Food provides us with energy. We need energy to live. The only new energy on this planet comes from the sun. Plants capture this energy and convert it into matter in a process called photosynthesis. It makes sense, that by eating natural veggies and fruits, we can obtain some of this energy.
Mother Nature took a long time to make our bodies, and in parallel the foods for our bodies. She provided us with two types of foods.
- Animal products like meat, fish, eggs or dairy that are nourishing and providing the building blocks we need to build bones, muscles, and organs.
- Plant foods, like fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans or nuts that are mainly cleansing and detoxifying. Plant foods become more nourishing if they are fermented or cooked. These processes break down the plants cellular and fibrous structures, so they become more digestible for us.
Humans only have one small stomach that produces mainly acid and pepsin, which are designed to break down animal products, not plant foods. We can only absorb a small portion of the nutrients from plant foods that our gut bacteria break down for us.
Herbivores, animals that feed on plants, are built a little differently. They break down their plant food with long chewing and the bacteria in their multiple stomachs so that the energy can be absorbed into their bodies.
By eating meat, we are second-handedly processing those nutrients in a way that is nourishing, not cleansing.
However, it’s important to maintain a good balance between nourishing and cleansing foods. Originally those were the only options provided to us. Unfortunately nowadays processed foods are a real thing, and a real problem.
As a parent, you might want to check out my post on How to help a picky eater. Sadly, our children nowadays are greatly suffering from being overfed but malnourished.
Source:
Source: Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, Vegetarianism Explained,
Medinform Publishing (May 17, 2017)
