Go For Vegetables, Not Vegetarianism

Go for Vegetables, Not Vegetarianism Part 1
By James H. O’Keefe, M.D.

America today is a land that indulges our freedom of choice. You can choose to have green hair and blue eyes, or to watch Sponge Bob Square Pants around the clock, or for your morning coffee you can choose to have a vanilla, half-caf, 1 percent, extra-hot, no-foam latte—but you can’t yet choose your genes. Those genes, the blueprint your cells use to build and maintain you, specify the kinds of foods upon which you will either thrive or decay. That’s why not all diets are created equal, and why food cannot be like fashion fads that come and go.

Many vital nutrients are found predominantly in meat, fish, eggs, dairy, and other animal by-products.   These include:

  • essential amino acids
  • DHA (an omega-3 fat)
  • Vitamin B12
  • Vitamin A
  • Vitamin D
  • Calcium
  • Zinc

So paradoxically, while fresh produce (vegetables and fruits) is the single most important component of a healthy diet, strict vegetarianism does not foster optimum human health. The traditional vegetarian diets, as in India, always included eggs, dairy, and/or fish, which provided these nutrients.

Unfortunately, most animal-based foods in our modern diet are over-processed and unhealthy due to unnaturally high levels of saturated fats, sodium, nitrites, preservatives, and other additives; giving meat a bad reputation in many nutritional circles. Yet if you want a strong body, a sharp mind, and a powerful and vigilant immune system, you should try to consume lean, healthy, fresh protein three times a day.

Next week:  Part 2: Be Picky About Your Protein

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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 17th, 2010 at 9:09 am and is filed under Diet, Dr. James O'Keefe, Forever Young Diet & Lifestyle, Healthy Living tips, Uncategorized, cardiotabs, omega 3. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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