Tuesday, 15 September 2015
Thursday, 10 September 2015
Sunday, 6 September 2015
Thursday, 3 September 2015
3 Reasons NOT to eat fish...
Apologies for the lack of posts recently! I have been working on my dissertation all summer and then working at night in the restaurant which was reeeeeeeeally busy in August. BUT now I'm finished! :D Unreal feeling! I want to spend this free time in September posting educational and helpful blog posts for people who are becoming more aware about the global food industry and for people who want to be more aware.
Mercury is a toxic substance that can destroy the nervous system, which leads to lower IQ and weak fine motor skills. It too can deform foetuses, damage the heart, and even lead to death. According to the Food and Drug Administration of the USA (FDA), all fish is laden with Mercury.
People with high mercury levels were also shown to have higher total and LDL cholesterol levels, both of which predispose people to heart disease and heart attack risk.
In addition, this might shock some people, fish oils have been shown to be of no benefit whatsoever to people with heart disease!
Another mass marketing strategy by big industry.
And although there has been a trend in recent years for people to switch from red meat to fish in the hope of being healthier and losing weight, all fish has fat in it. 52% of calories in salmon come from fat and nearly a third of calories comes from fat in other fish like trout. In regards to heart disease, studies show that fish-heavy diets don’t help arterial blockages but they continue to worsen in patients who eat fish! Furthermore, the regular consumption of fish contributes to a build-up of toxins and is also linked to diabetes.
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/radiation-and-mercury-in-fish-should-americans-be-concerned/
https://www.navs-online.org/animal_issues/fish_fishing/troubledwaters.php
Something that I only recently became aware of was the destructive impact that commercial fishing has on our oceans. It was after watching Cowspiracy (which I recommend everyone watch) and seeing how many dolphins, turtles, and other sea animals are killed through fishing practices that I began to think about it more. I havn't eaten any fish since Spring 2003 but I didn't know why...my aunty just told me it was bad so I stopped!
So for this blog post I did some research on why fishing is actually very unethical and unhealthy!
Sorry if I am bursting anyone's bubble...! Here are my top 3 reasons not to eat fish.
*Please note I did not include the fact that the protein in fish is damaging to us because I already did a blog post on protein and that includes fish protein, not just meat and dairy!
1. ETHICS
Researchers have found that rainbow trout possess pain receptors and react to harmful substances with “profound behavioural and physiological changes…”
Fishing methods are mot definitely abusive: they are hauled up from
a such a huge depth and the sudden change in pressure causes painful
decompression that causes their gills to collapse and their eyes to pop
out. :( And then as soon as they are taken out of the water they start to
suffocate….just as we would if we were pulled down under the water in a big net
or by a hook…
Farmed fish are fed pellets which are designed to cause
unnatural weight gain to the fish, in a short period of time (like the animals
in factory farms). Under these abnormal intensely crowded conditions the fish
suffer from stress, infection, parasites, oxygen depletion, and gas bubble
disease (https://en.wikivet.net/Gas_Bubble_Disease).
And again, just like farm animals in factory farms, to
prevent spread of disease among the fish producers give them huge amounts of
antibiotics.
And if you were horrified at the images of the dolphin and
whale slaughtering festivals in the Faroe Islands and in Japan you should know
that for every 1 pound of fish caught, up to 5 pounds of unintended marine
species are caught and discarded as by-kill in commercial fishing nets.
This includes dolphins, whales, sharks, sea turtles and sea birds.
Scientists estimate as many as 650,000 whales, dolphins and
seals are killed every year by fishing vessels.
2. POLLUTION
Industrial and urban waste and agricultural chemicals are flushed into the oceans and the fish absorb this!
“Pollutants
that concentrate in fish include pesticides; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs);
toxic metals such as lead, cadmium, chromium, and arsenic; dioxins; and
radioactive substances such as strontium 90. Because of biological
magnification during movement up the food chain, pollutants can reach levels as
high as 9 million times that of the water in which they live.”
These chemicals
and pollutants have been linked to impaired behavioural development in
children, cancers, nervous system disorders, foetal damage and so many other
damaging health effects.
One of the
top plant-based doctors out there, Dr. Neal Barnard (whose website I’ve linked
to a good few times on this blog) describes fish as "a mixture of fat and
protein, seasoned with toxic chemicals."
“Higher
mercury levels in mothers who eat significant amounts of fish have been
associated with birth defects, mental retardation, seizures, cerebral palsy,
and developmental disabilities in their children. A U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) analysis released in 2004 indicated that about 630,000
of the 4 million children born annually in the U.S. are at risk of impaired
motor function, learning capacity, memory, and vision - due to high levels of
mercury in their bloodstreams.”
Apparently pregnant
women can pass on fish-flesh contaminants to their foetuses, impairing mental
development and immune-system function. Two studies also reported elevated
levels of PCBs, and certain chemicals, including flame retardant, in flesh from
“farmed” salmon.
3. HEALTH
Men with high levels of mercury in their bodies were shown to have a 60% increased risk of having a heart attack and a 70% more chance of dying from any sort of coronary event.
People with high mercury levels were also shown to have higher total and LDL cholesterol levels, both of which predispose people to heart disease and heart attack risk.
In addition, this might shock some people, fish oils have been shown to be of no benefit whatsoever to people with heart disease!
Another mass marketing strategy by big industry.
And although there has been a trend in recent years for people to switch from red meat to fish in the hope of being healthier and losing weight, all fish has fat in it. 52% of calories in salmon come from fat and nearly a third of calories comes from fat in other fish like trout. In regards to heart disease, studies show that fish-heavy diets don’t help arterial blockages but they continue to worsen in patients who eat fish! Furthermore, the regular consumption of fish contributes to a build-up of toxins and is also linked to diabetes.
Those reasons are definitely enough for me to give up fish. And I used to love fish! I never really ate meat, even before I went veggie...I had fish for most dinners believe it or not. So it was a big deal to stop altogether. But how could I not knowing it was basically radioactive!!
Here are some videos that you can watch to get a more authoritative and clear explanation on the whole fish debate:
Web sources referenced:
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/radiation-and-mercury-in-fish-should-americans-be-concerned/
https://www.navs-online.org/animal_issues/fish_fishing/troubledwaters.php
Wednesday, 2 September 2015
Thursday, 6 August 2015
Wednesday, 5 August 2015
7 Reasons Why Protein is Overrated
1. A Diet of Animal Protein Could Be as Harmful as Smoking
The result of this study which followed 6318 people concluded that those who ate a diet high in protein were 4 times more likely to die from cancer than those following a low protein diet.“The percent of calorie intake from protein was used to categorize subjects into a high protein group (20% or more of calories from proteins), a moderate protein group (10%–19% of calories from proteins), and a low protein group (less than 10% of calories from proteins).”
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S155041311400062X
When the media found out about this it was all over the papers and internet news sites but I already knew animal protein was bad news after watching Forks Over Knives. But some people need an article in a trusted newspaper to convince them over some annoying plant eater trying to convert them (i.e. Me). So here are some links to articles that have highlighted the main points of this new study:
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/high-protein-diet-could-be-as-dangerous-as-smoking-study-1.1713266
http://www.healthline.com/health-news/food-high-protein-diet-increases-mortality-risk-030414#3
There is sooooo much evidence in the world pointing to this that we all overlook! What are the biggest causes of death in the Western world? Cancer, heart disease and stroke! What is the typical Western diet? Meat, dairy, refined sugar, salt and NO FIBRE. It is blatantly obvious. You are what you eat. To get the full low down on this correlation and how you can literally cut your risk factor for these diseases in half (or more) watch the documentary “Forks Over Knives”. Seriously interesting and it could save your life. Actually.
Photo courtesy of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj5usjFQqs0
2. The World Health Organisation protein requirements are actually way lower than what people are eating and far lower than what the protein company marketers are making you think you need.
You actually only need 0.8g of protein per kg of body weight. The average American (my sources are only American websites but there aren’t many major differences between macro-nutrient ratios in all of the developed countries) eat twice as much protein as they need.http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vegdiets/how-can-i-get-enough-protein-the-protein-myth
And that’s only the average person. Imagine how much meat someone on a body building or paleo diet eats.
To see how much meat Irish people were eating check out this survey: https://www.safefood.eu/SafeFood/media/SafeFoodLibrary/Documents/Publications/Research%20Reports/NorthSouthIrelandFoodConsumptionSurveyIrishUniversitiesNutritionAllianceSummaryReport.pdf
However, this was done in 1999, nearly 20 years ago, and you can be sure that people are eating even more protein now due to all the ridiculous marketing.
The bottom line here is we are eating too much meat and it is dangerous as f**k.
3. Kidney stones.
This is the surface of a kidney stone under a microscope.
Photo courtesy of: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Surface_of_a_kidney_stone_with_tetragonal_crystals_of_Weddellite_(calcium_oxalate_dihydrate)._REM_21.jpg._REM_21.jpg){kind=link}
Can you imagine that having to pass through your urinary tract? High meat diets increase your risk of developing kidney stones, whereas a diet of fresh fruit and vegetables reduces the risk. Dr. Gregor has a few videos on this topic and can explain it for you a lot better than I can: http://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-to-prevent-kidney-stones-with-diet/
4. Heart disease.
Photo courtesy of: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronary_artery_disease
Do people know about this one yet? Again this is one of the main topics in the documentary “Forks Over Knives”. Basically the more meat you eat the more likely you are to get heart disease. Think about it, meat is laden with cholesterol and saturated fat, even if you trim off the fat! It’s still there in through the flesh.
Animal protein is the only dietary source of cholesterol too and cholesterol is NOT HEALTHY.
But regardless of the fat content of meat the protein is still linked to heart disease, so that’s two major components of meat that contribute to heart disease. Again watch this video for the facts broken down: http://nutritionfacts.org/video/protein-and-heart-disease/
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vegdiets/how-can-i-get-enough-protein-the-protein-myth
5. Excess needs to be excreted.
I already mentioned in another point that we are eating way more protein than we need, but aside from the fact that we are obsessing over it for no reason and it’s a waste of time, there are actual health consequences to this excess. The body only uses what it needs to repair the muscles and any excess obviously has to be dealt with and eliminated. This process is very damaging to the kidneys who are under strain from trying to get rid of all this extra protein. Here’s what the Physician’s Committee for Responsable Medicine say about this:
“When people eat too much protein, it releases nitrogen into the blood or is digested and metabolized. This places a strain on the kidneys, which must expel the waste through the urine. High-protein diets are associated with reduced kidney function. Over time, individuals who consume very large amounts of protein, particularly animal protein, risk permanent loss of kidney function. Harvard researchers reported that high-protein diets were associated with a significant decline in kidney function, based on observations in 1,624 women participating in the Nurses’ Health Study. The good news is that the damage was found only in those who already had reduced kidney function at the study’s outset. The bad news is that as many as one in four adults in the United States may already have reduced kidney function, suggesting that most people who have renal problems are unaware of that fact and do not realize that high-protein diets may put them at risk for further deterioration. The kidney-damaging effect was seen only with animal protein. Plant protein had no harmful effect.9
The American Academy of Family Physicians notes that high animal-protein intake is in part responsible for the high prevalence of kidney stones in the United States and other developed countries and recommends protein restriction for the prevention of recurrent kidney stones.10"
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vegdiets/how-can-i-get-enough-protein-the-protein-myth
6. It’s a money racket.
Photo courtesy of: http://www.berserkbarbell.com/2013/07/supplements.html
Body builders and protein powder companies and the meat industry have just completely milked the need for protein into something much more than it really is. Think about it, they’re all trying to sell you something! And does it all even work? Most of the big body builders are on steroids as well as over-eating protein so how do you even know if it’s the protein that makes them big and muscly?
Vegan body builders do actually exist and they do not rely on protein powders and shakes. They just eat enough calories and with enough calories they get enough of the nutrients their bodies need. http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/
7. There isn’t even a word for protein deficiency.
Most people get unbelievably worried if you tell them you don’t eat meat and ask “But where do you get your protein?” As if we are going to be deficient in protein. The only way you can be deficient in protein is if you are actually malnourished…as in starving. It is such a myth that we need to make an effort to get enough protein. Just eat until you’re full ar every meal and you will have enough. There is a website https://cronometer.com/ where you can choose a macronutrient ratio goal and then put in your daily food intake and it will tell you how much fat, protein and carbs your are getting. I aim for 80% carbs, 10% protein and 10% fat and I don’t even eat that many beans and I still get enough protein! Seriously check it out. It’s a really good wa to see what nutrients your getting.
So moral of the story is, if you eat meat your getting too much protein and it’s dangerous. Best thing to do would be to start cutting down, slowly but surely. You’ll ease the pressure on your arteries, kidneys and your whole body. Don’t be afraid of carbs. They are your body’s primary preferred source of fuel. And all foods that are considered “carbs” actually have protein in them too! (again check out chronometer it breaks down each individual food and tells you what’s in it) There is so much more information out there about the dangers of protein but I just wanted to give an easy to read summary of the main issues surrounding the overrated protein.
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