Don't Stop Eating Meat...

Don't stop eating meat, but do consider no longer consuming meat produced in a CAFO.  What is a CAFO??? It stands for "confined animal feeding operation" and essentially turns raising animals into a factory product focused on short term profit as the ultimate goal.  Therefore, the lives of CAFO raised animals is short and cruel. You may be wondering what are some specific examples.  Are you really ready?

The animals live much shorter lives generally coinciding with the animals productivity and size relative to profit.  The animals live in very tight pens that do not allow for normal healthy movement often crippling the animals. The animals are not free to move and eat the diet that is natural to them moving freely in a grass field. To assist the animals in achieving slaughter weights more quickly, growth hormones may be used as well as feeds that are not natural to the animal.  The conditions often lead to disease so the animals are then in need of pharmaceuticals and antibiotics.  Unnatural lighting cycles do not mimic the normal rhythm of the night and day and are used to increase production.  The smell of these living conditions that comes from living in too close of quarters and the abnormal amount of manure per square foot would turn any of us away from eating meat produced in this fashion.  

What are some of the ramifications of consuming CAFO produced meat other than a cheaper price at the cash register?  And remember, that cheaper price is an illusion when one considers the costs from a deeper sense of economics.  

The environmental costs are enormous and include soil loss, groundwater contamination, deforestation, increases in the use of fossil fuels and the depletion of deep aquifers.  According to Dr. David Pimentel of Cornell University, the World Bank and the UN Food & Ag Organization CAFO based animal production is a much more inefficient use of resources:

  • CAFO protein production requires 8x as much fossil fuel as plant protein
  • CAFO livestock consumes 5x as much grain as the US human population
  • CAFO beef production requires 100,000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of beef vs. 1 kg of wheat requires just 900 liters of water
  • CAFO raised animals according to the United Nations are responsible for 80% of deforestation to create new farmland in the tropics, ie. Amazon
  • CAFO livestock produce 18% to 51% of total global warming greenhouse gases   

Consider the Ogallala water aquifer in our own midwest.  It is situated under eight states: South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas.  It is big!  But it is threatened severely.  This aquifer provides the majority of water used in these eight states  for residential, industrial and agricultural use.  We are presently using the water from the Ogallala aquifer faster than the rains can replenish it.  Not only are we using it too fast by supporting CAFO animal production but we are polluting the aquifer with chemicals that negatively effect human health, wild animal health and their ecosystems.   

CAFOs not only destroy environmental resources but we are feeding these CAFO animals grain that could be used to feed our world's poor and starving peoples. The calories from this grain could be used to feed people rather than mass produced animal protein.  

So, what am I asking you to do?  I am not asking you to stop eating meat.  But, I am asking you to consider purchasing meat from local farmers that are raising animals in a natural and sustainable manner.  Will this be more expensive?  Yes, but only at the point of purchase at the cash register.  When one considers a deeper sense of economics, it is less expensive.  We are paying for CAFO meat not just at the cash register but in taxes that goes to environmental clean up, health insurance costs and our personal health.  Local, sustainably raised meat and dairy is environmentally and socially more responsible, but it is also simply healthier meat. Animals that eat a diversity of grasses and bugs rather than a diet of grain, which is not even the natural feed of these animals, are more nutrient dense, have higher levels of omega 3 fatty acids, are lower in fat, lower in total calories, and have healthier cholesterol ratios.  It does not mean you need to spend more on meat.  A great way to keep your budget on target is to spend the same amount on meat but simply eat smaller portions of meat and eat meat less often but when you do you are eating better tasting, more healthy meat and caring for our shared world better.  Eating less meat also means you will be healthier when you replace those calories with a diversity of plants.  

Think about it.  

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Recipe of the Week...Quinoa with Balsamic Roasted Mushrooms

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Ingredients: 

  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 
  • 1 pear, peeled, cored and cut into chunks 
  • 1 garlic clove, halved 
  • 2 pounds portobello mushrooms, stemmed and gills scraped out 
  • 1 cup red or white quinoa 
  • 3 cups tightly packed fresh spinach, chopped 
  • 4 green onions, thinly sliced 
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted 
  • 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt 
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 475°F.

Put vinegar, mustard, pear and garlic in a blender with 1/3 cup water and blend until smooth, about 1 minute, to make the dressing. Cut mushrooms into chunks and combine in a large mixing bowl with 1/4 cup of the dressing. Spread mushrooms in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender, stirring occasionally, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

While mushrooms roast, prepare quinoa. In a medium pot, bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil. Stir in quinoa, cover pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat and set aside, covered, 10 minutes more. Uncover and fluff quinoa with a fork.

Combine mushrooms, quinoa, spinach, green onions, almonds, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup more dressing in a large, wide serving bowl. Stir to mix well. Serve with remaining dressing on the side.

 

Tea

In the East tea has been a staple beverage for thousands of years and is believed to be a key to health.  The term "tea" is often used in a very broad manner; however, the true teas originate from Camellia Sinesis which is a plant native to China and India.  These true teas would include green, black, white, oolong, and pu-erh.  The key health component of tea appears to be the flavonoids which fight free radicals that contribute to heart related diseases, clogged arteries and even cancer.  Tea has low levels of caffeine that typically do not affect sleep patterns but do boost mental acuity.

More specifically research demonstrates the following:

1.       Green Tea – The antioxidants in green tea appear to disrupt the growth of the following cancers: bladder, breast, lung, stomach, pancreatic, and colorectal.  The risk of stroke, clogged arteries, and high cholesterol is reduced in regular green tea drinkers.  The rate of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease is lower in green tea drinkers as well. 

2.       Black Tea – Black tea has the highest caffeine content and is made from fermented tea leaves.  Black tea provides lung and stroke protection.

3.       White Tea – Unprocessed white tea may have the most potent anti-cancer properties.

4.       Oolong Tea – Oolong tea is helpful in reducing high cholesterol.

5.       Pu-erh – Pu-erh tea may help to maintain healthy body weight and lowers unhealthy LDL cholesterol.  It is a fermented tea made from black tea leaves. 

Herbal teas are made from plants other than Camellia Sensis and include herbs, roots, leaves, fruits, and seeds.  There are too many to list; however, some common herbal teas include chamomile, red tea, ginger, and jasmine.  These herbal teas are varied but are full of different nutrients, and when steeped it is like drinking a very healthy soup.  Some of the claims are not supported by science, for example, chamomile fighting the common cold; but, the fluids consumed by someone who has a cold and the healthy nutrients are certainly good for us.  Adding a sweetner like honey, agave or sugar is fine occasionally as a treat, but developing a taste for straight tea is best.  

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Nature versus Nurture

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What is the biggest key to our nutrition?  Is it nature – genes?  Or, is it nurture – exposure to various environmental catalysts?  When we look at disease the big three are cancer, heart related diseases and diabetes.  Heart disease and Type 2 diabetes can truly be avoided and reversed with proper eating habits and regular exercise.  Cancer is the scary one.  Cancer seems to be a genetic ticking time bomb.  This is true in some cases, but it is important to understand a bit more.  

Cancer is not necessarily preventable through proper nutritional habits; however, nutrition is a predominant factor.  Genetics is not the straight, causal line that we are sometimes led to believe.  Nutrition can alter gene expression and mitigate symptoms.   Nutrition affects the way our bodies respond to damaged or mutated genes.  Genes are the “nature” or starting point for the health and disease continuum, but they are not necessarily unalterable or fixed.

We have all read percentages connected to preventing cancer.  The following are actual figures: not smoking prevents 90% of all lung cancer, a proper diet prevents 30% of all lung cancer, and avoiding air pollution prevents 15% of all lung cancer.   Any grade school child can add these figures together and come up with 135% chance to prevent lung cancer.  I like those odds.  Certainly not smoking, eating healthfully and avoiding air pollution are healthy habits.  We have also read studies of carcinogens and many of these studies are conducted in lab rats / mice.  Species to species extrapolation has many confounding limitations.  The point is that risk does not actually exist as an objective reality.   These numbers are dictated by how much we presently know and a lot more by how much we don’t know, and there is a lot that we do not know.

According to Ph.D Colin Campbell a Cornell professor and researcher - Nutrition has far more influence on health and disease than any other single factor.  

What do we know?  Since World War II cancer, heart disease, and diabetes rates have increased in dramatic proportions.  The standard American diet in conjunction with an ever increasing sedentary lifestyle is the biggest reason for the increases in these diseases.  We know the main cause.   

Sadly we have become a culture that views eating a diet consisting of primarily vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains and taking a 30 minute walk every day as more radical than consuming pharmaceuticals with a host of negative side effects, surgeries, radiation and chemo.  These are reactive responses and last resort interventions.   In no way am I casting guilt or blame on anyone who is suffering, but I am hoping we will truly consider what we can control.

We know that just taking a multivitamin and a supplement of the macronutrients protein, carbohydrate and fat will not support life and in many cases these supplements cause serious problems.  We know that whole foods are doing things in a way that we don’t fully understand yet - and may never completely understand.  There is no "one size fits all" solution, but whole foods focused on vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seed, and whole grains and in that order is our offense and defense.  

Whole food plant based nutrition is the best proactive disease management system and does not come with any negative side effects.  

Give it a try.

How the Chin Up can Change your Life

Martin Rooney is a friend of mine from college where we were both athletes at Furman University. He was and is a great athlete. He threw the javelin with the hopes of making it to the olympics. Unfortunately the dream did not come true, but in true Martin style he did not give up.  Instead he switched to bobsled.  He trained with Hershel Walker and Willie Gault in the olympic trials - pretty cool!  Martin owns Training for Warriors.  It is a bit more intense than what we do at Forte, but for those wired to go hard it is awesome stuff.  I believe this link to Martin's blog is common and can be an encouragement to many.  

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Recipe of the Week - Beef and Bulgur Burgers

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Ingredients: 

  • 1 cup bulgur wheat 
  • Canola oil 
  • 1 1/4 pounds (95-percent) lean ground beef 
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley 
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped red onion, plus sliced onion for garnish 
  • Salt and pepper to taste 
  • 6 whole wheat hamburger buns, toasted 
  • Green or red leaf lettuce 
  • 2 tomatoes, sliced 

Method: 

Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a small pot over medium high heat. Add bulgur, cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer until water is almost absorbed and bulgur is just tender, about 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat and set aside for 5 minutes. Uncover pot, fluff bulgur with a fork and set aside until cooled.

Grease grill grates with oil and preheat to medium heat. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together beef, bulgur, parsley, cumin, cinnamon, allspice and chopped onion. Form mixture into 6 patties and season all over with salt and pepper.

Grill patties, flipping once, until deep golden brown and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes per side. (Alternatively, cook burgers using 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat.) Transfer burgers as done to hamburger buns, top with lettuce, tomatoes and sliced onions and serve.

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Recipe of the Week - Red Potato and Asparagus Salad

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Ingredients: 

  • 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard 
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice 
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
  • Salt, to taste 
  • Cayenne pepper, to taste 
  • 3 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut into chunks 
  • 2 pounds small red potatoes, halved 
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped chives 

Method: 

In a small bowl, whisk together Dijon and lemon juice. Drizzle in oil while whisking constantly and then season with salt and cayenne; set dressing aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add asparagus and simmer until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking; drain well and transfer to a large bowl. Return water to a boil, add potatoes and simmer until just tender, 15 to 20 minutes; drain well and add to bowl with asparagus. Add dressing, chives and salt and toss to combine. Transfer to a platter and serve at room temperature.

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The Mismatch

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Recently a colleague of mine at the Baylor School, Grant Wood who is a biology teacher shared a great article from Discover magazine.  Are you sitting down in a chair, wearing shoes and reading right now?  You probably are and it seems normal and fine, but is it?  Harvard human evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman points out that this is absolutely abnormal, and it is a factor in why we have bunions, toe fungus, plantar fasciitis, back pain, myopia, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and osteoporosis.

We are not designed for sitting and wearing shoes, and we pay for it with these chronic diseases that medicine treats but does not cure.  Lieberman calls this the mismatch hypothesis.  As humans we began as hunters and gatherers, and to do this well we worked in small groups and this lifestyle developed a healthy body that could move in all ranges of movement with the ability to jog, run, sprint, jump, push, pull, squat and lunge.  Man’s adaptations to the environment were in harmony with the pace of the earth's changes.

With the advent of agriculture man began to move faster than the necessary adaptations – which is the mismatch.   The industrial revolution only further exacerbated the problem.  And now we have the computer and sit all day.  Beyond the diseases previously mentioned are autoimmune diseases, asthma, allergies, cavities, and some cancers.  Many of us reading this article are suffering from one or more of these chronic conditions and may die from one of the diseases.  

Lieberman calls the mismatch dysevolution, “ the deleterious feedback loop that occurs over multiple generations when we don’t treat the causes of a mismatch disease but instead pass on whatever environmental factors cause the disease, keeping the disease prevalent and sometimes making it worse.”  Modern drugs and surgeries have been beneficial to many people by saving lives and improving quality of life, but we must be honest with ourselves and recognize that too often the real causes are not being addressed. 

Our hunter-gatherer ancestors’ anatomies are like yours and mine.  However, archaeological and skeletal remains tell us that these people were in phenomenal condition. The average BMI of American adult men and women today is 28.6 and 28.7 respectively.  What does this look like?  It is an adult male 5’9 and 194 pounds and an adult female 5’5 and 172 pounds. The hunter-gatherer had a BMI of 21.5.  This is the frame of a collegiate 800 meter to 1600 meter runner.  This is a man about 5’9 and 150 pounds and a woman who is 5’5 and 125 pounds.   Hunter-gatherers that survived infancy lived to about 70 and with modern health care would have lived much longer; however, they did not die of our modern, preventable diseases like heart disease and complications of obesity.  

How do we regain what has been lost and progress a bit to the past???

Our bodies were made to move.  We must move – run, jump, and lift.  Certainly as we age we must exercise safely and carefully but we must move our bodies.  It may mean the elliptical, rower or bike instead of running and we may need to do variations / modifications of squatting, lunging, deadlifting, pushing and pulling to keep it safe but we must do it.  Our modern diet delivers calories mainly derived from processed /refined carbohydrates and dairy which a hunter gatherer literally never ate.  We must return to a diet that is plant-based, rich in high fiber veggies, fruits, nuts, beans, seeds and occasionally meats that are not industrially farmed but are free range.  Many of you may believe this means a jump to the paleo diet which excludes legumes .  The paleo diet is an excellent eating lifestyle, but you should include legumes eating a diversity of beans and lentils.  

Don’t count on evolving fast enough to be able to sit all day at work and eat refined flours and sugars and have a BMI of 21.5 and be free of heart disease, obesity and diabetes.  We must move and eat a plant-based diet.  We need doctors to educate their patients and tell them that it is more radical to cut someone’s chest open, do open-heart surgery and take an aspirin the rest of your life than to exercise and eat vegetables.  It is not that the hunter-gatherers had a better life, but if we combine what we can learn from our ancestors with modern health care and shelter, we can live a very long life with a high quality.