plant-based diet. This writer has met many of them. Check out Blecenda Miranda-Varona, DrPH, MPH, RND, a nutritionist-dietitian for 25 years if you want to interact with these patients.
Ø If you want some peace and order, make them eat fruits and vegetables. A May 2010 neuroscience article in PlosOne journal described the tangible differences among the brains of vegetarians, vegans and omnivores. The brain, as it was found out, tended to rewire itself toward compassion or empathy to fellow beings when subjected to a vegetarian diet. The PlosOne study presents the first neuroimaging evidence of brains wired for compassion when exposed to a meatless diet.
There are now 16,000 registered restaurants offering plant-based menu, and they all can be accessed at www.happycow.net. Their locations include the Philippines. Check out Pinoyvegs at Facebook, too, or story links: https://business.inquirer.net/33323/healthy-noche-buena-fare-a-mouse-click-a-call-away and https:// showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/sim/sim/ view/20110129-317325/Dare-to-Eat-Here