Is it any wonder that the National Dairy Council is the foremost supplier of nutritional education materials to classrooms in the United States?

Calcium Myth: When we consume dairy products or any animal's milk in any form, it makes our body highly acidic and robs us of calcium and iron. The way our body reacts to this metabolic acidity is to neutralize it by pulling calcium from our bones. The calcium from dairy cannot be absorbed into our bodies because of the acidic nature and protein content of dairy. The highest rates of osteoporosis are in countries with the highest dairy consumption. The China Study goes into this in depth.[i] Milk does not "do a body good," no matter what doctors, the media, and nutritionists tell you. Diary is a poor choice whether it is raw, organic, non-pasteurized, etc. It is still acidic, robs your body of iron, does not supply calcium, and causes disease. It does a calf’s body good when trying to double its weight quickly. Milk was made for a baby cow. But even they stop drinking it when they are old enough.

Nature's Perfect Food? A Second Opinion!

In the movie Men in Black, the character played by Tommy Lee Jones draws the distinction between a "person" and the mass of "people." He states, "A person is smart, but people are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it." In other words, we do a whole lot of things as "people" we would never do as an individual "person." It is great that you are making the effort to educate yourself, refusing to buy the prepackaged party line dished out by the conventional medical establishment and media. Yet there are some areas that are so ingrained that we revert to our "people" manner of thinking.

Dr. Whitaker comments about bone disease as follows:

In only two generations, the rate of hip fractures in the U.S. has quadrupled, and it is currently one of the highest rates in the world. Americans are also near the top of the chart for dairy consumption. Would someone out there please tell me why we keep telling our children that dairy foods strengthen their bones? Excess protein intake-not only from milk but all animal protein sources-increases the need for calcium to neutralize acidic protein breakdown products, destroying bone in the process. A lifetime of a high-protein diet usually eats away at your bones. Lower protein vegetarian diets are associated with significantly higher bone mineral density. So the first and most important dietary step is to eat less protein. This generally means cutting down on milk...Although dairy products contain calcium, little of it is deposited in the bones-instead the calcium is used to neutralize the acidity brought on by milk protein.[ii]

Food Safety Milk is "Udder" Nonsense

Is cow's milk an appropriate food for humans? Cow's milk is species-specific food for calves. It is no more appropriate to drink the milk of cows than it is to drink the milk of other mammals. Yet, we do it because we've always done it.

Myth: Milk Helps Build Strong Bones

American parents pass this myth on to their children, and misguided nutritionists reinforce it. In actuality, milk and other dairy products weaken the bones and accelerate osteoporosis. Consumption of milk causes the very condition it's advertised to prevent.

Osteoporosis results from calcium loss, not an insufficient calcium intake. Dairy products, because of their high protein content, promote calcium loss. Studies examining the incidence of osteoporosis have found that a high consumption of dairy products is associated with high rates of osteoporosis. If you want strong bones, don't drink milk.

Myth: I Need to Take Calcium Supplements

Most Calcium supplements such as calcium carbonate, coral, oyster shells, chalk, eggshells, are highly dangerous to the human body. We cannot process them, but yet they are added to so many of our foods. Heart disease is an infection that starts with calcium deposits. Arthritis, cataracts, tumors, etc. all come from calcium deposits (calcification diseases). We need to dissolve bad calcium from our bodies and stop adding calcium carbonate or other non-absorbent calcium to our bodies. Fulvic Acid and MSM help dissolve calcium deposits. Calcium carbonate is added to cereals, milk, processed foods and are very dangerous for the body. Think of your body as an ocean and calcium carbonate basically builds barnacles in our body from non-absorbent calcium. Naturally occurring calcium can be found in dark leafy greens, sea vegetables, sprouted beans and green juice. A lifestyle of not working out also leads to calcium deficiency.

Myth: Milk is the Ultimate Health Drink

The notion that milk is healthy for you is, again, "udder" nonsense. While eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains has been documented to lower the risk of heart attack, high blood pressure, and cancer, the widely touted health benefits of dairy products are questionable at best. In fact, dairy products will cause osteoporosis, heart disease, obesity, cancer, allergies, and diabetes. Dairy products are anything but "health" foods.

The association between milk and heart disease is particularly strong. While we've always known that high-fat dairy products, such as whole milk and cheese, are significant contributors to high cholesterol levels and heart disease, William B. Grant, Ph.D., summarizes the mounting evidence that nonfat milk is also a major player in bringing on heart disease. Writing in Alternative Medicine Review, Dr. Grant points out that nonfat milk, which contains substantial amounts of dairy protein, is very low in B vitamins. The metabolism of all this protein in the absence of B vitamins contributes to the buildup of homocysteine, a marker for heart disease.

Myth: Milk is Necessary for Growing Children

There are three reasons kids and milk should not mix. First, milk is the leading cause of iron-deficiency anemia in infants, and, in fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics now discourages giving children milk before their first birthday. Second, it has been shown that milk consumption in childhood contributes to the development of Type-I diabetes. Certain proteins in milk resemble molecules on the beta cells of the pancreas that secrete insulin. In some cases, the immune system makes antibodies to the milk protein that mistakenly attack and destroy the beta cells.

Third, milk allergies are very common in children and cause sinus problems, diarrhea, constipation, and fatigue. They are a leading cause of the chronic ear infections that plague up to 40 percent of all children under the age of six. Milk allergies are also linked to behavioral problems in children and to the disturbing rise of childhood asthma. (Milk allergies are equally common in adults and produce similar symptoms.)

Myth: Milk is Wholesome

As if milk weren't bad enough already, the chemical giant, Monsanto Company, and the FDA have made it far worse. In 1994, the FDA approved the use of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST), a genetically engineered hormone from Monsanto, that increases milk production in cows by 10-25 percent. Milk from cows treated with rbST contains elevated levels of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), one of the most powerful growth factors ever identified.

IGF-I occurs naturally in both cows and humans and, in a fluke of nature, is identical between these two species. While IGF-I doesn't cause cancer, it definitely stimulates its growth. Recent studies have found a seven-fold increase in the risk of breast cancer in women with the highest IGF-I levels, and a four-fold increase in prostate cancer in men with the highest levels. Not only does rbST elevate your exposure to these growth factors, it also increases infections of the cow's udders. Therefore, cows treated with rbST are given more antibiotics, so higher traces of these drugs, as well as pus and bacteria from infected udders, are found in their milk.  

Understanding Casein

Casein protein is one of the most dangerous proteins to consume when attempting to prevent cancer. And casein can be found in high amounts in dairy products. Dairy causes mucus, allergies, worsens asthma, increases cancer growth, and causes osteoporosis—the exact thing the Dairy Counsel says it helps.

Is Casein the 'Opium' in Fast Food?

The major uses of casein until the 1960s were in technical, non-food applications such as adhesives for wood, in paper coating, leather finishing and in synthetic fibers, as well as plastics for buttons, buckles etc. During the past 30 years, however, the principal use of casein products has been as an ingredient in foods to enhance their physical (so-called 'functional') properties, such as whipping and foaming, water binding and thickening, emulsification and texture, and to falsely improve their nutrition.[iii]

Casein is the curd that forms when milk is left to sour. It is the most commonly used milk protein in the food industry.[iv]

Casein [US: “kay-seen”]- Date: 1841: a phosphoprotein of milk. Casein is precipitated from milk by heating with an acid or by the action of lactic acid in souring and is used in making paints and adhesives b : one that is produced when milk is curdled by rennet, is the chief constituent of cheese, and is used in making plastics probably from French caséine, from Latin caseus.[v]

Products containing casein or caseinates include imitation sausages, soups, stews, high-protein beverage powders, fortified cereals, infant formula, nutrition bars, bakery glazes, coffee whiteners, formulated meats, salad dressing, sauces, and whipped toppings. Casein and caseinates are used as extenders, tenderizers, nutritional fortifiers, and texturizers, and therefore, they  can be found in products other than foods. For instance, Trident for Kids and Trident Advantage contain recaldent, which contains a milk-casein derivative. Other examples of products containing casein include cosmetics, adhesives, pharmaceuticals, nutritional and personal care products.

Casein Dangers

Also, there is some evidence from studies indicating that animal protein—particularly casein, which is found in dairy (including nonfat dairy)—promote some forms of cancer. At Cornell University, for example, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and his colleagues have found that casein is a strong promoter of tumor growth. Other studies have shown that casein helps promote the growth of coronary artery blockages.[vi]

The remarkable agreement between mortality and the consumption of casein suggests that this factor is worthy of serious consideration as a potential source of cardiovascular disease when taken in conjunction with regional variations in the traditional risk factors. beta-casein A1 consumption also correlates strongly with type 1 diabetes incidence in 0-14-year-olds, suggesting that IHD and diabetes may share at least one causative risk factor.[vii]

Dr. Kalle Reichelt of the Institute of Pediatric Research at the University of Oslo in Norway cited over 200 international scholarly sources in a 1996 paper advancing the theory that schizophrenia and related affective disorders are caused by "food constituents (gluten and casein) (that) may have disease-promoting effects and cause behavioral changes." The theory originated in the 1960s with an American, Dr. Curtis Dohan. He put schizophrenics on gluten-free, casein free diets under double blind conditions and got dramatic results. Many of his patients were able to return home from locked mental hospital wards. Reichelt, in Norway, has recently used new methodology to validate Dohan's theory. Reichelt achieved dramatic learning and behavior improvements in autistic children with a gluten-casein free diet.

            Casein can affect the personality as well via depression, overeating, drinking, mood, and evening compulsive behaviors.[viii]

Certain foods appear to stimulate the release of opiate chemicals within the brain. These are chemical cousins of morphine and heroin. While casein is not as strong as illegal drugs, it appears to be strong enough to keep us coming back, especially when we are stressed, tired, angry, or alone. Not every food does this. The groups that do are sugar (and sugar-fat mixtures, such as butter cookies, as well as foods that produce sugar rapidly), chocolate, cheese, and meat.[ix]

For example, in cow's milk the major proteins are a-casein and b-lactoglobulin; the ratio of casein to whey protein is 80:20; the casein volume is double that of human milk, and the curd formed is hard; the principal milk immunoglobulin is IgG; and lactoferrin and Iysozyme are present only in small amounts [30]. Cow's milk triglycerides contain a higher proportion of short chain fatty acids and a lower proportion of long chain and polyunsaturated fatty acids; furthermore, the positional distribution of fatty acids on the glycerol molecule is different [30]. In addition, many of the non-nutritional factors found in human milk are absent from cow's milk, or are present only in trace amounts. For the human baby, these differences affect the digestibility and absorption of nutrients, the bioavailability of micronutrients, and the potential benefits from non-nutritional factors.

Casein Corporations and What They're Doing

Ammonium caseinate is used mainly in bakery products, therefore, it does not have to be listed on the ingredients label. Calcium caseinate is used as a nutrient supplement. It is used in creamed cottage cheese, powdered diet supplements, nutritional beverages, processed cheese, and frozen desserts because it has a milky appearance and smooth feel in the mouth. Potassium caseinate is used in frozen custard, ice cream, ice milk, and fruit sherbets. Sodium caseinate is highly soluble and is used as an emulsifier in coffee whiteners, cottage cheese, cream liqueurs, yogurt, processed cheeses, and some meat products. It is also used to improve the whipping properties of dessert whips. 

Imitation sausages, soups, stews, high-protein beverage powders, fortified cereals, infant formula, nutrition bars, bakery glazes, coffee whiteners, formulated meats, salad dressing, sauces, and whipped toppings all may contain casein or caseinates.

Casein proteins make up about 80 percent of the protein in cow’s milk.

One out of every four dogs and cats in the western world is now obese. Tons of Casein can be found in their pet food.[x]

Whey protein is "way" bad! Make sure to stay away from whey protein as well because it is another cancer causing, dangerous protein derived from processed milk.

Cheese!

How Much Cheese Do Americans Eat?

In 1970, the dairy industry produced 2.2 billion pounds of cheese. The population of the United States was 203 million, which translates to 10.8 pounds of cheese per person. By 1990, America's population had grown to 248 million, but Americans were eating more cheese—6 billion pounds worth! That's an average of 24 pounds per person. In 1994, according to the USDA, the average American consumed 27.7 pounds of cheese. America's rate of cheese consumption is skyrocketing. As we approach the new millennium, America's per-capita cheese consumption will break the 30-pound per person level.

PUS: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows 750 million pus cells in every liter of milk (about two pounds). In Europe, regulators allow 400 million pus cells per liter. France and Italy are known for their magnificent cheeses. Perhaps that's their secret: less pus! Because it takes 10 pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese, a pound of cheese can contain up to 7.5 billion pus cells. If your American cheese is sliced so that there are 16 slices to a pound, that single slice of American or Swiss can contain over 468 million pus cells.

GLUE: Eighty percent of milk protein consists of casein. Casein as you learned in the last chapter is the glue used to hold a label to a bottle of beer. Trying to scrape one of those labels from inside your body would be tough. Casein is the glue that holds together wood in furniture, so you can imagine the havoc it would have on bowel movements.

Casein is a foreign protein and your body reacts to its presence by creating an antibody. That antibody-antigen reaction creates histamines. Antihistamines (like Benadryl™) are used to counter the effects of histamines. Mucus and phlegm are produced as a result of cheese consumption. Mucus congests internal body organs and creates phlegm. The average American lives his or her life with a gallon of mucus clogging the kidney, spleen, pancreas, tracheal-bronchial tree, lungs, thymus, and other organs. Imagine not eating cheese or any other dairy product for just six days. An internal fog will lift from your body as the mucus leaves. Eat just one slice of pizza on day seven, and 12-15 hours later, the mucus will return.

HORMONES: Every sip of milk has 59 different powerful hormones. Which ones do you want your children to consume? Estrogen, progesterone, or prolactin? Men, are you ready to grow breasts? As a little girl becomes a big girl, then a mature woman, she will produce the total equivalent of one tablespoon of estrogen. The average American now consumes nearly thirty pounds of cheese each year, which contains concentrated hormones. One pound of cheese can contain 10 times the amount of hormones as one pound of milk. Nursing cows were never supposed to pass on cheese to their calves. They were, however, designed to pass on hormones, lactoferrins, and immunoglobulins in liquid milk to their infants.[xi]

ANTIBIOTICS: Consumers Union and the Wall Street Journal tested milk samples in the New York metropolitan area and found the presence of 52 different antibiotics. By eating ice cream, yogurt, and cheese, you're also consuming antibiotics. Cows are fed chicken feces as supplemental protein. The droppings are baked and sanitized, but the heat process does not destroy the hormones in chicken feed.

BACTERIA: In February 1999, the Land of Lakes Company recalled nearly 400,000 cases of cheese products from supermarkets in every one of America's 50 states. Cheese makes a remarkable culture medium for bacteria, which can stay alive for up to six months. The 1999 recall was for listeria. Eating listeria can take up to 45 days for you to become sick. Would you make the connection? Cheeses can also contain bacteria that cause diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome. Forty million Americans are so affected.[xii]

Have you studied Cave Men? They died quite young from disease. They were not masters of gardening or preserving fruits and vegetables to carry them through the changing seasons. With no knowledge of how to preserve harvest eating animals is a way to survive. Have you studied Apes or Bears? While at the Natural History museum in New York I took a long hard look at the intestine and organ structure of these two animals, and they were very similar to humans. They do have fangs and we do not. Speaking of fangs… animals that eat live meat do have them along with a short intestinal tract to push meat through rapidly. Lions and tigers do sleep most of the day. One side effect of eating meat is that you tend to be more lethargic. It takes the body tremendous effort to digest. The largest animals on earth are all plant based. The animals that live the longest are plant based. The largest dinosaur ever was a plant eater.

Are Humans Carnivores or Herbivores?

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/09/are-humans-carnivores-or-herbivores-2/ September 9th, 2005 by Steve Pavlina            

Are human beings anatomically more similar to natural carnivores or to natural herbivores? Let’s find out….

• Intestinal tract length. Carnivorous animals have intestinal tracts that are 3-6x their body length, while herbivores have intestinal tracts 10-12x their body length. Human beings have the same intestinal tract ratio as herbivores.
• Stomach acidity. Carnivores’ stomachs are 20x more acidic than the stomachs of herbivores. Human stomach acidity matches that of herbivores.
• Saliva. The saliva of carnivores is acidic. The saliva of herbivores is alkaline, which helps pre-digest plant foods. Human saliva is alkaline.
• Shape of intestines. Carnivore bowels are smooth, shaped like a pipe, so meat passes through quickly — they don’t have bumps or pockets. Herbivore bowels are bumpy and pouch-like with lots of pockets, like a windy mountain road, so plant foods pass through slowly for optimal nutrient absorption. Human bowels have the same characteristics as those of herbivores.
• Fiber. Carnivores don’t require fiber to help move food through their short and smooth digestive tracts. Herbivores require dietary fiber to move food through their long and bumpy digestive tracts, to prevent the bowels from becoming clogged with rotting food. Humans have the same requirement as herbivores.
• Cholesterol. Cholesterol is not a problem for a carnivore’s digestive system. A carnivore such as a cat can handle a high-cholesterol diet without negative health consequences. A human cannot. Humans have zero dietary need for cholesterol because our bodies manufacture all we need. Cholesterol is only found in animal foods, never in plant foods. A plant-based diet is by definition cholesterol-free.
• Claws and teeth. Carnivores have claws, sharp front teeth capable of subduing prey, and no flat molars for chewing. Herbivores have no claws or sharp front teeth capable of subduing prey, but they have flat molars for chewing. Humans have the same characteristics as herbivores.

But aren’t humans anatomically suited to be omnivores?

Nope. We don’t anatomically match up with omnivorous animals anymore than we do with carnivorous ones. Omnivores are more similar to carnivores than they are to herbivores. For a more detailed summary table that compares the properties of carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores side by side, see this page: Comparative Anatomy & Taxonomy

The link above also debunks the opportunistic feeder theory, which states that because humans can eat like omnivores, that we must therefore be omnivores. And this is of course false because mere behavior doesn’t indicate suitability. There are plenty of things we can do as a species that would threaten our survival if we all considered them suitable default behavior, such as shooting each other, lobbing hand grenades, or sending spam.

We Were Meant to Eat Meat Right? -Why is it Killing us?

Animals who eat meat take pleasure in killing and eating raw flesh. If you killed an animal with your bare hands and ate the corpse raw you would be considered deranged. Most humans get queasy around raw blood and organs. Ask yourself if you salivate when you see a dead animal sitting on the side of the road? Do you daydream about killing animals with your bare hands and ripping them apart with your bare hands and teeth?

We are quite ill equipped to digest meat in the short-term. The long-term damage that a meat-based diet causes on the human body more than confirms that we were not meant to eat corpse flesh. Natural carnivores never suffer from heart disease, diabetes, strokes, or obesity, ailments that are caused in humans by the consumption of the saturated fat and cholesterol in meat.

Dr. WilliamC. Roberts, M.D., editor of the authoritative American Journal of Cardiology, sums it up this way: "Although we think we are one, and we act as if we are one, human beings are not natural carnivores. When we kill animals to eat them, they end up killing us because their flesh, which contains cholesterol and saturated fat, was never intended for human beings, who are natural herbivores."

In studies where carnivores consume 200 times the amount of animal fat and cholesterol that the average human consumes each day, they do not develop the hardening of the arteries that leads to heart disease and strokes as in humans.⁴ Researchers have found that it is impossible for carnivores to develop hardening of the arteries, no matter how much animal fat they consume.⁵

Carnivores are capable of metabolizing all the cholesterol and fat in meat, but humans are far different. Our bodies were not designed to process animal flesh, and all the excess fat and cholesterol from a meat-based diet makes us sick. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in America according to the American Heart Association, and medical experts agree that this ailment is the result of the consumption of animal products.⁶ A plant based diet has been repeatedly used to unclog the arteries of heart disease patients. Plant based diet’s  not only prevent disease, but also treats diseases.

In addition to pointing out the damage done by saturated fat and cholesterol, scientists have also shown that eating animal protein can be harmful to human health. We consume twice as much protein as we need when we eat a meat-based diet, and this leads to osteoporosis and kidney stones.⁸ Animal protein raises the acid level in human blood, causing calcium to be excreted from the bones to restore the blood's natural pH balance. This calcium depletion leads to osteoporosis, and the excreted calcium ends up in the kidneys, where it can form kidney stones. The strain of processing all the excess animal protein from meat can also trigger kidney disease in meat-eaters.

The consumption of animal protein has also been linked to cancer of the colon, breast, prostate, and pancreas. In fact, according to Dr. T. Colin Campbell, the director of the Cornell-China-Oxford Project on Nutrition, Health, and the Environment, "In the next ten years, one of the things you're bound to hear is that animal protein … is one of the most toxic nutrients of all that can be considered."

Eating meat can also have negative consequences for stamina and sexual potency. One Danish study indicated that "Men peddling on a stationary bicycle until muscle failure lasted an average of 114 minutes on a mixed meat and vegetable diet, 57 minutes on a high-meat diet, and a whopping 167 minutes on a strict vegetarian diet."⁹ Besides having increased physical endurance, vegans are also less likely to suffer from impotence.

Since we don't have strong stomach acids like carnivores to kill all the bacteria in meat, dining on animal flesh can also give us food poisoning. In fact, according to the USDA, meat is the cause of 70 percent of foodborne illnesses in the United States because it's often contaminated with dangerous bacteria like E. coli, listeria, and campylobacter.¹⁰ Every year in the United States alone, food poisoning sickens over 75 million people and kills more than 5,000.¹¹ While carnivores can process all the saturated fat, protein, and bacteria in animal flesh, a meat-based diet can send humans to an early grave. Clearly, people were not intended to eat meat, and we are to blame for patterning our taste buds on it at a young age.

⁴ & ⁵ William C. Roberts, M.D., "Twenty Questions on Atherosclerosis," Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, Apr. 2000.
⁶ Reuters Health, "Heart Disease Still Number-One Killer in U.S.," Cardiovascular News Center, 1 Jan. 2002.
⁷ Elizabeth Somer, "Eating Meat: A Little Doesn't Hurt," WebMD, 1999.
⁸ University of Iowa Health Care Center, "Protein: How Much Is Enough?" 1999.
⁹ John Robbins, Diet for a New America, Walpole, New Hampshire: Stillpoint Publishing, 1987, pp. 156-58.
¹⁰ Amy Ellis Nutt, "In Soil, Water, Food, Air," The Star Ledger, 8 Dec. 2003.
¹¹ Reuters, "CSPI: Seafood, Eggs Biggest Causes of Food Poisoning in U.S.," CNN.com, 7 Aug. 2000.

“Everything in Moderation” and Celebration Justifications

We tend to feel safe and secure when we follow the masses. Many desire to fit into society as it has already been designed. I'm sure you have heard the phrase “thinking outside the box.” Everyone wants your money, and the food business is no different. Marketing is everywhere and the more a company can convince you that you will be sexy, lose weight, or have a good time consuming their product, the more their revenues will spike.

There is a statement that does not make sense to me, and one I hear the most for justification to eat whatever we want. Many speak of eating certain foods in “moderation.” Or perhaps your friends say the phrase “everything in moderation.” This saying is regurgitated more times than I can count. We can give ourselves diseases at any rate we choose. We can line our organs with plaque at a fast or a slow rate. Food is a natural chemical and our body responds accordingly. Would you moderate strychnine, or cocaine, or any other poison? While it is factual that a little of poison sometimes has less effect than a lot, eliminating it altogether, whenever possible, is best. Mediocrity is excellent to the eyes of mediocre people who continue a justification process of what they consider normal.

It takes a very intelligent, strong-willed person to say “no more” to easy temptation, to be open to changing their patterned lifestyle, and to tell their family that they are making a change. Humans have preserved, fried, killed, packaged, baked, molded, and aged anything resembling food, and then they produce studies trying to prove why you should consume that product. Because a large government agency passes it as edible does not mean it should pass your lips. But you say "I work out and burn it off." Can you seriously "burn off" the cholesterol, plaque, acidity, and animal fat from your bloodstream and organs by exercise? You can choose the positive route and not add anymore to your body.

Are we scared to go against what the masses are doing? People who make food choices that are healthy are considered weird and strange and even un-American, while people are considered normal whose eating habits promote disease. If you are at a sporting event or barbeque, and you do not have alcohol and meat, you are often criticized or viewed as "weird." People will say you "have issues" if you do not want a beer and pizza. People will roll their eyes at you, asking you how you get your protein. Thankfully, now you understand the truth, after reading the protein myth chapter in this book.

The packaging in our stores and commercials are very deceptive. We see on packaging that a product has 1/3 less fat, no carbohydrates, no fat, etc. Guess what? Processed sugar has no fat, but it has horrible side effects. It lowers your immune system and causes diabetes and unhealthy weight gain, among many other adverse effects.

Has anyone stopped to think with common sense? Are we in denial? If you eat the dead, will you feel alive? “You are what you eat”—that simple phrase is so true. Our body odor reflects what we eat and how fast it can pass through our body. Meat takes, on average, 48 hours or longer to pass through our body because we are designed with very long intestines. That is, what your body allows to pass through and does not stick as plaque to your organs and candida inside intestines and artery walls. Your breath, sweat, and body fluids all reflect what you put into your body. Along with the pH balance you create inside your body by what you eat, pills you take, what you drink, animal products cause acidity. Most meat eaters do smell and taste different when you kiss them. Raw green vegetables are alkaline. If you like kissing decaying carcasses as the acidic breath rises from the stomach, then you are more adaptive to our current society than I am.

Our bodies are remarkable at pushing through the toxins and eliminating the bacteria, but our bodies can only take so much before they scream for us to stop the torture. Meat is very difficult for the body to digest. Organic meat is no easier for the body to digest, and being organic does not make meat non-acidic.

Have you ever wondered why there is a lobbyist for everything that kills humans? We have gun lobbyists, tobacco lobbyists, oil, pharmaceutical company lobbyists, and of course, dairy and meat council lobbyists. Where are the vegetable lobbyists, the pH balance lobbyists, and the prevention lobbyists? Not enough money is available in those categories for them to be backed by the government yet.

One hundred years from now, what might we know? Have you learned much in the past 20 years? Is your knowledge different now than it used to be? Remember when the world was believed to be flat? Scientists, doctors, and researchers have changed theories over the years and the pattern will continue this way.

What we know now is from a compilation of our experiences. How do we know what to eat? Past history? Our parents? Our teachers? Advertising executives? Our schools? Fitness trainers? Doctors? Government? Nutritionists? Where do all of these people gather their knowledge? From studies and research, right? If you follow a marketing and money trail, you might just come up amazed. Who was in charge of devising the original four food groups? The Meat and Dairy Counsel. Why wouldn’t they add those two groups as necessary for human health? The government has controlled our nutritional education, which is hard to understand until we dig deeper. Interestingly, they have control over health care as well. Who teaches who? Who funds the education of all the professionals listed above? The government, pharmaceutical companies, and the Meat and Dairy Counsel, mainly.

Self-love needs to come first. You are what you eat, so utilize your consciousness. Lead your life with your head first. Obtain knowledge and commit to treating your body right. Food is just like dope in that no matter how much you eat, you will never feel complete. You need to solve what is eating at you inside first. The smaller amounts of food we eat, the better. Our bodies are taxed way too much from digesting food and do not have enough energy left to heal us internally.

Sweet Holiday Festivities and Sickness

Have you noticed all the people at the office becoming sick around the holidays? Have you ever noticed all the sugar treats lying around the office at that time of year as well? What about the alcohol at office gatherings and holiday celebrations? What about all the animal products causing your body to turn acidic, and your immune system to tank? Sugar and alcohol are severe when it comes to dropping your immunity levels, and your body becomes much weaker when consuming these products. Someday, perhaps offices will ban bringing sugary sweets with a ton of refined sugar to work because it is not productive for business to have everyone out sick.

So what if it is Thanksgiving? If you look in the history books, the pilgrims did not eat turkey. I'm not sure why is it considered “normal” for a family celebration to focus on eating a dead carcass that will end up doing more harm than good to your family.

Since Roman times, celebrations have taken place in which people are gorging on poultry, seafood, and game. We celebrate victories in war, sport, politics, and bring family together through a feast of the dead. We look at peasants and poverty as those not able to afford to eat such extravagant foods as a filet of the finest steak. While it is more expensive to eat meat, it is not doing anyone a favor. Our costs include inefficient use of land, water, heavy pollution from livestock feces, heart disease, obesity, destruction of rain forests, and endless illness. Do we want to reward ourselves by clogging our arteries, lining our heart with plaque, gaining weight, having acidic breathe, feeling lethargic, aging rapidly, and not being able to sustain a quality of life as we age?

Isn’t it a strange custom to poison ourselves in order to celebrate as a family tradition? What do we do when we celebrate a big event, a goal accomplished, weddings, rewards, or any big victory? We toast with alcohol. We eat sugar or animal products. Are we toasting to our speedy death or to hoping disease will find us faster? Are we eating the birthday or wedding cake so that we can lower our immune system and age more quickly? Nonetheless, I am definitely not saying that staying clear from as many toxins as you can is easy.

Have we considered that food might not be intended to be used as we use it? Neale Donald Walsch said:

Food was intended to be used as nourishment. When you use food as fun, your body has no fun at all. It works harder, and it ultimately can't fight off the effects of mistreatment. It carries more weight, which puts more strain on your heart. Arteries are clogged, which adds more strain. You could, of course, define fun another way. You could decide that "fun" is being healthy and happy. But you might have to change your whole idea about food.

I became aware of food choices at a very young age. My mother did shop at health food stores in Eugene, Oregon, where I grew up. However, I rebelled and wanted junk food more often than not. It was what the other “normal” kids were eating. When I was 13 years old, however, I saw a segment on 60 Minutes that opened my eyes for good. The show went inside the slaughterhouses and showed all the tumors, cancers, bacteria, and urine found on meat. That's all it took to prove to me that eating a ton of cancers and tumors was probably going to cause one in myself. That was the beginning of my eye opening experience. Back then, I had no idea what an astonishing impact animal products had on human health. As with everyone else, I justified continuing to eat dairy, fish, and some chicken. Then, I started to understand that chicken was not any healthier than red meat. In fact, I discovered it was just as dangerous, but because it is marketed as healthier, I had bought into that notion.

As years went on, I started realizing that dairy was probably not good because it created mucus in my throat. I read two important books, Do Not Drink Your Milk by Frank Oski M.D. and Diet for a New America by John Robbins, which sealed my intuition on dairy. Later, reading The China Study really helped me to understand how much of our bone loss and acidity was linked to dairy. Dairy was also connected to cancer growing at rapid rates, but I still somehow justified fish as an easier fiber to digest. After all, it provided great omega fatty acids and fish oil. Boy, was I a fool! Fish carry endless parasites and larva, which are incredibly acidic to the body. This is something I just recently learned. A friend of mine sent me endless information on fish, and then sent me links to numerous videos of fish parasites available on YouTube. Soon, I got the message that it was not a product I was going to put in my body anymore. Omegas are easily found in flaxseeds and walnuts.

"You're thinking I'm one of those wise-ass California vegans who is going to tell you that eating a few strips of bacon is bad for your health. I'm not. I say it’s a free country and you should be able to kill yourself at any rate you choose, as long as your cold dead body is not blocking my driveway." —Scott Adams

Depressing Isn’t It? Why 53% of Americans take Antidepressants

The latest statistics indicate that just over one-half of our country is taking antidepressants. Antidepressants are the number one prescribed drug in the U.S. and are even prescribed for animals now too. Doctors happily hand out these antidepressants, convincing many that they need them. As discussed earlier, “food is a natural chemical.” Most people eat many depressants in our day-to-day foods and, in turn, crave to feel good again. Proper nutrient rich diets keep our cortisol levels stable and are not studied by many doctors yet. The first step is our cellular health before stable mental health can be achieved. If you do not have healthy cells in the brain, it is hard to hold a healthy positive thinking brain to energize us. “Use of antidepressant drugs in the United States doubled between 1996 and 2005.”[i] Now, over 27 million people are on medications for depression, which in turn, usually require more prescriptions for side effects. Now that is good pharmaceutical business!

I once met a man who said his doctor put him on antidepressants in college and he had been on them ever since. He was drinking alcohol with the fraternity brothers every night and did not understand why he did not feel motivation the next day so his doctor prescribed antidepressants. Should the doctor have told him to stop drinking alcohol completely first and then reanalyze the situation? Antidepressant drugs, after all, should not be mixed with alcohol. When taking antidepressants and alcohol together, we cannot own up to loving ourselves fully. The good news is that this man I speak of was enlightened a few years ago, and he is now on his way to becoming a more aware and health conscious person.

What if we take responsibility for our nutrition first? What if doctors were banned from prescribing drugs until a patient is off all alcohol, refined sugar, processed foods, caffeine, and animal products? Our body is a machine and if you speed it up, slow it down, then clog it with animal products, how can we expect the machine to function at its best performance? Our mental state is largely a reflection of what we feed our body. If we put a depressant, such as alcohol, into our body why do we expect not to be depressed? It is much harder to take ownership of this, and easier to swallow "happy" pills or put on a Band-Aid to cover the issue. The sad part is that a large part of the country is not functioning correctly sexually either when on antidepressants. Once you are taking antidepressants, your sexual stimulation is troubled. Women have problems having orgasms while men have a hard time with blood flow.

Another side effect of antidepressants is sleeping disorders. Nonetheless, many are okay with the side effects, but they refuse to give up hamburgers, dairy, processed foods, alcohol, or coffee. We decide to take the “no change” route in our nutrition, and accept a pill (and then several more pills to help alleviate the side effects). Is there a pill for being downright crazy and stubborn? We need intellect pills, pills to rid us of fear of change, and the biggest pill of all could help with taking ownership and responsibility for our actions. Honor your emotions and then clean your body out to be the best functioning machine you can have. Watch the energy levels rise and have your normal body function return. How can our bodies help us to be happy when they are consumed with fighting off all the toxins we put down our throat?

We are energy beings and we have an energetic electromagnetic field. One of the best sources of energy is the sun and foods that gain their energy directly from the sun. In order to keep our energy fields powered properly, we need to eat the foods packed with the most live energy. Oxygenation to the body through cardio activity is a natural way to increase our endorphins and feel energized.

Typical side effects from antidepressants and other medications include dry mouth, urinary retention, blurred vision, constipation, sedation, sleep disruption, weight gain, headache, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, loss of libido, agitation, anxiety, and many others. Are those symptoms easier to deal with than trying to change one's food intake?

Think Yourself into Positive Health

Since movies like The Secret have come out there is a notion that you can merely think yourself into health. While positive thought is good, the ability of being medically alive for a while purely on thought without nutritional intake is not yet possible. You need the right fuel to operate your cells at maximum strength and energy levels before expecting any mind-blowing clarity in thought. Positive thought is good, and then positive action is better yet. Will your car go forward with no gas, even if you sit and think positive thoughts about going forward? Your body wants to move forward too, and it needs help to be the strongest it can be. Turn your positive thoughts into eating alive plant-based foods to give your body and brain the maximum nutrients it can use. Soon, you will be a racecar yourself! Even if you are starting late in life, continue to nourish your body, and you will see results in many aspects of your life.

The best possible nutrition would include mostly raw fresh plant based foods. While that is not adaptable yet for all humans to chose…the closer our choices are to this diet on a daily basis you are telling your body you love it, embrace life, and want the most energy you can have. The more disease we can prevent before the need to cure the better.

Our bodies love vitamins in their natural state, and are the most absorbable into the body in the natural food. Nutrition operates as an infinitely complex biochemical system involving thousands of chemicals and thousands of effects on your health, it makes little or no sense that isolated nutrients taken as supplements can substitute for whole foods. Supplements will not lead to long lasting health and may cause unforeseen side effects. The dangers of the western diet cannot be overcome through supplements. 

For years our schools have been providing “nutritional education” materials by the dairy counsel and meat industry, which compare the iron levels of different foods according to their weight. Intentionally or not, this has served to make meat appear unfairly advantageous when compared to vegetables and fruits, because the latter are high in water content, and the weight in the plant foods dilutes their figures when so calculated. Iron Absorption is greatly assisted by the presence of Vitamin C. The lack of this vitamin can prevent the body from effectively using the iron it is given. Fresh Veggies, sprouts, and fruits are the best sources of Vitamin C; whereas meats, dairy, eggs, fats and sugar have none. (Diet For A New America, By John Robbins PG-299)

If a doctor tells you that you need animal products for any nutrient or health reason they have not been properly educated. For Example: There is more iron in veggies than meat, more omegas in flax, walnuts, algae, and other products. B-12 is found in vegetables. 

Vitamin B-12 deficiencies- Vegans have a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of B-12 deficiency whereas meat-eaters have a 1 in 2 chance of heart disease (etc). The liver stores three years of B-12.  Extremely small amounts of B-12 are required and it is very easy to supplement with a supplement once a week if that. B-12 deficiency is a weak argument considering the odds. B-12 comes from organic soils and raw vegetation. 

Omega 3’s: While Fish does contain Omega’s, the fish actually do not produce Omega’s. They get it from eating plankton and algae. Which, we can eat directly as well. Walnuts, and Flax seed are two examples that also contain these vital Omega’s.

Iron Content of Foods (Milligrams per 100 calories) Source: “Nutritive Value Of Foods” Consumer and Food Economics Institute, United States Dept. of Agriculture, US Government Printing Office, 1977

Wow…what a shocker! There is more Iron and Fiber in Iceberg lettuce than any meat. All along we thought Iceberg had no nutrient content. FYI: There is no fiber in any animal product.

Grains, Seeds, Legumes	Meats and Fish	Dairy Products <stands for negative or takes Iron
Lima Beans           2.3	Sirloin Steak-Lean     1.9	Cheddar Cheese    < 0.1
Navy beans           2.3	Pot Roast-Lean          1.2	Blue Cheese           <0.1
Lentils                     2.0	Ground Lean Beef     1.1	Cottage Cheese      <0.1
Pumpkin Seeds    2.0	Tuna Canned/Drained  .9	Mozzarella Cheese <0.1
Sunflower Seeds  1.4	Ham roast                     .9	Low Fat 2% Milk   <0.1
Spilt Peas             1.4	Pork chop                     .9	Ice Milk                  <0.1
Oats                      1.1	Salami                          .9	Low Fat Yogurt      <0.1
Rye                       1.1	Sirloin Steak                 .8	Whole Milk             <0.1
Wheat                   1.0	Chicken breast              .8	Ice Cream                <0.1
Walnuts                  .9	Turkey-Light Meat       .7	Whipping Cream     <0.0
Almonds                .8	Ocean perch                 .6	Butter                      <0.0
	Salamon                       .6
	Bacon                          .6
	Rib roast                     .6
	Leg of Lamb               .6
	Bologna                      .6
	Frankfurter                 .5
	Lamb Chop                 .3

Vegetables	Fruits
Spinach              11.3	Strawberries     2.7
Beet Greens       11.2	Dried Apricots  2.3
Mustard Greens   8.3	Lemons            2.0
Turnip Greens     6.5	Blueberries       1.7
Cucumber            6.0	Raspberries      1.6
Cauliflower         4.2	Blackberries    1.5
Kale                     4.0	Peaches            1.3
Chinese Cabbage 4.0	Cantaloupe       1.3
Iceberg Lettuce   3.8	Grapefruit        1.1
Collards              3.4	Plums              1.0
Bell Peppers       3.3	Pineapple        1.0
Broccoli              3.1	Banana              .8
Mushrooms        3.0	Orange              .8
Zucchini             2.7
Peas                    2.7
Green Beans       2.7
Tomatoes           2.4
Red Cabbage       2.4
Celery                2.4
Green cabbage     2.4
Carrot                1.8
Beet                   1.6
Onion                1.4

Do we need meat and animal products for Iron? It is actually reverse. Dairy takes iron from our system. Steak has 1.9 milligrams of Iron per 100 calories and Spinach has 11.3 milligrams per 100 calories. (Diet For A New America by John Robbins PG-298). Most vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes have more iron than any animal product. Many people fearful of a vegan diet end up eating dairy products, which in turn can cause them to become anemic.

We are just learning now how fast many nutrients from vegetables and fruits are lost after picking or cutting. A head of lettuce just picked from the garden will have many more nutrients than a head of lettuce on a truck for several days and in a warehouse. In an ideal world we would all have backyards and grow our own food, but try to buy local organic plant based food as much as possible for better nutrient content.

From Dr. Brian Clement at The Hippocrates Institute:

http://www.aliveraw.com/Articles/Synthetic-Supplements-vs-Whole-Food-Supplements.aspx

Vitamin C—98% on the market is a chemical called ascorbic acid—highly dangerous for you. 

Vitamin A

Beta carotene—Look at the study that was conducted at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston—on lung cancer—beta carotene.  They stopped it in the middle of the study because the people who were taking the beta carotene had doubled the amount of cancer growth in their lungs as the people who did not.

From John Robbins:

Zinc: It is wise for vegetarians to include plenty of zinc-rich foods in their diets, but the levels of zinc found in the hair, saliva, and blood of vegetarians are typically in the normal range. Zinc deficiency would be particularly harmful in pregnant women, but studies of pregnant women have consistently found no difference in zinc status between vegetarians and non-vegetarians.
 

Iron: Vegetarian diets are much higher in vitamin C, and vitamin C greatly enhances iron absorption, so even without eating red meat (which is high in iron), and even with the reduction in iron absorption from phytates, vegetarians are no more prone to iron deficiency than are non-vegetarians.

Copper: Vegetarian diets tend to be higher in copper, which overrides any reduced rate of absorption from phytates. Vegans, in particular, consume considerably more copper than meat-eaters.

Magnesium: Vegetarians diets are typically so much higher in this crucial mineral that vegetarians consistently show markedly higher serum magnesium levels than do non-vegetarians.

Calcium:  Hundreds of studies have found vegetarians to have healthier bones, more positive calcium balance and less osteoporosis than meat-eaters — as well as less heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes, and substantially longer life spans.

Soda Pop: What about soda pop? Parents, let’s make positive choices for our kids and ourselves. 

POP

 To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Cola into the
toilet bowl and let the "real thing" sit for one hour,
then flush clean. The citric acid in Cola removes
stains from vitreous china.

To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers:
Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds
Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Cola.

To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour
a can of Cola over the terminals to bubble
away the corrosion.
To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply a cloth soaked in Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Cola
into the load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run
through a regular cycle. Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

The active ingredient in Cola is phosphoric acid. Phosphoric
acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major
contributor to the rising increase of osteoporosis.

 To carry Cola syrup (the concentrate) the
commercial trucks must use a hazardous Material place
cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.


WATER

#1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Number one cause of headaches.
(Likely applies to half the world population.)


#2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak
that it is mistaken for hunger.


#3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3%.


#4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs
for almost 100% of the dieters studied.


#5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.


#6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of
water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain
for up to 80% of sufferers.


#7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term
memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on
the computer screen or on a ! printed page.


#8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of
colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast
cancer by 79%., and one is 50% less likely to develop
bladder cancer. Are you drinking the amount of water
you should drink every day?

Now the question is, would you like a glass of water?



Caffeine-Coffee-Cola

Numerous studies link caffeine to calcium loss contributing to osteoporosis, and more bone fractures. Calcium is robbed from our bones to neutralize every time we consume something acidic. A study printed in the January 1994 Journal of the American Medical Association found that women who drank just two cups of coffee a day increased their risk of hip fracture by 69 percent.

Cortisol is what our bodies produce when there is a fight or flight response needed. Taking a chemical that imposes this such as caffeine induces the state of stress continuously on the body and therefore also ages us more rapidly. This also reduces our immunity. Our main energy that is needed for normal metabolic function gets halted by caffeine toxemia.  This can stay in the blood stream for 18 hours after consuming caffeine.

In about 60 to 70 percent suffering from diabetes or hypoglycemia caffeine promotes even further blood sugar imbalances. Insulin and the amount of sugar in the blood is increased when caffeine is in the system. Numerous patients of J Curtis Nickel, MD were able to reverse their Type II Diabetes simply by omitting caffeine consumption.

The toxicity of caffeine can be found when trying to remove this stimulant from your diet. The withdrawal symptoms of detoxification alone should clue you into how terrible it is for our bodies. Common symptoms include headaches (caused by sudden increase circulation to the brain when blood flow is no longer constricted), fatigue, sleepiness, lethargy, irritability, depression, muscle pain and stiffness, and sometimes even flu like symptoms. The narcotic effect of caffeine is so powerful that its influence is abundantly clear when the addict reintroduces this stimulant and all symptoms vanish.

Social acceptance is a big reason we stay on our poor patterned choices. It is easy to pull one piece of research or information to try and justify that something is good for us. Are there antioxidants in coffee? Yes, but they also exist in heroin and cocaine. If you want the best antioxidants try raw grape skins (again that is no reason to drink them mixed with ethyl alcohol as some researchers push). It is best to get your antioxidants and polyphenols (plant compounds) from real whole raw plant food sources. Those avoiding fructose can acquire these from green raw vegetables, which are also high in fiber, minerals, and absorbable vitamins. (Hippocrates Volume 26, Issue 4 Aliveraw.com Dr. Brian Clement)

We used to think coffee was a wonderful way to spike our energy. Sadly coffee dehydrates us, raises our cortisol levels (aging us rapidly), and makes us acidic. Coffee also hurts our natural intestinal flow, raises anxiety to high levels, aggression and blood pressure, along with staining our teeth as the least of the issues. Coffee is a depressant which in the long run does not help with raising energy. Coffee makes our anxiety heightened and therefore hurting our ability to focus. Coffee has also been linked to cancer. Heating the coffee bean creates the chemical Methylglyoxal, benzopyrene, and chlorogenic atractyosides.  A 1981 study from the Harvard School of Public Health concluded that drinking coffee was the cause of half of all pancreatic cancer cases. It also found that drinking three cups of coffee a day increased the risk of pancreatic cancer by three times. Furthermore, all disease is promoted in an acidic environment and the goal of health is to create an alkaline body.

A healthy body maintains a blood pH of around 7.3. Coffee is 25.1 on the acidic scale. Caffeine causes a large amount of sugar to be released into the bloodstream. The pancreas reacts by releasing an excessive amount of insulin. The sugar is burned by the body rapidly producing quick energy. Caffeine can cause chromosomes in the cell’s nucleus to break apart. These genes get re-arranged by the toxin. This defect can be seen in the delivery room of hospitals.  Coffee also increases urination frequency which inhibits absorption of nutrients (especially Iron). Decaffeinated Coffee is just as bad as an even more acidic than regular coffee. With most our world already being toxic from our everyday diets high in acidity this is the last thing we need to add. Anthony Robbins 2000 Life Mastery Course).

Anxiety - Since caffeine is a stimulant it interferes with adenosine, which is actually a brain chemical that helps to calm us down. We all know that panic attacks arise from situations that leave us at the opposite end of calm, so if caffeine is affecting this process within the brain, it is obviously going to lead to more frequent and more severe attacks. Caffeine also raises our lactate levels which are a known contributor in producing panic attacks.

If you are addicted to the taste of Coffee try “Teeccino”. It is non-acidic and tastes just like coffee. Teeccino comes in many flavors.  Tastes amazing through an espresso machine with coconut creamer.

Andreas Cahling Pro Mr. International. might not expect to find a plant based eater in world championship body-building competitions. But Andreas Cahling, the Swedish body builder who won the 1980 Mr.  International title, is a vegetarian, and has been for over ten years. 

Anthony Peeler "I am vegetarian and I love any restaurant that serves a good salad" 

Bill Pearl "I have now been vegetarian for almost 20 years. We have no fish, fowl, or red meat in our diet. Yet I can still carry the same amount of muscle as I did in winning my four Mr. Universe titles. People can't believe it. They think that to have big muscles you have to eat meat - it's a persistent and recurring myth."

Carl Lewis "When I went vegetarian I had the best year I had ever had."

Chris Campbell One of the oldest members of the US Olympic wrestling team and a Olympic bronze medalist is a pure vegetarian.

Brendan Brazier Brendan Brazier is not only a friend of mine, but a professional Ironman triathlete, two-time Canadian 50km Ultra Marathon Champion (Check out his health books Thrive Fitness and The Thrive Diet) Also visit www.thrivein30.com for free health lessons.

Dave Scott A six-time winner of the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon "It's a ridiculous fallacy to think that athletes need animal protein"

Edwin Moses The Olympic Gold Medalist went eight years without losing a race.

Gary Player "The closer you can live to being a vegetarian the better.” Gary Player

Ruth Heidrich Three time Ironman finisher, marathoner, and age group recorder holder. Author of the book: Race For Life.

Larry Bird Retired American NBA basketball player, widely considered as one of the best players of all time, and one of the top clutch performers in the history of sports.

Cynthia Cooper Won two NCAA basketball titles at USC (1983-84); won gold medal with U.S. team in 1988; 2-time WNBA MVP and 4-time league champion with Houston Comets; hired as head coach of WNBA's Phoenix Mercury in Jan. 2001

Phil Mickelson- The world famous golfer has finally switched to a plant based diet due to his health complications.
 

There are many more athletes than the few I have listed here who are finding nutrient dense foods the most efficient way to have the most advanced sports performance. This helps your body to work effortlessly at digesting and break down your fuel. The more efficient your fuel is the more efficient the athlete is in converting that fuel into energy and power. Your immune system will be higher, and you will also be able to recover quicker from training.

The biggest myth out there…People equate muscle mass, sex appeal, and strength to consumption of animal protein. Exercise is very important for a healthy body. Oxygenation to the cells helps keep our immune systems strong. Whether you are eating a plant based diet for peak athletic performance, more energy,  or just to stay disease free you are raising your standards of living.

I work out--so I am healthier? Most of America has the notion if we see a ripped muscular person that they are probably healthy. Sometimes they are healthier than others, but the outside can be deceiving. People can have organs about to fail, or plaque lined arteries. How many body builders have we heard of dying because their organs can no longer sustain the abuse of the food they are consuming? Does working out unclog our arteries and make our blood clean again? The only way to do that is to stop putting cholesterol, toxins and non-efficient food into our bodies.

Did You Know? Plant based eaters have more Stamina than Meat-eaters!
from Veggie Sports Association (http://www.veggie.org/)

Yale Study
Tests have shown that vegetarians have twice the stamina of meat eaters. At Yale, Professor Irving Fisher designed a series of tests to compare the stamina and strength of meat-eaters against that of vegetarians. He selected men from three groups: meat-eating athletes, vegetarian athletes, and vegetarian sedentary subjects. Fisher reported the results of his study in the Yale Medical Journal 2.

"Of the three groups compared, ... the flesh-eaters showed far less endurance than the abstainers (vegetarians), even when the latter were leading a sedentary life." 3

Overall, the average score of the vegetarians was over double the average score of the meat-eaters, even though half of the vegetarians were sedentary people, while all of the meat-eaters tested were athletes.

Paris Study
A comparable study was done by Dr. J. Ioteyko of the Academie de Medicine of Paris. 4 Dr. Ioteyko compared the endurance of vegetarians and meat-eaters from all walks of life in a variety of tests.

Danish Study
In 1986, a Danish team of researchers tested a group of men on a variety of diets, using a stationary bicycle to measure their strength and endurance.

The men were fed a mixed diet of meat and vegetables for a period of time, and then tested on the bicycle. The average time they could pedal before muscle failure was 114 minutes.

These same men later were fed a diet high in meat, milk and eggs for a similar period and then re-tested on the bicycles. On the high meat diet, their pedaling time be-fore muscle failure dropped dramatically - to an average of only 57 minutes.

Later, these men were switched to a strictly vegetarian diet, composed of grains, vegetables and fruits, and then tested on the bicycles. The lacks of animal products didn’t seem to hurt their performance - they peddled for an average of 167 minutes. 5

Belgium Study
Doctors in Belgium systematically compared the number of times vegetarians and meat-eaters could squeeze a grip-meter. The vegetarians won handily with an average of 69, whilst the meat-eaters averaged only 38. As in all other studies which have measured muscle recovery time, here, too, the vegetarians bounced back from fatigue far more rapidly than did meat eaters. 6

References
1.Robbins, John, Diet For a New America, Stillpoint, 1987, pgs. 156-158.
2.Fisher, Irving, "The Influence of Flesh Eating on Endurance," Yale Medical Journal, 13(5):205-221, 1907.
3.Ibid.
4.Ioteyko, J., et al, Enquete scientifique sur les vegetariens de Bruxelles, Henri Lamertin, Brussels, pg. 50.
5.Astrand, Per-Olaf, Nutrition Today 3:no2, 9-11, 1986.
6.Schouteden, A., Ann de Soc. Des Sciences Med. Et Nat. De Bruxelles

Are You Chicken to Learn About Chicken?

The Unhealthy White Meat and Eggs

Consumption of chicken has increased dramatically in the last twenty years and the average North American eats over fifty pounds of chicken each year, which is twice the amount that was consumed twenty years ago. Most people see chicken as a really “healthy” alternative to beef, and as a low-fat and wholesome part of their diet. If you add the fact that chicken is cheap, versatile and fast, the unassuming bird seems to be the ideal entree. Meanwhile, the bird that is held in such high regard in our diets is responsible for over 1000 deaths and between 7 to 80 million illnesses each year in the US alone… not including the long running diseases caused by a broken down immune system over time, acidity, blood platlets sticking together to form clots, and plaque build-up.[i]

From organic free range farms and regular factory farms, chicken is far from wholesome. Time magazine has called chicken one of the most dangerous items in the American home. Recent reports tell us that over 30 percent of U.S. chicken is contaminated with salmonella, and 62 percent is contaminated with campylobacter. These two pathogens cause 80 percent of the illnesses and 75 percent of the deaths associated with meat consumption, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The chickens we eat are overweight, overgrown, and unhealthy. Yet people happily throw buffalo wings, chicken breasts, drumsticks, and frozen dinners into their shopping carts, blind to the realities of eating the popular bird.

Organic Animal Products: Somehow people have become duped that a label stating “organic” means "healthy," and that all other issues with eating chicken go away with this word. Many continue to justify eating chicken by adding the word organic. Organic is better for the animal, but any animal product inside of you, no matter how free range and organic it may be, is not healthy from the studies listed below. A few less toxins might be found in the meat if it is organic. But is organic acidity better for you? What about organic cholesterol, organic parasites, and organic plaque in your organs? Whether it is organic or not, chicken still takes a toll on your body to digest. It is not a nutrient dense food, it lowers your immune system, and it causes cancer cells to grow. Organic casein protein from dairy still makes you acidic, depleting calcium from your bones, and it still causes cancer. Be careful of new marketing spins, words, and techniques.

Is Chicken a Healthy Alternative to Beef?

Fears of cholesterol and high amounts of fat have caused more people to consume chicken more than ever before. People began eating more chicken and less red meat, believing that chicken was a healthier and smarter choice. Unknowing consumers will be surprised to learn that chicken is not a low-fat food. Even light, skinless chicken derives almost 18 percent of its calories from fat, and skinless, roasted, dark chicken is 32 percent fat! Reports show that the cholesterol content of chicken can be comparable to beef at 25 milligrams per ounce. Is this a lower-fat alternative? Depending on which cut of beef one compares to chicken it's possible, but chicken is definitely not a low-fat food! Food marketing is big business and no different with chicken. They teach that it's low in fat, low in cholesterol, and healthier than beef. Is this true? Not by a long shot.

HEALTHIER?

Information is available contradicting the myths that chicken and turkey contain less cholesterol and that; reportedly, they represent a good option for those on a healthier diet. According to studies by Dean Ornish, M.D., from a five-year follow-up of patients on his popular vegetarian plan for reversing heart disease, compared with patients on the chicken and fish diet recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA), the majority following the AHA guidelines became progressively worse, while those who made intensive changes grew progressively better. So there goes the healthy option myth! Plant foods contain no cholesterol but all animal products always do. Animal products also contain no fiber. For every one percent increase in cholesterol levels, the risk of heart attack rises by two percent. For every 100 milligrams of cholesterol in the daily diet, the typical amount in a four-ounce serving of either beef or chicken, one's cholesterol level typically zooms up five points. Unlike fat, cholesterol concentrates in the lean part of the meat. Many people seem to think the fat is the cholesterol mistakenly.

LOWER IN FAT?

An honest look at the nutritional value of chicken reveals that chicken meat is not low in fat and "not even close." A 3.5-ounce piece of broiled lean steak is 56 percent fat as a percentage of calories, and chicken contains nearly the same at 51 percent (organic or not). Compare those amounts with the fat in a baked potato (one percent), steamed cauliflower (six percent), and baked beans (four percent), and any notions that chicken is a health food go out the window. Fancy packages can't disguise the fact that chicken and all meats are muscles, and muscles are made of protein and fat. Also, the combination of fat, protein, and carcinogens found in cooked chicken creates troubling risks for colon cancer. Chicken not only gives you a load of fat you don't want, its heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are potent carcinogens produced from creatine, amino acids, and sugars in poultry as well as other meats during cooking. These same chemicals are found in tobacco smoke and are 15 times more concentrated in grilled chicken than in beef. HCAs may be one of the reasons that meat-eaters have much higher colon cancer rates, at about 300 percent higher when compared to that of vegetarians.

Ian Coghill, Vice Chairman of the Environmental Health Office's Food Safety Committee, says that chicken should carry a government health warning on the package, like cigarettes.

Consider this: Chickens may be fed the carcasses and byproducts of any other animals, including sheep (which may be infected with scrapie), cattle (which may be infected with BSE), and dead chickens (from disease) and chicken excrement.

CLEAN?

In 1991, the Atlanta Constitution did a special report on the poultry industry. Of 84 federal poultry inspectors interviewed, 81 said that thousands of birds tainted or stained with feces—which a decade ago would have been condemned—are now rinsed and sold daily. Seventy-five of the inspectors said that thousands of diseased birds pass from processing lines to stores every day. Poultry plants often salvage meat, cutting away visibly diseased or contaminated sections and selling the rest as packaged wings, legs, or breasts, according to 70 inspectors. Richard Simmons, inspector at a ConAgra plant, said, "Practically every bird now, no matter how bad, is salvaged. This meat is not wholesome. I would not want to eat it. I would never, in my wildest dreams, buy cut-up parts at a store today."

And just listen to USDA Inspector Ronnie Sarratt: "I've had birds that had yellow pus visibly coming out of their insides, and I was told to save the breast meat off them and even save the second joint of the wing. You might get those breasts today at a store in a package of breast fillets. And you might get the other in a pack of buffalo wings." Previously, inspectors used to condemn all birds with air sacculitus, a disease that causes yellow fluids and mucus to break up into the lungs. In a 1989 article in Southern Exposure, USDA inspector Estes Philpott of Arkansas estimated that he was forced to approve 40 percent of air sac birds that would have been condemned 10 years ago.

CHICKEN CANCER

Tony Moore of Joice and Hill broiler breeders was quoted as saying that chicken cancer (Marek's disease) is responsible for the excessively high losses of chickens and, despite chickens being vaccinated against it as day-old chicks, mortality is increasingly significant. A rapidly increasing threat exists from Gumboro disease, a viral cancer, and on top of this, avian leucosis a bird variety of leukemia now commonplace. In fact, one American report found that, "Virtually all commercial chickens are heavily infected with leucosis virus." Nonetheless, because the tumors are not grossly apparent until about 20 weeks of age, the virus is not economically as important as is the Marek's disease virus, which induces tumors by six-eight weeks of age.

"Can chicken cancer spread to humans?" you might ask. It is quite possible as studies do seem to prove that malignant tumors and other cancers can spread from one species to another. It has been proven that acidity causes cancer cells to grow, and all animal products are acidic.

In some ways, the connection is really very simple. First, we know that some "meat producing animals" (especially cows and chickens) suffer from tumors and cancers. Second, we know that cancer can be transmitted by virus from one animal to another and indeed from one species to another. Third, cancerous and tumorous meats are not necessarily removed at the slaughterhouse and may quite easily find their way to the butcher's shop. The inevitable conclusion drawn from all this is that if you eat meat, sooner or later you are likely to eat part of an animal that either has cancer or has been exposed to a virus that can cause cancer. It is difficult however to quantify the risk you would be running by eating tumorous meat because cancers can take many years to surface into readable size.

SALMONELLA, CAMPYLOBACTER

In food processing plants where workers process red meat as well as chicken, the chicken preparation areas are often cordoned off from the rest of the plant. The work there is carried out behind glass screens in a kind of quarantine, just in case bugs that thrive on and in chickens infect everything else. One of the most widespread of these bugs is salmonella. Almost every process of chicken production helps to spread bugs from one chicken to another until they finish inside the plastic wrappers. There is a danger when touching raw chicken that people can spread the infection elsewhere.

According to an article by Murry Cohen, M.D. and Allison Lee Solin of the PCRM, campylobacter, the most common cause of diarrhea in the United States, can sometimes lead to a paralysis-inducing disease called Gullain-Barré Syndrome, and salmonella, which causes severe food poisoning, can be fatal. They state that, according to 1997 tests conducted by the Minnesota Health Department, 79 percent of chickens sampled from supermarkets were infected with campylobacter, and 20 percent of those were infected with an antibiotic-resistant strain. About 58 percent of turkeys were infected, and 84 percent of those carried a resistant strain. With the introduction of quinolones for use in poultry, resistant strains of campylobacter are now appearing in the U.S., explains Stuart Levy, M.D., a physician with the Tufts School of Medicine. He described the antibiotic-resistance trend as an international public health nightmare.

In February 1999, the British medical journal The Lancet reported that scientists had discovered antibiotic-resistant bacteria in feed being given to chickens in the United States.

Kieswer of the PCRM argues that with live salmonella bacteria growing inside one in every three packages of chicken, chicken meat is making many people sick. Although deaths from salmonella poisonings sometimes make the evening news, millions more cases that cause flu-like symptoms go undetected and uncounted. Salmonella poisoning can cause vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and low-grade fever, lasting for several days. When it spreads to the blood and other organs, it can be fatal and is for as many as 9,000 people every year. Also, campylobacter infects as many as two-thirds of all pre-packaged chicken. Salmonella and campylobacter have become increasingly common because modern factory farms crowd thousands of chickens into tightly confined spaces, where excrement and other forms of bacteria spread contaminants. As we have learned, chicken has the same amount of cholesterol as beef; four ounces of beef and four ounces of chicken both contain about 100 milligrams of cholesterol and the cholesterol from chicken similarly clogs arteries and causes heart disease. The human body produces cholesterol on its own and never needs outside sources. Each added dose contributes to artery blockages, which lead to heart attacks, strokes, and other serious health problems.

According to Dr Barnard of the PCRM, chicken (no matter if it is organic or not) looks harmless, but fancy marketing campaigns cannot disguise its shortcomings. Chicken may be lighter in color than beef, but your body cannot tell the difference. Chicken, like other animal products, contains hefty doses of cholesterol, fat, and animal protein. It leaves your body wanting fiber, vitamin C, and complex carbohydrates. When heated, chicken produces dangerous heterocyclic amines (HCAs) as creatine, amino acids, and sugar in chicken muscles interacts. HCAs—the same carcinogens found in tobacco smoke—are 15 times more concentrated in grilled chicken than in beef. The fat, animal protein, and carcinogens in cooked chicken creates risks for colon cancer. Moreover, poultry, like all meat, lacks any fiber to help cleanse the digestive tract of excess hormones and cholesterol.

In addition, you wouldn't dream of consuming veterinary medicines, but in choosing chicken, you're doing just that. Today's farms increasingly operate much like factories. Unlike PCBs, which are slow to leave our bodies, chemicals from medicated feed and various veterinary compounds are eliminated when we stop eating meat. In comparison with the general population, vegetarian women have 98-99 percent lower levels of several pesticides as well as many other chemicals ingested by eating animal products.

LISTERIOSIS

In the U.S., in one of their biggest-ever meat recalls, agribusiness giant Cargill called back almost 17 million pounds of "ready-to-eat" turkey and chicken products. These meats were processed at Cargill's Waco, Texas, plant between May and mid-December. The fear was possible contamination by the often-deadly bacteria listeria monocytogenes. Dr. Barnard, of the PCRM, argues that this development added an exclamation point to the end of 2000, a year already beset by a record-setting pace of more than 70 U.S. meat recalls.

According to Dr. Barnard, the latest problem, listeria, may not be the household name that salmonella is, or that E coli and campylobacter are fast becoming, but it's depressingly familiar to emergency room personnel, who routinely see the human costs of food borne illnesses. With listeria, symptoms can often entail high fevers, severe headaches, neck stiffness, and nausea. Such symptoms can persist for days, even weeks. Listeria can also trigger miscarriages and stillbirths. Even with treatment, listeria kills fully one-fifth of those contracting it. Untreated, it kills 70 percent. Listeria strikes hardest at those with weakened or overtaxed immune systems, notably the elderly, the frail, pregnant women, newborn infants, diabetics, AIDS patients, cancer radiation and chemotherapy patients, and organ transplant recipients.

In fact, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported in 1989 that listeriosis exacts dire consequences. Infections in adults younger than 40 years proved fatal 11 percent of the time. In adults older than 60, the death rate was 63 percent. Women infected late in their pregnancies can pass the disease to their fetuses, later giving birth to children with infections of the central nervous system.

Scientists detected listeria in up to 70 percent of uncooked poultry and meat samples they collected from seven countries, according to studies published in the Journal of Food Protein in 1989 and 1993. Those pieces snugly fit into the more general pattern. In instance after instance, food borne illness investigations show the culprit to have been either an animal product or contamination of food or water by feces from animal agriculture.

As long as meat is the center of our diets, food borne illness will remain a fact of life. As matters stand, estimates put U.S. food borne illness cases at 76 million per year, including 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,200 deaths, 500 of those from listeriosis. Even if pathogens such as listeria could somehow be eliminated, digestive-tract cancers, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and other debilitating illnesses would still make eating a sliced turkey sandwich, chicken salad, or hot dogs akin to wandering through minefields. Fortunately, we can avoid those hazards. One of the most attractive features of bananas, carrots, oatmeal, and veggie burgers is that they have no intestines where virulent bacteria and worms can incubate. They contain no cholesterol and very little fat![ii]

EGGS
Eggs are the highest-ranking cholesterol product around. Eggs have 550 Milligrams of cholesterol per 100-gram portion.

Although, many consumers believe that labels such as free-range, free-roaming, or cage-free mean that these chickens spend their days in natural outdoor settings, the label means something entirely different to the egg industry. The nutritional value of egg whites is practically nothing. The whites have about half an egg's protein content, yes, and almost all of its sodium. That's pretty much it, barring trace amounts of other nutrients. Hens on commercial cage-free farms are not kept in cages, but they still have their sensitive beaks cut off with a hot blade and are crammed together in filthy sheds where they will live for years until their egg production wanes and they're sent to slaughter. They never go outside, breathe fresh air, feel the sun on their backs, or do anything else that is natural or important to them. They suffer from the same lung lesions and ammonia burns as hens in cages, and they have breast blisters to add to their suffering.

• Chickens’ eggs are the byproduct of a chicken’s “menstrual” cycle. If fertilized, they would produce baby chicks.
• Male chicks are worthless to the egg industry, so every year millions of them are tossed into trash bags to suffocate or are thrown alive into high-speed grinders called “macerators.”
• Egg-laying hens are all eventually slaughtered for their flesh. Their weak and emaciated bodies are made into soup or dog and cat food, or they are fed back to other chickens.
• “Free-range” eggs are a marketing ploy—the free-range label is not subject to any USDA regulations, so “free-range” chickens endure miserable conditions, just as all animals used for food do.[iii]

We are told that stress helps creates disease, but what if we are eating the severe stress of another animal?

The typical, American breakfast is probably the worst meal choices we have. The typical breakfast in America, among other countries, consists of animal products, sugar, flour, or a combination thereof. Oatmeal, fruit, and some raw grain cereals are about the only healthy food that should be consumed at breakfast, if following traditional meal choices. Why not eat lunch or dinner items for breakfast that include more vegetables? Why do certain cereals lower cholesterol as the commercials say? They do so by substituting cereal for breakfast, instead of the other animal products you normally would consume. You could probably eat cardboard and have the same effect. Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but you get the point.

Do not let people like Rachael Ray fool you. Cooking shows are entertaining. Many chefs think the meals they are cooking are healthy if the animal products are lower in fat. Compared to what? Make no mistake, the words "animal product" and "healthy" do not go together. Animal products will keep you alive on an island with no other food options, but the reason you eat them is for the patterned craving developed. Whether organic or free range, animal products have cholesterol, they are acidic, extremely hard to digest, and they are not the ideal nutrition our bodies need.

pH Balance and Acidity:  Most of what we drink and eat in the normal American diet is making our bodies into an acidic environment which makes cancer cells grow at the fastest rate imaginable, not to mention tanking our immune systems. Your partner may be squealing at your possible acidic breathe while kissing you, or you might experience heart burn pain (GERD) if it gets bad enough. Coffee, alcohol, animal products, processed sugar, etc….makes us acidic, and is not good for us even though marketing may try to spin it another way.

Your body is able to assimilate minerals and nutrients properly only when its pH is balanced. It is therefore possible for you to be taking healthy nutrients and yet be unable to absorb or use them. Most people who suffer from unbalanced pH are acidic. This condition forces the body to borrow minerals—including calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium—from vital organs and bones to buffer (neutralize) the acid and safely remove it from the body. Because of this strain, the body can suffer severe and prolonged damage due to high acidity—a condition that may go undetected for years. Even if you just did a pH test and it showed normal, chances are that your body has already pulled the calcium from the bones to neutralize. Unless, you are eating a ton of neutralizing foods in the charts below.

Mild acidosis can cause such problems as:

• Cardiovascular damage, including the constriction of blood vessels and the reduction of oxygen.
• Weight gain, obesity and diabetes.
• Bladder and kidney conditions, including kidney stones.
• Immune deficiency.
• Acceleration of free radical damage, possibly contributing to cancerous mutations.
• Hormone concerns.
• Premature aging.
• Osteoporosis; weak, brittle bones, hip fractures and bone spurs.
• Joint pain, aching muscles and lactic acid buildup.
• Low energy and chronic fatigue.
• Slow digestion and elimination.
• Yeast/fungal overgrowth.

What Causes Us to be Acidic?

What you eat directly causes our body to be alkaline forming or acidic. The reason acidosis is more common in our society is mostly due to the typical American diet, which is far too high in acid-producing animal products like meat, eggs and dairy, and far too low in alkaline-producing foods like fresh vegetables. Additionally, we eat acid-producing processed foods like white flour and sugar and drink acid-producing beverages like coffee and soft drinks. We use too many drugs, which are acid forming; and we use artificial chemical sweeteners like NutraSweet, Equal, or aspartame, which are extremely acid forming. One of the best things we can do to correct an overly acid body is to clean up the diet and lifestyle. The overall pH of the body and blood normally must be maintained within a narrow range of alkalinity pH 7.30 - 7.45.

http://www.alkaline-alkaline.com

Every animal product (whether organic or not) you consume over time makes you acidic and lines your internal organs with plaque slowly. The animal fat we consume gets stuck in our blood and forms internal clots eventually too.  

How Acidity is Effecting You

Ever wonder how your body naturally combats acidity? The number one way for our bodies to neutralize acidity is by leeching calcium from our bones or by us eating alkalizing foods. The countries with the most animal product intake have the highest rates of osteoporosis. An increase in acidity in the body can also lead to increased body fat, reduced levels of humane growth hormone, kidney stones, and loss of muscle. When we increase acidity we decrease cellular health making our immune systems weak. Research shows that cancers can't develop in an alkaline environment-that alone is a pretty compelling reason to take control of your pH.  

Raw green veggies are one of the best foods for making our bodies more alkaline. Alkaline-forming food choices that will help you achieve your optimal pH are listed below; you will notice that some of these foods are naturally acidic—citrus fruits, for example. " Alkalizing" here refers to the effect the foods have once digested (not the pH level outside the body

                                       Alkalizing Foods

Acidic Foods

This is just a sample and not a complete list