Stress, Violence and the Health Care Crisis

Yes, diet is of paramount importance, “You are what you eat” is an adage worth heeding. If blood-filled foods constitute our diet, we must be ready to accept blood-filled thoughts, feelings and behavior. To kill and/or eat an animal that looks back at you with eyes of animal consciousness (just as you look through your eyes of human animal consciousness) registers in the sub-compassionate behavior, affecting and effecting us deeply.

These animals do not die peacefully. They are frantic! Their muscles (which we call meat) are filled with adrenaline – the hormone that regulates the fight or flight mechanism. Ingesting meat, people also ingest adrenaline, growth hormones, stimulants, and antibiotics; their bodies and minds are overwhelmed with tension, confusion, violence and aggression. Those with a certain amount of self-discipline and control are able, with a great deal of stress, to regulate those feelings, or at least those violent feelings are confined to the home – unfortunately, this can many times explain intemperate behavior in the family, a euphemism for abuse. Those who completely lack self-control constitute the criminal, violent element of society. Eliminate the cause and the effects are dramatically reduced. British prisons offer whole grains and vegetables. This plant-based diet reduces the violence within the institutions, balancing many lives.

There are volumes upon volumes of research, especially over the last ten years, clearly showing that animal-based diets lead to imbalance, stress, degenerative diseases and, many times, a miserable and painful death, while plant-based diets lead to balance, well-being, vitality, an ability to grow old gracefully and, in most cases, a peaceful death.

In simple physiological terms, animal-based diets acidify the human system, depleting the body’s natural alkaline reserve. The body’s innate wisdom craves alkalinity. Seeking a quick-fix, people look for relief spelled with a capital “R” – something, anything for the tummy. Multi-million dollar industries are founded on attempts to correct the acidity of the Standard American Diet. (Yes, it is SAD.) And since these ant-acids don’t completely solve the problem, people look for alkalinity elsewhere: alkaloid yet addictive substances such as caffeine, cocaine, marijuana, morphine and/or nicotine. An alkaloid is a substance that resembles an alkaline food. Unfortunately, since alkaloids have short-term effects, more and more are needed leading to addictions!

But why not do the common sense thing and correct the cause? Eat more fruits and vegetables, preferably uncooked, and enjoy an abundance of natural sodium, calcium, magnesium and potassium thereby restoring the body’s alkaline reserve.

The Standard American Diet is indeed SAD because it is based on animal foods that leave an acid residue as a by-product of digestion, and the body must engage its buffering systems to bring itself back to a normal, healthy alkaline state. When the vast majority of our foods leave an acid residue, we exhaust our buffering systems, the body becomes acidic and degenerative diseases result.

As a point of fact, some plant-based foods also leave an acid residue, as is the case with most grains and nuts. So this is not to say that we should never partake of acid-ash-producing foods, but they should be eaten in moderation, perhaps 20% of our diet. Special occasions call for grand feasts, but our daily fare should be more wisely selected.

It’s not only the acid residue of animal foods that is the problem; it’s the protein itself. One problem is that animal foods are approximately 20% protein and with a 67% digestibility, this means that 100g of sirloin nets only 13.4g usable protein. Perhaps the most incriminating fact about protein is that the human liver and kidneys are able to process only 8 grams of uric acid per day, while one pound of concentrated protein yields 28 grams! This continuous daily onslaught can only lead to exhaustion by altering the chemical structures yielding highly ionic bonds; for wholesome nourishment our bodies need the more easily broken covalent bonds found in uncooked fruits and vegetables.

Acidic foods also tend to muddle the mind. Experimentation with psychiatric patients as well as those mentally less gifted shows that avoiding animal foods and concentrating on uncooked fruits, vegetables and sprouts bring remarkable improvement in most instances. With apologies to the above-mentioned, the corollary is clear. We live in a crazy, backwards society filled with violence. It is time to un-muddle our minds; it is time for us to become aware of the very basic differences that diet can produce in our lives; in this time of crises, it is time for action. After all, it’s almost the 21^st century! We can use the knowledge we have to create a future that is less violent and more humane.

The American Way is based on individual gumption. You can change the stress, violence and the health-care crisis in our society by seeking better health yourself. It would be in your best interest to eat some whole super-foods and living vegetable-based enzymes to rebuild vitality. You will be most fortunate to find a caring, nutritionally orientated physician who can guide you in tailoring a health program for your specific situation.

Vol 10 Issue 3 page 3