Cut Down on Meat and Dairy Foods and Live Longer
Its official, if you cut down on meat and dairy foods, you are likely to live a longer and healthier life. Recent research has established that eating too much beef exposes you to some cancer causing chemicals popularly called carcinogens. Food poisoning associated with meat is also a major risk of meat eating. But that is not all, to feed the large herds of beef cattle, millions of acres of trees have to be cut down every year. This degrades the environment and exposes us to other risks.
In response to eating mainly cooked and refined foods (junk foods), the body produces unhealthy mucus and becomes increasingly acidic which eventually leads to decay and disease. The body operates normally within a very fine PH range and outside of this many essential functions become compromised.
Cancer causing chemicals
Modern day animals consume all types of chemicals either directly or indirectly. Think of all the products used in production of animal feeds: pesticides, fertilizers, genetically engineered foods, antibiotics, growth hormones. All these end up in that prime cut of beef that ends up on your table. The same is true of many dairy products including milk, butter and cheese. It has been proven that many chemicals used in raising animals have carcinogenic effects. What this means is that as you continue consuming meat, dairy and related products, your risk of developing various types of cancer rises.
While the carcinogenic results may take longer, cutting down your consumption of meat will reduce the risk of food poisoning. Meat accounts for 2/3 of all food poisoning cases with the culprit being a microorganism or one or the other chemical used in raising the animal.
Beef degrades the environmental
Another factor you may not be aware of is that the large numbers of animals being raised for production of beef and dairy products affects the environment negatively. It is estimated that more than 100,000 square kilometers of trees are cleared annually to pave way for grazing land and farms for growing animal feeds. Ruminant animals like cattle also produce substantive amounts of carbon dioxide and methane. These are contributing factors to global warming. So, as you continue eating more beef and other dairy products, you contribute towards environmental degradation.
Cut down on meat and dairy products
By cutting down on meat and dairy products, you help put food on the tables of 1 billion people in the world who regularly go to bed on an empty stomach. This is not far fetched when you consider the quantities of grain and other foodstuffs that go into making animal feeds. Almost 70% of grain grown in the United States alone is used to feed animals.
You do not need to cut out meat and dairy products completely, but reducing their intake can literally add years to your life. It can also improve the quality of your life by enhancing your health in both the short term and the long term. You will also be contributing towards the realization of a more sustainable environment and a better fed population. Replacement of nutrients previously supplied from the animal products can be done effectively by substituting plant based protein sources. These include soy bean and its derivatives, black beans, other legumes and pulses, whole grains and many others. And whether you reduce or cut out meat products consumption, eating more vegetables, fruits and nuts can supply the much needed anticancer factors.
