Transition diet

Why didn’t the skeleton go to the party? …Because it had no body to go with.

Effectively, bodies are made of meat. And that is how the story starts…

My maternal grandmother, who lived with us, came from a family of farmers who raised cattle and she, herself became a butcher. She was born in 1898, and bigger than life in many ways.

It is hardly necessary to say that we had a lot of meat at home. She did most of the cooking and was very particular about the different cuts of meat. One of her convictions was about not eating pork products. She certainly was a good connoisseur of meat, especially keen on the beef and horse types. As a result, I grew up experiencing great amounts of meat in my diet.

We had a very close relationship; she lived with me in her late years until she was almost a hundred years old. But for the last ten years or so of her life, she too chose never to eat meat again.

In my teenage years back in Asturias (Spain), we had a much regimented discipline when it came to meal times, and if we did not like the food available there was no other alternative. However, it was in my teen years too that I recall granny saying how the meat quality was changing, when preparing the meals a kind of foam would appear on the frying pan due to perhaps excess water. She knew that something was different as she had been handling meat for most of her life.

We now know for a fact that the nutritional composition of meats have changed considerably from the last 30 years or so. For instance, there has been a mayor reduction in mineral content in meat, due to the quality of the soil, which has the effect of us having to almost double the portion size to obtain the same quantity of minerals.

By the time I reach the tender age of eighteen I had come to abhor meat; the taste, the smell and the texture and started to think that perhaps there was a way in which meat could be eliminated from the diet.

I had chosen the root of humanities in my studies so my knowledge of science was very primitive and the field of nutrition in those days was at an infant stage.

I began to read ferociously about food, vitamins and the digestive system but it was barely scratching the surface so I went to see a doctor specialized in endocrinology and nutrition. Her name was Concha Arguelles, a true source of inspiration to me. A seed that flourished into a career as a professional nutritionist. I believe that nutrition has the potential to maximise the functions of the body and the brain from the very core, which is our genetic make-up, where nutrition plays a crucial role. So I embraced it; the task is endless, the study continuous and the benefits long-lasting.

And I also discovered that it was possible to live without meat, that there were other sources of protein and iron. And that the haem-iron, for which red meat is consumed mainly, could be obtain from legumes and vegetable sources. Then, of course, to satisfy my hunger for knowledge, I had to look at the ways the different iron compounds would be absorbed by the body as it was well known even then that iron from vegetables was less readily absorbed.

The truth is that we have a truly efficient body in many ways, and now we know that people who do not eat red meat develop a more sophisticated mechanism in order to absorb the necessary iron from vegetables. (The body makes the most of what it is given). Let me point out that I am not talking about vegetarians yet, just people who do not eat red meat. From this information, which I experienced on my own flesh, as it were, I can dispelled the myth that one could not live without red meat.

To further complement this facts, these days we have increasingly more evidence as to how the consumption of red meats is associated with colorectal cancers.

So what do we take from this information?

I must confess that I still do not eat meat myself, red or otherwise. The other interesting factor about meat is that it is high is saturated fats, even the lean cuts. Unfortunately, there is a strong link between high levels of saturated fats in the body and many cardiovascular diseases and brain degenerative disorders.
However, in the meantime, for those who enjoy meat my advice would be:


·    To cut the consumption of meat gradually, to no more than twice a week and increase the amount of green leafy vegetables and legumes at the same time.

·      If and when you buy meat choose the best quality available. Try game meat, it is more expensive but these animals have access to better food themselves and they are no treated with antibiotics to prevent them from illness as most domesticated animals in the meat industry are.  
·     Remember that what animals eat will be part of your diet too when you eat their meat.  

My granny’s body improved for the last years of her life without the meat, she lost the excess weight naturally and gradually and was more agile. Her digestions were lighter and the loss of excess weight meant that she was in less pain because of the several disc hernias as she carry around a much lighter body.

 
…The right body to take to the party. Alas, all parties will end.