Posts tagged Meat
Plant-based Vs Animal-based Diets: Modern Disease in Ancient Egyptians

Most people alive today would probably agree that organic, pesticide-free, whole wheat, grain-based diets, low in animal-based foods, richer in plant proteins from lentils and beans, and consisting mainly of vegetables are ideal diets. The ancient Egyptians ate this way. To repeat, it was organic, pesticide-free, and whole-grain. Ask the folks who made the food pyramid (My Plate) and the Eat Lancet Diet, and they will love it. Does it sound amazing to you? Well, not to me. My Plate has adult men eating around ten slices of bread per day, or the equivalent of 47 teaspoons of table sugar! I wrote about how the Eat Lancet Diet causes malnutrition on January 1, which is a similar diet to My Plate. If you are interested in their recommendations—the Lancet's diet causes protein deficiency, among other things. Let’s see how the ancient Egyptians who ate the same way fared.

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JERM Theory

Most people, whether they consider themselves vegan, omnivores, or carnivores, will agree that processed food should be avoided. I have some bad news; plant-based meat is highly processed. It has gained a place in the market because of the bad press meat gets, none of which is deserved. Additionally, plant-based foods are promoted as the healthiest food choice. This post will discuss the processed nature of plant-based meat versus the benefit of including meat in our diet. I will only discuss three ingredients for brevity. I will conclude by explaining what JERM means.

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The Ice Age and How it Shaped Human Evolution

Evolution takes place because we successfully adapt to changes in our environments over vast amounts of time, leading to the false belief that evolution occurs only when the environmental change is stable over time so that the adaptive changes can take hold and the species can flourish. After all, if the adaptative pressure goes in one direction and then reverses course, the adaptive changes might never happen or become maladaptive and cause extinction. But the climatic record during human evolution has been extremely variable, especially in the recent past, so it does not support the idea that environmental stability produced our adaptation. This post will discuss the accepted definition of ice ages, glaciations, interglacials, and their effect on human evolution. 

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A New Study Shows That Higher Animal-based Food Intake is Associated with Longer Life Expectancy

Meat has long been associated with heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. However, most studies are demographic studies or use food recall questionnaires. Both have limitations compared to clinical trials, and so, are lacking. For this reason, most governmental dietary guidelines include meat as a nutritious part of healthy eating, even with its undeserved bad reputation. Conversely, authorities have prompted the spread of vegetarianism and veganism, based on the assumption that non-meat diets provide more health benefits than diets that include meat. A recent study that included 90% of the world’s population showed a strong correlation between higher animal-based food consumption and longer lifespans. I will break the study down in today’s post for its strengths and weaknesses.

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