Just to clarify, this is not an article about how veganism is a disease that has spread at an unprecedented rate and must be eradicated before we all start keeping cows as house pets. Instead, it’s about how simply eating a plant-based diet can greatly reduce your chances of contracting certain diseases, and make you healthier, kind of by default.
But first, what’s in animal products that’s so bad for us? The answer lies in the acidity, cholesterol, saturated fat, toxins and hormones. To start off with, all animal products are acidic for your body. Cancer cells thrive in an acidic environment but an alkaline one kills them. So, eating more greens and fewer burgers will reduce your risk of cancer. Who would have guessed?
Moving onto cholesterol and saturated fat. Vegan foods have none of the former and much less of the latter. This waxy stuff builds up in the inner walls of your arteries and can cause lots of issues. It’s been well established that high cholesterol levels and saturated fat = high risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Things like eggs, processed meat and dairy are on the list of foods to avoid here. And before anyone says something about needing ‘at least some’ cholesterol from food, the American Heart Association said loud and clear that we don’t and that our liver makes all that we need.
Onto the toxins. Dr Michael Gregor, a physician and author of the New York Times Bestseller, How Not To Die, said that after a meal of animal products people suffer from endotoxaemia where their blood stream becomes filled with bacterial toxins found in these products. This causes inflammation which, over time, can cause atherosclerosis and insulin resistance. What makes matters worse is that not only will cooking or our stomach acids not get rid of them, saturated animal fat actually boosts the absorption of these toxins into our bloodstream.
And lastly, hormones. Whether they’re naturally occurring or injected in livestock, you’re probably going to be consuming them if you eat animal products. Hormones have been used for decades in the meat and dairy industries either to help with milk production or for faster-growing animals. Synthetic oestrogens, testosterone and bovine growth hormones are the most common. According to the American Cancer Society, while some of these aren’t known to directly cause cancer, they may influence risk in other ways.
So, if, in the wise words of Drake, you’re here for a good time, not a long time, I fully support scrapping this article you just read. But, if you’re someone who, like me, is a bit of a hypochondriac, a plant-based diet could help set you on a path to fully functioning arteries and decent sugar levels.
