"Nutrition nonsense"? I beg to differ. I have at least over 1,000 pages of scientific studies showing a vegan (and less so a vegetarian) diet significantly reduces inflammation, decreases risks for about a dozen different major diseases, including ALL the killer diseases (heart disease, cancer, strokes, diabetes, obesity, etc), and significantly increases longevity, by avg. of 7 years. Among other things, it's why so many athletes have shifted to a plant-based diet, to radicaly reduce inflammation.
Here's a really fun one from two years ago that i just saw the other day:
Shah B, Newman JD, Woolf K, et al. Anti-inflammatory effects of a vegan diet versus the American Heart Association–recommended diet in coronary artery disease trial. J Am Heart Assoc. 2018;7:e011367
Vegan Diet Reduces Inflammation More than AHA-Recommended Diet
A vegan diet works better than the American Heart Association-recommended diet for heart disease prevention, according to a study published by the American Heart Association (AHA). Researchers randomized 100 participants with coronary artery disease to either a vegan diet (no meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, or fish) or an AHA-recommended diet (fewer servings of non-fish animal protein, more servings of fish, and only low- or no-fat dairy) for eight weeks. The primary endpoint marker for inflammation, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, improved significantly more in the vegan group, compared with the AHA group. The authors conclude a vegan diet should be considered to help avoid adverse outcomes among heart disease patients.
P.S.-- Just to give you a bit more on the scientific studies that are out there, back in 2014 a fellow posted a compilation stuffed with science article links-- "100 Scientific Reasons to NOT Eat Meat" -- on the dangers of eating meat, fish, eggs, dairy. I've cut-and-pasted just the first 25 items for reference.
Is meat healthy? Well, you should ask yourself one question: what does the science say? Science…not marketing or hype. [...] Unfortunately, a lot of magazines and blogs will hype a headline and people will regurgitate it without even reading the article. If you want the science behind something you have to look at the studies, plain and simple. Not the advertising.
Also, please note, I am including all animal products and byproducts (e.g. beef, chicken, fish, dairy, eggs, and cheese) when I say meat. Although the studies’ usage of the term varies.
Update: If you want even more reasons to not eat meat and counterarguments to pro-meat studies, then check out the book [by Tom Aiken], Is Meat Good or Bad? Learn What Modern Science Has to Say about Animal Products.
So let us look at the science and find out the… 100 Scientific Reasons to Not Eat Meat*
1.) Neu5Gc is found only in animal meat. Neu5Gc appears to have a strong link to cancer and heart disease. Notes: Neu5Gc is not produced by the human body or our great ape ancestors (probably due to a common mutation). But Neu5Gc is almost always found in human tumors. The inflammation it causes seems to feed tumors and harden arteries. Source: Diversity in specificity, abundance, and composition of anti-Neu5Gc antibodies in normal humans: potential implications for disease. Glycobiology. 2008 Oct;18(10):818-30.
2.) Top 15 foods for advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are all meat sourced with roasted BBQ chicken skin and fried bacon being the top. Notes: AGEs are gerontotoxins (aka aging toxins). AGEs cause proteins to cross together causing stiffness, oxidation stress, and inflammation in muscles, brain tissue, eyes, heart, bone, red blood cells, and kidneys. Thought to contribute to muscle loss as we age. Source: Advanced glycation end products in foods and a practical guide to their reduction in the diet. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010 Jun;110(6):911-16.e12. Source: Does accumulation of advanced glycation end products contribute to the aging phenotype? J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2010 Sep;65(9):963-75. Epub 2010 May 17.
3.) Arachidonic acid (naturally found in animal foods) is linked to brain inflammation, depression, anxiety, and stress. Notes: Arachidonic acid is used by our bodies to create inflammation. Our bodies produce all the arachidonic acid we need unlike other animals (e.g. cats) who produce little to none because their bodies expect to get theirs from their diet (meat). Excess arachidonic acid means excess inflammation. Source: Preliminary evidence that vegetarian diet improves mood. American Public Health Association annual conference, November 7-11, 2009. Philadelphia, PA.
4.) Chicken and eggs are the top sources of arachidonic acid. Notes: Humans already produce the natural levels needed for our bodily functions. Source: National Cancer Institute. 2010. Sources of Selected Fatty Acids among the US Population, 2005–06.
5.) A single meal of high-fat animal products has been shown to spike inflammation within hours that can stiffen one’s arteries. Notes: Possible explanations could be the saturated fat or endotoxemia (see points 7, 8, and 9 below). Wild animal meat also causes inflammation. See point 10 below. Source: Effect of a single high-fat meal on endothelial function in healthy subjects. Am J Cardiol. 1997 Feb 1; 79(3):350-4.
6.) High-fat animal products consumed will cause inflammation within the lungs. Notes: Same study as above. Source: Effect of a single high-fat meal on endothelial function in healthy subjects. Am J Cardiol. 1997 Feb 1; 79(3):350-4.
7.) Significant levels of bacterial toxins are found in animal products that cause endotoxemia (bacterial toxins in the bloodstream) within hours of eating. Notes: 40 different types of common foods were tested. Source: The capacity of foodstuffs to induce innate immune activation of human monocytes in vitro is dependent on food content of stimulants of Toll-like receptors 2 and 4. Br J Nutr. 2011 Jan; 105(1):15-23.
8.) Bacteria endotoxins from animal products have been shown to survive high heat cooking for long periods, acid (like our stomachs), and digestive enzymes. Source: The capacity of foodstuffs to induce innate immune activation of human monocytes in vitro is dependent on food content of stimulants of Toll-like receptors 2 and 4. Br J Nutr. 2011 Jan; 105(1):15-23.
9.) Endotoxins have a strong affinity for the fat transport system in our digestive tract. Notes: Since our body is using our fat transport system to let in all the saturated fat (which our body loves to absorb) from the animal products the endotoxins can slip right in. Source: The capacity of foodstuffs to induce innate immune activation of human monocytes in vitro is dependent on food content of stimulants of Toll-like receptors 2 and 4. Br J Nutr. 2011 Jan; 105(1):15-23.
10.) Even wild, grass consuming animals cause inflammation in our bodies. Notes: Inflammation was less than domestic animals. It is believed that the lower fat percentage for wild animals explains this. Source: Differences in postprandial inflammatory responses to a ‘modern’ v. traditional meat meal: a preliminary study. Br J Nutr. 2010 Sep;104(5):724-8.
11.) Dietary fat of animal origin is linked to pancreatic cancer. Source: Dietary fatty acids and pancreatic cancer in the NIH-AARP diet and health study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2009 Jul 15;101(14):1001-11.
12.) The chicken has been linked to urinary tract infections. Source: Chicken as reservoir for extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli in humans, Canada. Emerg Infect Dis. 2012 Mar;18(3):415-21. Source: Is Escherichia coli urinary tract infection a zoonosis? Proof of direct link with production animals and meat. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2012 Jun;31(6):1121-9.
13.) Feeding of cow brains to fish is still legal in the United States (brain cows being fed to cows and other livestock used to be legal and practiced a few years ago) and german scientists have shown fish can acquire mad cow disease. Notes: Please provide any information if the feeding of cow brains to fish is no longer practiced or legal in the United States. Source: Evaluation of the possible transmission of BSE and scrapie to gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). PLoS One, 4(7):e6175, 2009. Source: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy and aquaculture. J Alzheimers Dis, 17(2):277-279, 2009. Source: Food and Drug Administration, HHS § 589.2001
14.) Cholesterol has been shown to feed and promote the growth of cancer. Source: Cholesterol and breast cancer development. Current Opinion in Pharmacology. 2012 12 (6):677–682.
15.) Half an egg a day or more is shown to double the odds of mouth, throat, esophageal, prostate, and bladder cancer; triple the odds of colon and breast cancer. Notes: May be explained by the dixons present. While banned, levels are still present in our food and seem to be worst in animal products. Source: Egg consumption and the risk of cancer: a multisite case-control study in Uruguay.
16.) The obesogen (chemicals that signal cells to turn into fat cells) organotin has been found in large amounts in fish. Source: Environmental obesogens: Organotins and endocrine disruption via nuclear receptor signaling. Endocrinology, 147(6 – Suppl):-50, 2006. Source: Dietary intake of organotin compounds in Finland: a market-basket study.
17.) Meat has little to no antioxidants. Most can’t beat iceberg lettuce. Notes: One animal source of food did have an extremely high amount of antioxidants: human breast milk. Source: The total antioxidant content of more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide. Nutr J. 2010 Jan 22;9:3.
18.) High levels of PCB (industrial toxin) in fish oil, fish, and eggs (94% of eggs tested). Source: European Food Safety Authority; Results of the monitoring of non dioxin-like PCBs in food and feed. EFSA Journal 2010; 8(7):1701. [35 pp.]. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1701.
19.) Harvard studies of 37,698 men and 83,644 women, over 22 and 30 years, respectively, found red meat to increase total mortality rates and cancer mortality rates. Notes: Results were after controlling for age, weight, alcohol, exercise, smoking, family history, calorie intake, and intake of whole plant foods. Nuts were found to be protective when taken as an alternative protein source. Source: Red Meat Consumption and Mortality: Results From 2 Prospective Cohort Studies. Arch Intern Med. 2012;0(2012):201122871-9.
20.) Nitrites in processed meat form nitrosamines (carcinogens also found in cigarette smoke) and are associated with the two leading pediatric cancers, brain tumors and childhood leukemia. Notes: Hot dogs have some of the highest levels. Pregnant women should probably avoid hot dogs. Source: A meta-analysis of maternal cured meat consumption during pregnancy and the risk of childhood brain tumors. Neuroepidemiology. 2004 Jan-Apr;23(1-2):78-84. Source: Nitrites, nitrosamines, and cancer. Lancet. 1968 May 18;1(7551):1071-2.
21.) 47% of U.S. retail meat tested is contaminated with staph (Staphylococcus) bacteria. Multidrug resistant strains were common. Notes: Turkey was the most common with 77% and chicken and pork with 41% and 42%, respectively. A superbug version (methicillin resistant) was also found of MRSA that can jump from pig to human. Source: Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in US Meat and Poultry. Clin Infect Dis. 2011 May;52(10):1227-30. Source: Infectious disease. From pigs to people: the emergence of a new superbug.
22.) Eating meat just a few times a month greatly increases the chances of abdominal aortic aneurysm. Notes: Once an abdominal aortic aneurysm begins to tear you have less than a 15% survival rate. Source: Analysis of risk factors for abdominal aortic aneurysm in a cohort of more than 3 million individuals. J Vasc Surg. 2010 Sep;52(3):539-48.
23.) Our liver can only detox about 50% of the heterocyclic amines (carcinogens) formed from cooked chicken. Not the originally thought 99% which other animals can. Notes: The animal that can detox 99% is the lab rat. Thus, the prior incorrect conclusion. Source: Biomonitoring of urinary metabolites of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (phip) following human consumption of cooked chicken. Food Chem. Toxicol., 46(9):3200-3205, 2008.
24.) One of the longest-running studies showed meat consumption to increase allergies. This included asthma, bee stings, drug allergies, and hayfever. Notes: Meat (including fish) consumed by pregnant women can cause their children to have allergies. Source: Knutsen SF. Lifestyle and the use of health services. Am J Clin Nutr. 1994 May;59(5 Suppl):1171S-1175S. Source: Maternal meat and fat consumption during pregnancy and suspected atopic eczema in Japanese infants aged 3-4 months: the Osaka Maternal and Child Health Study. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2010 Feb;21(1 Pt 1):38-46. Epub 2009 Jun 23.
25.) Putrescine has been determined to be carcinogenic. Putrescine is found in food even when not spoiled. Highest level in canned tuna. Source: Toxicological Effects of Dietary Biogenic Amines. Current Nutrition & Food Science, Volume 6, Number 2, May 2010 , pp. 145-156(12) Source: Significance of biogenic amines to food safety and human health. Food Research International, Volume 29, Issue 7, October 1996, Pages 675-690.
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