Guts and Grease: The Diet of Native Americans

[Eagle Plumes]

Ok I'm on overload now so I'll just answer or address the few things I can remember after 7+ pages since I was last online LOL!!

1) EAgle Plumes... that was a just a joke I've always heard from Okie Indian boys up here that indin love was a hickey and a black eye...not that I would ever promote violence nor let any man hit me or he'd walk away without that hand and a few other body parts.... But it's kinda funny to joke about if you know the premise in which they say it. Think of the Man Song- " I don't take no crap!... from anybody else but you....


Josiah, I just wanted to note that all this myth about cattle taking up grain that could feed people is interesting since in Ethiopia, the foods they are trying to introduce to the people there are quick renewable meat sources like chickens and rabbits. Grains these groups send over sit in the customs areas so long they end up rotting and molding ...good for chicken feed but not human consumption anymore..


SIG..... Ok first off you can quit referring to me as a guy just because of the name blackbear... you see my signature? It's a pregnancy ticker and is the FIRST clue I'm a woman.

Second.. you're not fooling anyone with your phony peace talk because anyone who truly believes the cottage cheese you are spewing would'nt be telling anyone they look or sound "retarded". And given that I take care of the developmentally disabled it's extremly insulting that you used that word in the context that you despise people who are "retarded".

I'm beginning to believe you are nothing of what you say you are. I'm inclined to believe you are neither an older woman nor someone who follows the hare krishna, but that this is a phony persona because there is something very very disgenuine about the way you present yourself.

I have suggested this before and I encourage you to take my suggestion now that you need to leave your misconceptions about native american beliefs out of this conversation and start another thread about what YOU think.. and then see what others have to say, but as far as what WE ate... it's not something debateable or even a well kept secret. We ate what we got from the land and meat was a huge part of that.

One last thing... Angie, your comment was way out of line and considering it's the only thing you contributed to this thread in way of discussion looks like all you want to do is get a kick in. Please refrain from doing that again, and please refrain from the sexual innuendo especially used as an insult.

I got you part of that hickie thing but I diddnt get her part of it alot of it hurts mah head lol

[NorthofAda]

North of Ada: Why not? Many of the native nations practiced the eating of heart or liver for honoring the kill and taking on it's strength, and in some cases mild cannabalism for the same reason... Not that I believe that about eating meat myself but if we can believe we take on someone or something strengths, why is is that much harder to believe we take on it's fears as well?


Josiah: It came out of left field... I read that part of the myth and it came to mind one of the documentaries I watched on Africa that was more recent and that came to mind. Sorry for the confusion.

Sorry Blackbear - I hadn't intended to offend any natives who believe that way. I apologize.

Josiah - that was a really great article with some very well-thought and coherent points made. I'm convinced after reading it that there will no longer be margarine or shortening used in our house, but plain old butter.

I guess bottom line is there are many merits to eating meat, I will continue to eat meat and enjoy it, but if others feel differently, to each their own.

I do take exception to SiG's campaign to make me feel guilty or less spiritual for eating the way that my people have for centuries..

[Josiah]

North of Ada: Why not? Many of the native nations practiced the eating of heart or liver for honoring the kill and taking on it's strength, and in some cases mild cannabalism for the same reason... Not that I believe that about eating meat myself but if we can believe we take on someone or something strengths, why is is that much harder to believe we take on it's fears as well?


Josiah: It came out of left field... I read that part of the myth and it came to mind one of the documentaries I watched on Africa that was more recent and that came to mind. Sorry for the confusion.

I reread the first Myth and put two and two together and now not confused
LOL

[Blackbear]

North of Ada: Why not? Many of the native nations practiced the eating of heart or liver for honoring the kill and taking on it's strength, and in some cases mild cannabalism for the same reason... Not that I believe that about eating meat myself but if we can believe we take on someone or something strengths, why is is that much harder to believe we take on it's fears as well?


Josiah: It came out of left field... I read that part of the myth and it came to mind one of the documentaries I watched on Africa that was more recent and that came to mind. Sorry for the confusion.

[Josiah]

Josiah, I just wanted to note that all this myth about cattle taking up grain that could feed people is interesting since in Ethiopia, the foods they are trying to introduce to the people there are quick renewable meat sources like chickens and rabbits. Grains these groups send over sit in the customs areas so long they end up rotting and molding ...good for chicken feed but not human consumption anymore..

I am confused Blackbear where did this come from???

[NorthofAda]

Some authorities on vegetarian diet, such as Dr Ralph Ballantine (125), claim that the fear and terror (if any, see myth #15) an animal experiences at death is somehow "transferred" into its flesh and organs and "becomes" a part of the person who eats it.

You gotta be kidding! People actually believe this crap?!

[Blackbear]

Ok I'm on overload now so I'll just answer or address the few things I can remember after 7+ pages since I was last online LOL!!

1) EAgle Plumes... that was a just a joke I've always heard from Okie Indian boys up here that indin love was a hickey and a black eye...not that I would ever promote violence nor let any man hit me or he'd walk away without that hand and a few other body parts.... But it's kinda funny to joke about if you know the premise in which they say it. Think of the Man Song- " I don't take no crap!... from anybody else but you....


Josiah, I just wanted to note that all this myth about cattle taking up grain that could feed people is interesting since in Ethiopia, the foods they are trying to introduce to the people there are quick renewable meat sources like chickens and rabbits. Grains these groups send over sit in the customs areas so long they end up rotting and molding ...good for chicken feed but not human consumption anymore..


SIG..... Ok first off you can quit referring to me as a guy just because of the name blackbear... you see my signature? It's a pregnancy ticker and is the FIRST clue I'm a woman.

Second.. you're not fooling anyone with your phony peace talk because anyone who truly believes the cottage cheese you are spewing would'nt be telling anyone they look or sound "retarded". And given that I take care of the developmentally disabled it's extremly insulting that you used that word in the context that you despise people who are "retarded".

I'm beginning to believe you are nothing of what you say you are. I'm inclined to believe you are neither an older woman nor someone who follows the hare krishna, but that this is a phony persona because there is something very very disgenuine about the way you present yourself.

I have suggested this before and I encourage you to take my suggestion now that you need to leave your misconceptions about native american beliefs out of this conversation and start another thread about what YOU think.. and then see what others have to say, but as far as what WE ate... it's not something debateable or even a well kept secret. We ate what we got from the land and meat was a huge part of that.

One last thing... Angie, your comment was way out of line and considering it's the only thing you contributed to this thread in way of discussion looks like all you want to do is get a kick in. Please refrain from doing that again, and please refrain from the sexual innuendo especially used as an insult.

[Josiah]

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114. Ibid.

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121. (a) K D R Setchell and others. Dietary estrogens - a probable cause of infertility and liver disease in captive cheetahs. Gastroenterology, 1987, 93: 225-233; (b) A S Leopold. Phytoestrogens: Adverse effects on reproduction in California Quail. Science, 1976, 191:98-100; (c) HM Drane and others. Oestrogenic activity of soya-bean products. Food Cosm Tech, 1980, 18: 425-427; (d) S Kimura and others. Development of malignant goiter by defatted soybean with iodine-free diet in rats. Gann, 1976, 67:763-765; (e) C Pelissero and others. Estrogenic effect of dietary soy bean meal on vitellogenesis in cultured Siberian Sturgeon Acipenser baeri. Gen Comp End 83:447-457; (f) Braden and others. The oestrogenic activity and metabolism of certain isoflavones in sheep. Australian J of Agric Res, 1967, 18:335-348.

122. (a) Why Not Meat? (Part 2), Down to Earth News, (Honolulu; HI), Dec/Jan 1998, 1-4; (b) Ralph Ballantine. Transition to Vegetarianism. (Himalayan Institute Press; PA), 1994.

123. WL Voegtlin. The Stone Age Diet. (Vantage Press, Inc.; NY), 1975, 44-45.

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125. R. Ballantine, op. cit.

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128. (a) M Purdey. Are Organophosphate Pesticides Involved in the Causation of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)? J of Nutr Med, 1994, 4:43-82; (b) Ecosystems supporting clusters of sporadic TSEs demonstrate excesses of the radical-generating divalent cation manganese and deficiencies of antioxidant co factors Cu, Se, Fe, Zn. Does a foreign cation substitution at prion protein's Cu domain initiate TSE? Med Hypotheses 2000 Feb 54:2 278-306; (c) High-dose exposure to systemic phosmet insecticide modifies the phosphatidylinositol anchor on the prion protein: the origins of new variant transmissible spongiform encephalopathies? Med Hypotheses 1998 Feb 50:2 91-111.

129. Ibid.

130. D Brown. BSE did not cause variant CJD: an alternative cause related to post-industrial environmental contamination. Med Hypotheses, 2001, 57:5.

131. V Worthington. Nutritional quality of organic versus conventional fruits, vegetables, and grains. J Altern Comp Med, 2001, 7:2:161-173.

132. S Fallon. Nasty, Brutish, and Short? The Ecologist, February 1999.

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134. (a) K Sullivan. The Lectin Report, accessed on January 2, 2002; (b) DL Freed. Do dietary lectins cause disease? Brit Med J, 1999, 318:1023-1024.

135. J Ross. The Diet Cure. (Penguin Books; NY), 1999, 102-113.

136. MG Enig. Know Your Fats, 56-57.

137. HL Abrams. The relevance of Paleolithic diet in detremining contemporary nutritional needs. J Appl Nutr, 1979, 1,2:43-59.

If you enjoyed this article, you may also like: The Blood Moon by Jessica Prentice

[Josiah]

60. (a) G Kerr. Babies who eat no animal protein fail to grow at normal rate. J Amer Med Assoc, 1974, 228:675-6; (b) D Erhard. The New Vegetarians, part one. Nutr Today, 1973, 8:4-12; (c) MM Smith and F Lif****z. Pediatrics, 1994, 93:3:438-443; (d) MJ lentze. [Vegetarian and outsider diets in childhood.] Schweiz Rundsch Med Prax, 1992, Feb 25;81 (9):254-8.

61. (a) MG Enig. Know Your Fats, 114-115; (b) MG Enig. Lauric oils as antimicrobial agents: theory of effect, scientific rationale, and dietary application as adjunct nutritional support for HIV-infected individuals, in Nutrients and Foods in AIDS, RR Watson, editor, (CRC Press; FL.), 1999, 81-97.

62. S Fallon and M Enig. Nourishing Traditions, 15-18.

63. (a) ML Garg and others. FASEB J, 1988, 2A852; (b) RM Oliart Ros and others. Meeting Abstracts. American Oil Chemists Society Proceedings, May 1998,Chicago, IL.

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65. BA Watkins and others. Importance of Vitamin E in Bone Formation and in Chondrocyte Function. Purdue University, Lafayette, IN, ACOS Proceedings, 1996; BA Watkins and MF Seifert. Food Lipids and Bone Health, in Food Lipids and Health, RE McDonald and DB Min, eds, (Marcel Dekker, Inc.; NY), 1996.

66. JJ Kabara. The Pharmacological Effects of Lipids (American Oil Chemists Society; IL), 1978, 1-14.

67. LD Lawson and F Kummerow. Lipids, 1979, 14:501-503; ML Garg. Lipids, 1989, 24:334-9.

68. (a) S Fallon and M Enig. Nourishing Traditions, 11; (b) RB Alfin-Slater and L Aftergood. Lipids, in Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 6th ed. RS Goodhart and ME Shils, eds. (Lea and Febiger; PA), 1980, 134.

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74. (a) Herrmann, Schorr, Purschwitz, Rassoul, Richter. Total homocysteine, vitamin B (12), and total antioxidant status in vegetarians. Clin Chem, 2001, 47(6):1094-10; (b) D Mazzano and others. Cardiovascular risk factors in vegetarians. Normalization of hyperhomocysteinemia with vitamin B(12) and reduction of platelet aggregation with n-3 fatty acids. Thromb Res 2000 Nov 100:153-60.

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84. WA Price. Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, 163-187.

85. V. Stefansson. The Fat of the Land, (Macmillan; NY), 1956.

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87. HL Abrams. The relevance of paleolithic diet in determining contemporary nutritional needs. J Appl Nutr, 1979, 31:1,2:43-59.

88. HL Abrams. Vegetarianism: An anthropological/nutritional evaluation. J Appl Nutr, 1980, 32:2:53-87.

89. WA Price. Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, 23-44, 129-163.

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91. (a) L Cordain and others. The paradoxical nature of hunter-gatherer diets: meat-based, yet non-atherogenic. Eur J Clin Nutr, 2002, 56, Suppl 1, S1-S11; (b) S. Boyd Eaton with M Shostak and M Konner. The Paleolithic Prescription: A Program of Diet & Exercise and a Design for Living, (Harper & Row Publishing; CA), 1986.

92. S Fallon and M Enig. Guts and Grease: The Diet of Native Americans. Wise Traditions, 2001, Spring, 40-47.

93. DJ Stanford and JA Day, eds. Ice Age Hunters of the Rockies. (University Press of Colorado; CO.), 1992.

94. S Fallon and MG Enig. Caveman Cuisine. Jnl of PPNF, 21:2:1-4.

95. USDA data, prepared by JL Wehrauch with technical assistance from J Borton and T Sampagna, presented as a reference table in S Fallon and M Enig, Guts and Grease: The Diet of Native Americans, op. cit.

96. V Stefansson. The Fat of the Land (MacMillan Company; NY), 1956. 93. (a) Ibid. (b) S Fallon and M Enig. The Cave Man Diet. Jnl of PPNF, 1997, Summer.

97. S Hearne. The Journals of Samuel Hearne, 1768.

98. WA Price. Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, 279.

99. (a) HL Abrams. The Preference for Animal Protein and Fat: A Cross-Cultural Survey. Food and Evolution: Toward a Theory of Human Food Habits. M Harris and EB Ross, eds. (Temple University Press; PA), 1987, 207-223; (b) HL Abrams. The relevance of paleolithic diet in determining contemporary nutritional needs. J Appl Nutr, 1979, 31:1,2:43-59; (c) MN Cohen. The Food Crisis in History. (Yale University Press; CT.), 1977.

[timmy tiger]

I will now post the conclusion to this article along with the references
This is scientific studies
Not Mishmash

]

Oh now Josiah, you sure you don't want to throw in just a little "mishmash".j/k LMAO

[Josiah]

Author's Notes:

The author would like to thank Sally Fallon, MA; Lee Clifford, MS, CCN; and Dr. H. Leon Abrams, Jr., for their gracious assistance in preparing and reviewing this paper.

This paper was not sponsored or paid for by the meat or dairy industries.

About the Author:

The late Stephen Byrnes was a nutritionist and naturopath.

Recommended Further Reading:

The Weston A. Price Foundation
Why I am Not a Vegetarian
Beyond Vegetarianism
The Cholesterol Myths
The Paleolithic Diet Page
The Great Fallacies of Vegetarianism
National Animal Interest Alliance
Animal Rights.net
References

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5. M Purdey. The Vegan Ecological Wasteland. Journal of the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation [hereafter referred to as Jnl of PPNF], Winter 1998.

6. Ibid.

7. R Audette with T Gilchrist. Neanderthin. (St. Martins; NY), 1999, 200-2.

8. S Fallon and M Enig, Nourishing Traditions, 6.

9. M Purdey, op cit.

10. Ibid.

11. (a) L Dunne. The Nutrition Almanac, 3rd ed. (McGraw Hill; New York), 32-33; (b) AL Rauma and others. Vitamin B-12 status of long-term adherents of a strict uncooked vegan diet ("living food diet") is compromised. J Nutr, 1995, 125:2511-5; c) MG Crane and others. Vitamin B12 studies in total vegetarians (vegans). J Nutr Med, 1994, 4:419-30; (d) I Chanarin and others. Megaloblastic anaemia in a vegetarian Hindu community. Lancet, 1985, Nov 2:1168-72 ; (e) M Donaldson. Vitamin B12 and the Hallelujah Diet.(f) MS Donaldson. Metabolic vitamin B12 status on a mostly raw vegan diet with follow-up using tablets, nutritional yeast, or probiotic supplements. Ann Nutr Metab, 2000, 44(5-6):229-234

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22. (a) K Sullivan. The Miracle of Vitamin D. Wise Traditions, 2000, 3:11-20; (b) RM Sayre and others. Vitamin D production by natural and artificial sources. Photo Medical Society Meeting, 1998, March 1--Conference Proceeding.

23. (a) Sullivan, op cit.; (b) LY Matsuoka and others. In vivo threshold for cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D3 in skin. Nutr Rev, 1989, 47:252-3.

24. Price, op cit, 256-281.

25. R Vieth. Vitamin D supplementation, 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, and safety. Am J Clin Nutr, 1999, 69:842-56.

26. (a) M. Hellebostad and others. Vitamin D deficiency rickets and vitamin B12 deficiency in vegetarian children. Acta Paediatr Scand, 1985, 74:191-5; (b) E. Zmora and others. Multiple nutritional deficiencies in infants from a strict vegetarian community. Am J Dis Child. 1979, 133(2):141-4; c) ED Shinwell, R. Gorodischer. Totally vegetarian diets and infant nutrition. Pediatrics, 1982, 70(4):582-6; (d) P Millett and others. Nutrient intake and vitamin status of healthy French vegetarians and nonvegetarians. Am J Clin Nutr, 1989, Oct 50:718-27; (e) C Lamberg-Allardt and others. Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and secondary hyperparathyroidism in middle-aged white strict vegetarians. Am J Clin Nutr, 1993, Nov 58:684-9; (e) T Outila and others. Dietary intake of vitamin D in premenopausal, healthy vegans was insufficient to maintain concentrations of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and intact parathyroid hormone within normal ranges during the winter in Finland. J Am Diet Assoc, 2000, 100:434-41.

27. J Groff and S Gropper, op cit, 317.

28. (a) Dunne, op cit., 14; (b) S Fallon. Vitamin A Vagary. Jnl of PPNF, Summer 1995. (See also updated article, Vitamin A Saga); c) I Jennings. Vitamins in Endocrine Metabolism. (Charles Thomas; London), 1970, 39-57.

29. (a) I Jennings, op cit., 39-57; (b) J Groff and S Gropper, op cit, 323-6.

30. WA Price, op cit.

31. (a) G Mann. Atherosclerosis and the Masai. Amer J Epidem, 1972, 95:6-37; (b) Diet and disease among the milk and meat eating Masai warriors of Tanganyika. Food Nutr, 1963, 24:104.

32. (a) H Spencer and L Kramer. Factors contributing to osteoporosis. J Nutr, 1986, 116:316-319; (b) Further studies of the effect of a high protein diet as meat on calcium metabolism. Amer J Clin Nutr, 1983, 924-929; c) Do protein and phosphorus cause calcium loss? J Nutr, 1988, 118(6):657-60.

33. (a) RG Munger and others. Prospective study of dietary protein intake and risk of hip fracture in postmenopausal women. Amer J Clin Nutr, 1999, 69:1:147-52; (b) MT Hannan and others. Effect of dietary protein on bone loss in elderly men and women: The Framingham Osteoporosis Study. J Bone & Min Res, 2000, 15:2504-2512; c) C. Cooper, and others. Dietary protein and bone mass in women. Calcif Tiss Int, 1996, 58:320-5.

34. (a) JF Chiu and others. Long-term vegetarian diet and bone mineral density in postmenopausal Taiwanese women. Calcif Tiss Int, 1997, 60:245-9; (b) EM Lau, T Kwok, J Woo, and others. Bone mineral density in Chinese elderly female vegetarians, vegans, lacto-vegetarians and omnivores. Eur J Clin Nutr, 1998,52:60-4.

35. J. Dwyer and others. Diet, indicators of kidney disease, and late mortality among older persons in the NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. Amer J of Pub Health, 1994, 84:(8): 1299-1303.

36. (a) V Rattan and others. Effect of combined supplementation of magnesium oxide and pyrodoxine in calcium-oxalate stone formers. Urol Res, 1994, 22(3):161-5; (b) NJ Blacklock. Sucrose and idiopathic renal stone. Nutr Health, 1987, 5(1): 9-17.

37. (a) S Renauld and M DeLorgeril. Wine, alcohol, platelets, and the French paradox for heart disease. Lancet, 1992, 339:1523-6.; (b) TLV Ulbright and DAT Southgate. Coronary heart disease: seven dietary factors. Lancet, 1991, 338:985-992; (c) L Serra-Majem and others. How could changes in diet explain changes in coronary heart disease? The Spanish Paradox. Amer J Clin Nutr, 1995, 61:1351S-9S.

38. (a) W Willett and others. New Eng J Med, December 13, 1990, 323:1664-72; (b) E Giovannucci and others. Can Res, 1994, 54:(9):2390-7.

39. EL Wynder and others. J Natl Can Inst, 1975, 54:7.

40. MG Enig. Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils, and Cholesterol. (Bethesda Press; MD.), 2000, 84-85.

41. M Gaard and others. Dietary factors and risk of colon cancer: a prospective study of 50,535 young Norwegian men and women. Eur J Cancer Prev, 1996, 5:445-54.

42. (a) E de Stefani and others. Meat intake, heterocyclic amines, and risk of breast cancer: a case-control study in Uruguay. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 1997,6:573-81; (b) M Gaard and others. Dietary factors and risk of colon cancer: a prospective study of 50,535 young Norwegian men and women. Eur J Cancer Prev, 1996, 5:445-454.

43. D. Forman. Meat and cancer: a relation in search of a mechanism. The Lancet, 1999, 353:686-7; JS Baghurst and others. Does red meat cause cancer? Aust J Nutr Diet, 1997, 54(4):S1-S44.

44. (a) HL Abrams. Vegetarianism: another view, in The Cambridge World History of Food. K Kiple and K Ornelas, editors. (Cambridge University Press; UK), 2000, vol. 2, 1567; (b) J Dwyer. Vegetarianism. Contemporary Nutr, 1979, 4:1-2.

45. JL Lyon and others. Cancer incidence in Mormons and non-Mormons in Utah, 1966-1970. New Eng J Med, 1976, 294:129.

46. MG Enig and others. Dietary fat and cancer trends--a critique. Fed Proc, 1978, 37:2215.

47. (a) Ibid.; (b) K Erikson and NE Hubbard. Dietary fat and tumor metastasis. Nutr Rev, 1990, 48:6-14.

48. J Mills and others. Cancer-incidence among California Seventh-day Adventists, 1976-1982. Am J Clin Nutr, 1994, 59 (suppl):1136S-42S; see also RL Phillips. Canc Res, 1975, 35:3513-3522 which showed that Seventh Day Adventist physicians had higher colon cancer rates than the general population.

49. (a) S. Francheschi and others. Intake of macronutrients and risk of breast cancer. Lancet, 1996, 347:1351-6; (b) W.J. Lutz. The colonisation of Europe and our Western diseases. Med Hypotheses, 1995, 45:115-120; (c) J. Witte and others. Diet and premenopausal bilateral breast cancer: a case control study. Breast Canc Res & Treat, 1997, 42:243-251; (d) S. Francheschi and others. Food groups and risk of colo-rectal cancer in Italy. Inter J Canc, 1997, 72:56-61; (e) S Seely, and others. Diet Related Diseases--The Modern Epidemic (AVI Publishing; CT), 1985, 190-200; (f) V. Stefansson. Cancer: Disease of Civilization. (Hill and Wang; NY), 1960. In this book, Stefansson reported on a presentation made by Stanislaw Tanchou in 1843 to the Paris Medical Society wherein he linked increasing grain consumption with increased cancer rates in major European cities at the time.

50. (a) J Yudkin. Sweet and Dangerous (Bantam Books; NY), 1972, 85-102; (b) L Pauling. How to Live Longer and Feel Better, (Avon Books, New York), 1985; (c) A Hoffer and M Walker, Putting It All Together: The New Orthomolecular Nutrition, (Keats Publishing, CT), 1995, 82-84; (d) R Smith and E Pinckney. The Cholesterol Conspiracy. (Warren Greene, Inc; IL), 1991; (e) G Mann (ed). Coronary Heart Disease: The Dietary Sense and Nonsense (Veritas Society; London), 1993; (f) MG Enig. Know Your Fats (Bethesda Press; MD), 2000, 76-80; g) U. Ravnskov. The Cholesterol Myths. (New Trends Publishing; Washington, DC), 2000; (h) WE Stehbens. Coronary heart disease, hypercholesterolemia, and atherosclerosis. I. False premises. Exp Mol Pathol, 2001, Apr;70(2):103-19. (i) WE Stehbens. Coronary heart disease, hypercholesterolemia, and atherosclerosis. II. Misrepresented data. Exp Mol Pathol, 2001, Apr;70(2):120-39.

51. CV Felton and others. Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and composition of human aortic plaques. Lancet, 1994, 344:1195.

52. (a) GV Mann, Metabolic consequences of dietary trans-fatty acids. Lancet, 1994, 343:1268-71; (b) MG Enig and others. Dietary fat and cancer trends--a critique. Fed Proc, 1978, 37:2215; (c) F Kummerow. Nutritional effects of isomeric fats. Dietary Fats and Health, Horisberger and Bracco, eds. (Amer Oil Chem Soc; IL), 1983, 391-402; (d) CM Oomen and others. Association between trans fatty acid intake and 10-year risk of coronary heart disease in the Zutphen Elderly Study: a prospective population-based study. Lancet 2001 Mar 10 357:9258 746-51.

53. A Wolk and others. A prospective study of the association of monounsaturated fat and other types of fat with risk of breast cancer. Arch of Inter Med,1998, 158:41.

54. W Castelli. Arch Int Med, 1992, 152:7:1371-2.

55. H Hubert and others. Circulation, 1983, 67:968.

56. Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial: Risk factor changes and mortality results. J Amer Med Assoc, 1982, 248:12:1465.

57. (a) The Lipid Research Clinics Coronary Primary Prevention Trial Results. I. Reduction in incidence of coronary heart disease. J Amer Med Assoc, 1984, 251:359; (b) BA Golomb. Choletserol and violence: Is there a connection? Ann Int Med, 1998, 128:478-87; (c) MF Muldoon and others. Lowering cholesterol concentrations and mortality: A quantitative review of primary prevention trials. Brit Med J, 1990, 301:309-14; (d) GN Stemmermann and others. Serum cholesterol and colon cancer incidence in Hawaiian Japanese men. J National Canc Inst, 1981, 67:1179-82; (e) DL Morris and others. Serum cholesterol and cancer in the hypertension detection and followup program. Cancer, 1983, 52:1754-9; (f) SJ Winawer and others. Declining serum cholesterol levels prior to diagnosis of colon cancer. A time-trend, case-control study. J Amer Med Assoc, 1990, 263:2083-5.

58. (a) D Jacobs and others. Report of the conference on low blood cholesterol. Circulation, 1992, 86:3:1046-60; (b) B Forette and others. Cholesterol as risk factor for mortality in older women. Lancet, 1989, 868-870.

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[Josiah]

The Value of Vegetarianism

As a cleansing diet, vegetarianism is sometimes a good choice. Several health conditions (e.g., gout) can often be ameliorated by a temporary reduction in animal products with an increase of plant foods. But such measures must not be continuous throughout life: there are vital nutrients found only in animal foods that we must ingest for optimal health. Furthermore, there is no one diet that will work for every person. Some vegetarians and vegans, in their zeal to get converts, are blind to this biochemical fact.

"Biochemical individuality" is a subject worth clarifying. Coined by nutritional biochemist Roger Williams, PhD, the term refers to the fact that different people require different nutrients based on their unique genetic make-up. Ethnic and racial background figure in this concept as well. A diet that works for one may not work as well for someone else. As a practitioner, I've seen several clients following a vegetarian diet with severe health problems: obesity, candidiasis, hypothyroidism, cancer, diabetes, leaky gut syndrome, anemia and chronic fatigue. Because of the widespread rhetoric that a vegetarian diet is "always healthier" than a diet that includes meat or animal products, these people saw no reason to change their diet, even though that was the cause of their problems. What these people actually needed for optimal health was more animal foods and fats and fewer carbohydrates.

Further, due to peculiarities in genetics and individual biochemistry, some people simply cannot do a vegetarian diet because of such things as lectin intolerance and desaturating enzyme deficiencies. Lectins present in legumes, a prominent feature of vegetarian diets, are not tolerated by many people. Others have grain sensitivities, especially to gluten, or to grain proteins in general. Again, since grains are a major feature of vegetarian diets, such people cannot thrive on them. (134)

Desaturase enzyme deficiencies are usually present in those people of Innuit, Scandinavian, Northern European, and sea coast ancestry. They lack the ability to convert alpha-linolenic acid into EPA and DHA, two omega-3 fatty acids intimately involved in the function of the immune and nervous systems. The reason for this is because these people's ancestors got an abundance of EPA and DHA from the large amounts of cold-water fish they ate. Over time, because of non-use, they lost the ability to manufacture the necessary enzymes to create EPA and DHA in their bodies. For these people, vegetarianism is simply not possible. They MUST get their EPA and DHA from food and EPA is only found in animal foods. DHA is present in some algae, but the amounts are much lower than in fish oils. (135)

It is also apparent that vegan diets are not suitable for all people due to inadequate cholesterol production in the liver and cholesterol is only found in animal foods. It is often said that the body makes enough cholesterol to get by and that there is no reason to consume foods that contain it (animal foods). Recent research, however, has shown otherwise. Singer's work at the University of California, Berkeley, has shown that the cholesterol in eggs improves memory in older people (136). In other words, these elderly people's own cholesterol was insufficient to improve their memory, but added dietary cholesterol from eggs was.

Though it appears that some people do well on little or no meat and remain healthy as lacto-vegetarians or lacto-ovo-vegetarians, the reason for this is because these diets are healthier for those people, not because they're healthier in general. However, a total absence of animal products, whether meat, fish, insects, eggs, butter or dairy, is to be avoided. Though it may take years, problems will eventually ensue under such dietary regimes and they will certainly show in future generations. Dr. Price's seminal research unequivocally demonstrated this. The reason for this is simple evolution: humanity evolved eating animal foods and fats as part of its diet, and our bodies are suited and accustomed to them. One cannot change evolution in a few years.

Dr. Abrams said it well when he wrote:

Humans have always been meat-eaters. The fact that no human society is entirely vegetarian, and those that are almost entirely vegetarian suffer from debilitated conditions of health, seems unequivocally to prove that a plant diet must be supplemented with at least a minimum amount of animal protein to sustain health. Humans are meat-eaters and always have been. Humans are also vegetable eaters and always have been, but plant foods must be supplemented by an ample amount of animal protein to maintain optimal health.(137)

[Josiah]

A balance to any Debate

I will now post the conclusion to this article along with the references
This is scientific studies
Not Mishmash

[Josiah]

Myth #15: Eating animal foods is inhumane.

Without question, some commercially raised livestock live in deplorable conditions where sickness and suffering are common. In countries like Korea, food animals such as dogs are sometimes killed in horrific ways, e.g., beaten to death with a club. Our recommendations for animal foods consumption most definitely do not endorse such practices.

As noted in our discussion of myth #1, commercial farming of livestock results in an unhealthy food product, whether that product be meat, milk, butter, cream or eggs. Our ancestors did not consume such substandard foodstuffs, and neither should we.

It is possible to raise animals humanely. This is why organic, preferably Biodynamic, farming is to be encouraged: it is cleaner and more efficient, and produces healthier animals and foodstuffs from those animals. Each person should make every effort, then, to purchase organically raised livestock (and plant foods). Not only does this better support our bodies, as organic foods are more nutrient-dense (131) and are free from hormone and pesticide residues, but this also supports smaller farms and is therefore better for the economy (132).

Nevertheless, many people have philosophical problems with eating animal flesh, and these sentiments must be respected. Dairy products and eggs, though, are not the result of an animal's death and are fine alternatives for these people.

It should also not be forgotten that agriculture, which involves both the clearance of land to plant crops and the protection and maintenance of those crops, results in many animal deaths (133). The belief, therefore, that "becoming vegetarians" will somehow spare animals from dying is one with no foundation in fact.

[Josiah]

Myth #14:

Eating meat or animal products is less "spiritual" than eating only plant foods.

It is often claimed that those who eat meat or animal products are somehow less "spiritually evolved" than those who do not. Though this is not a nutritional or academic issue, those who do include animal products in their diet are often made to feel inferior in some way. This issue, therefore, is worth addressing.

Several world religions place no restrictions on animal consumption; and nor did their founders. The Jews eat lamb at their most holy festival, the Passover. Muslims also celebrate Ramadan with lamb before entering into their fast. Jesus Christ, like other Jews, partook of meat at the Last Supper (according to the canonical Gospels). It is true that some forms of Buddhism do place strictures on meat consumption, but dairy products are always allowed. Similar tenets are found in Hinduism. As part of the Samhain celebration, Celtic pagans would slaughter the weaker animals of the herds and cure their meat for the oncoming winter. It is not true, therefore, that eating animal foods is always connected with "spiritual inferiority".

Nevertheless, it is often claimed that, since eating meat involves the taking of a life, it is somehow tantamount to murder. Leaving aside the religious philosophies that often permeate this issue, what appears to be at hand is a misunderstanding of the life force and how it works. Modern peoples (vegetarian and non-vegetarian) have lost touch with what it takes to survive in our world--something native peoples never lose sight of. We do not necessarily hunt or clean our meats: we purchase steaks and chops at the supermarket. We do not necessarily toil in rice paddies: we buy bags of brown rice; and so forth, and so on.

When Native Americans killed a game animal for food, they would routinely offer a prayer of thanks to the animal's spirit for giving its life so that they could live. In our world, life feeds off life. Destruction is always balanced with generation. This is a good thing: unchecked, the life force becomes cancerous. If animal food consumption is viewed in this manner, it is hardly murder, but sacrifice. Modern peoples would do well to remember this.