Page 47 - Spring2008

starts with the arteries leading to the back. Eating 17. YOU’LL COOL THOSE HOT FLASHES:
a plant-based diet keeps these arteries clear of Plants, grains and legumes contain phytoestrogens that are believed

cholesterol-causing blockages to help maintain to balance fluctuating hormones, so vegetarian women tend to go through
a healthy back. menopause with fewer complaints of sleep problems, hot fl ashes, fatigue,
This item is pure speculation. One of the mood swings, weight gain, depression and a diminished sex drive.
most common side effects of cholesterol-lower- Let’s see now, hormones in meat and milk are bad (see Item 13), but
ing is crippling back pain. The muscles that sup- by tortured vegetarian logic, hormones in plant foods are good. Where is
port our spine require animal foods to maintain the research showing that vegetarian women go through menopause with
their intregrity. And the bones in our spine need fewer complaints? Numerous studies have shown that the phytoestrogens
a good source of calcium, namely dairy products in soy foods have an inconsistent effect on hot fl ashes and other symptoms
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or bone broth, to remain strong. of menopause.
The body needs cholesterol, vitamin A, vitamin D and other animal
16. YOU’LL BE MORE REGULAR: nutrients for hormone production. A vegetarian diet devoid of these nu-
Eating a lot of vegetables necessarily trients is a recipe for menopausal problems, fatigue and diminished sex

means consuming fiber, which pushes waste out drive—the dietary proscriptions of the puritanical Graham and Kellogg

of the body. Meat contains no fiber. Studies done work very well for their intended purpose, which is to wipe out libido in
at Harvard and Brigham Women’s Hospital found both men and women.
that people who ate a high-fiber diet had a 42 Lack of cholesterol, vitamin D and vitamin B is a recipe for mood

12
percent lower risk of diverticulitis. People who swings and depression. If you want to have a happy menopause, don’t be
eat lower on the food chain also tend to have a vegetarian!
fewer incidences of constipation, hemorrhoids
and spastic colon. 18. YOU’LL HELP TO BRING DOWN THE NATIONAL DEBT:
Konstantin Monastyrsky, author of Fiber We spend large amounts annually to treat the heart disease, cancer,
Menace, begs to differ. He notes that because obesity, and food poisoning that are byproducts of a diet heavy on animal

fiber indeed slows down the digestive process, products.
it interferes with the digestion in the stomach We have commented on the link between vegetarianism and heart
and, later, clogs the intestines. The results of disease, cancer, obesity and food poisoning above. The main change in
delayed indigestion (dyspepsia) include heart- the American diet paralleling the huge increase in health problems is the
burn (GERD), gastritis (the inflammation of the substitution of vegetable oils for animal fats. A secondary change is the

stomach’s mucosal membrane), peptic ulcers, industrialization of agriculture. The solution to our health crisis is to return

enteritis (inflammation of the intestinal mucosal to pasture-based farming methods and the animal food-rich diets of our
membrane), and further down the tube, constipa- ancestors.
tion, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis,
and Crohn’s disease. Hemorrhoids and diverticu- 19. YOU’LL PRESERVE OUR FISH POPULATION:
litis are other likely results—scientific studies do Because of our voracious appetite for fish, 39 per cent of the oceans’ fi sh

not support the theory that fiber prevents these species are overharvested, and the Food & Agriculture Organization reports

conditions. 25 that 11 of 15 of the world’s major fi shing grounds have become depleted.

THE NUTRIENT DENSITY STAKES: LANDSLIDE VICTORY OF ANIMAL FOODS OVER FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Plant foods fail to match up to animal foods in almost every category. Note that liver contains more vitamin C than
apples or carrots!

Per 100 g Phosphorus Iron Zinc Copper B 2 A C B 6 B 12
in mg in mg in mg in mg in mg in IU in mg in mg in mcg

APPLE 000.6 0.1 0.05 00.04 0.02 00000 07.0 0.03 000
CARROTS 031.0 0.6 0.3 00.08 0.05 00000 06.0 0.1 000
RED MEAT 140 3.3 4.4 00.2 0.2 00040 00 0.07 001.84
LIVER 476 8.8 4.0 12.0 4.2 53,400 27 0.73 111.3

SPRING 2008 Wise Traditions 47