Comments for Are we designed to eat meat? at http://www.drbretthill.com , comment 1 to 5 out of 5 comments http://www.drbretthill.com Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:46:23 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.drbretthill.com/articles/eat/105-are-we-designed-to-eat-meat.html#comment-217 Hi Brett Thanks for your reply. You've made some good points and given me more to think about, research and critically analyse. Yes, I'd forgotten that Flaxseed Oil provides the same EPA/DHA that fish oil does. Although from what I've read, EPA/DHA appear to only be required in certain stages of life; for pregnant mothers, for children until the age 2 for brain tissue development, and for the elderly (to prevent onset of dementia). The only hardship with flaxseed oil, would be the need to consume a higher dose relative to fish oil. My belief is that flaxseed oil would be the safer option given the pollution in our oceans, and now even more so with the radiation fallout from Fukushima in Japan. I would also argue with regards to meat consumption, that just because it was done in the past, doesn't make it correct, or something that we bodily evolved to require. I hope that when our civilisation ends, that the new civilisation doesn't dig up coke cans and figure that must be the best thing for our health, because it was popular! Also, it is non conclusive that the egyptian civilisation was formed in 3000 BC, evidence is piling up (and of course not hitting mainstream news), that this amazing civilisation may have been around not thousands, but millions of years. I think that cave man (for lack of a better word) chased after animals and ate them, because a) they were bored, b) they wanted to compete with other men and c) they copied what other animals were doing. With respect, I don't agree that our bodies crave fats and proteins from animals. Can you imagine after many years or eating sweet berries and creamy nuts and seeds, that there would be any positive flavour sensation from eating raw meat, be it fish or kangaroo?! If there were any such craving, those needs would be easily met via nuts, seeds, coconuts (if living in the tropics) and fruits and vegetables. Most people are surprised, upon hearing I'm vegetarian (aspiring vegan), that it wasn't my love of animals that first steered me away from eating them. It was a physiological occurence, that had me experiencing a strong gag reflex upon eating meat. My body told me I didn't need it. Now, if there is an accident with my order at a restaurant, and I'm not aware that there is animal flesh in my meal, my body soon tells me as I feel weighed down, uncomfortable and I usually endure a fitful night's sleep accompanied by nightmares! This is a huge topic, as I understand that there are people that do actually enjoy the taste of raw meat. It makes me wonder then, if because of our wide mix of ancestory/mixed races, that there may be a genetic tendency to (whether by need or desire), to consume our sentient friends.......but that's another topic headed somewhere down the rabbit hole!!! Katherine :o) - Katherine Cox Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:53:59 +0100 http://www.drbretthill.com/articles/eat/105-are-we-designed-to-eat-meat.html#comment-216 The reason we are designed to eat meat is that it is what we ate as we were evolving. We know from the archeological records that in the paleolithic era we definitely did eat meat as part of a well rounded diet. Remember that the egyptian civilisation was 'only' formed around 3000BC and we know our genes have changed very little in the last 100,000 years. So we have not had time to evolve away from our meat eating requirements (no matter how 'evolved' we may feel). As a result of this evolution around meat eating we evolved to utilise certain fats we were getting from the meats. In particular the Omega 3's (EPA and DHA). These are only found in meat sources (not in spirulina, chia etc.). It has been shown that our bodies can produce some of these from vegetarian sources but unfortunately not enough to meet our requirements. In terms of tastes we know that our bodies crave the healthy fats and proteins in meats, especially when we are not in the midst of sugar addiction as many modern people are. So meat would no doubt have been highly sought after as a source of energy. And given the risks and energy expenditure that would have been required for a caveman to catch meat and the fact that the records show they still, did the meat must have been highly sought after indeed. Once again I completely understand if people have ethical or environmental concerns with eating meat and I always say to those people that you can still be a very healthy vegetarian (in fact healthier than 99% of the population) if you do it right. But if you ask me what is healthiest, I will always include healthy meats in part of that picture. - Dr Brett Hill Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:03:37 +0100 http://www.drbretthill.com/articles/eat/105-are-we-designed-to-eat-meat.html#comment-213 Hey Brett Great article. I'd like to see some evidence of how we are 'designed' to eat our precious, fellow beings though! The vegetable kingdom more than provides for all our needs in that area; including spirulina, chlorella, chia etc). I'd like to think humans would be evolved enough in mind and spirit by now, to not detach ourselves from what we are eating (when we haven't had to kill it). I read somewhere that our taste buds are designed to primarily detect sweetness. I feel fairly certain that before the advent of rubbing 2 sticks together to make a BBQ and sourcing/grinding spices, that raw meat would not have had a flavour that would naturally appeal to our tastebuds (unless you're a vampire!). I've also read that fossilised egyptian excrement has been studied, and scientists were able to determine that these particular egyptians consumed a soley vegan diet. The mummified egyptians from the same area lived a long lifespan and had very healthy skeletal remains. Cheers Katherine :o) - Katherine Cox Mon, 11 Apr 2011 19:15:59 +0100 http://www.drbretthill.com/articles/eat/105-are-we-designed-to-eat-meat.html#comment-137 Thanks for your input Dr Oehme. For what it is worth I don't consider going 'Paleo' needs to be a high meat diet. i think it should be a high vegetable diet with some healthy meats. I am also not a 'potato basher', I think they are an important source of carbohydrates if eaten in combination with many other vegetables (i.e. don't just eat potatoes and carrots every day). I agree that there are some environmental concerns (and perhaps some ethical ones) about the way we grow meat. My advice though is always based on what is healthiest. - Dr Brett Hill Thu, 09 Dec 2010 20:30:19 +0100 http://www.drbretthill.com/articles/eat/105-are-we-designed-to-eat-meat.html#comment-136 im an osteopath from newcastle nsw.. v interesting blog - im currently writing a book about health and nutrition - i have a slightly differing opinion to yours in relation to meat and animal protein - and especially dairy proteins relationship to my add adhd patients, and believe salicylates and amines also play a part in this complex disorder. i also am dubious of the paleolithic "diet" and do not recommend it d/t its high meat content and its lack of starchy wholegrains and legumes. its impossible to correctly examine the epidemiology of these paleos as they on average only lived till the age of 25. Anthropologists are also in disagreement on the facts - as starches are hard to preserve. a recent study of ancient peruvians showed they had starch grains in their teeth. there is a man in america who has just completed a 60 day potato fast. his blood sugar went down, he lost 10 kilos, Bp went down as did cholesterol, and he was eating 3 kilos of potatoes a day - so societies "fear" of the potato and "carbs" is a bit out of hand and if you look at obesity rates since the implementation of the "high" protein diet - they have exploded. The myth that plant protein is incomplete has now been proved to be incorrect - and grains such as quinoa are fantastic in their amino acid makeup and availability. NOONE in the western world is at risk of being protein deficient. i agree humans are designed to eat meat. but only in v v small amounts. certainly not in the processed form or in the amounts we as australian consumers do. i believe a lot of false marketing is driving the food supply. Meat being fed grain is a massive issue for many reasons.. and fresh organic meats are very hard to find when you leave the big cities, i also agree kangaroo is a safe option. but the debate with meat runs even deeper. unfortunately meat is not sustainable in the way it is produced, and the environmental effects are great. The WHO has warned of this. In relation to carbon emissions - livestock emissions are at 18%. to produce 1 pound of meat requires 57:1 of plant protein. im more for a movement towards a plant based diet (with v little amounts of meat), and obviously a move AWAY from processed foods. In the last 10 years we have gone from having 600 products in a supermarket to having 12,000. Clearly considering obesity and cancer rates we as consumers have too much choice. i think we need to re kindle our relationship with food. i constantly hear my patients complain they are time poor - but NOTHING is more important than your health or that of your children. not even the latest episode of greys anatomy v nice blog, keep up the good work! - bianca Thu, 09 Dec 2010 20:08:48 +0100