“Today, chronic illness afflicts nearly half of all Americans and causes three out of four deaths in the United States. Americans spend $1 for every $14 for medical expenses. One person in three dies of cancer, one in three suffers from allergies, one in ten have ulcers, and one in five are mentally ill.”
Heart disease wasn’t studied in the medical textbooks at the turn of the 20th century. “During the next forty years, however, the incidence of heart disease (for example) rose dramatically, so much so that in the mid1950’s heart disease was the leading cause of death among Americans.
What changed?
Was it animal foods?
Is veganism the answer to our health crisis?
“During the 60 yr period from 1910 to 1970, the proportion of animal fats in the American diet actually declined from 83 to 62 percent. Butter consumption plummeted from 18 pounds a year per person to only 4. During the past 80 years dietary cholesterol (only found in animal products) intake has increased only 1%. During the same time period, the percentage of vegetable oils in the form of margarine, shortenings, refined vegetable oils increased 400 % while the consumption of sugar and processed foods also increased over 60%.”
Concluding…processed plant foods are more the culprit than animal foods here.
It’s also interesting to note… that a mother’s milk… God’s design… contains a higher proportion of cholesterol than almost any other food!!
Don’t get me started on cholesterol!! One of the greatest nutritional deceptions of all time!! Cholesterol is a healing substance, vital to heart health and longevity, is only found in animal foods. That’s another topic for another day…
God’s design definitely includes plant foods, but NOT as imitation meat:
| Category | Imitation Meat | Grass-Fed Beef |
| Main Ingredients | Pea/soy protein, oils, additives | Beef |
| Additives | Yes (flavors, binders, colorants) | No |
| Synthetic Nutrients | Often added (B12, iron, zinc, etc.) | Naturally occurring |
| GMO Ingredients | Often (e.g. soy leghemoglobin) | None |
| Processing Level | Ultra-processed | Minimally processed |
| Whole Food? | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
In case this article series seems to unfairly bash plant foods or seems to communicate that plant foods are not healthy… let me take a moment to give a shout out to plant foods!!
Plant foods can be super healthy for us!! Especially LIVING plant foods of Garden Nutrition:
- Raw fruits
- Raw vegetables
- Lightly cooked vegetables
- Cultured vegetables
- Sprouted vegetables
- Sprouted grains
- Soured grains
- Soaked beans
- Sprouted nuts
These living plant foods can provide regenerative, healing, detoxifying nutrients like:
- Antioxidants
- Polyphenols
- Fibers
- Vitamins
- Minerals
- Water
- Oxygen
- Enzymes
- Healthy Bacteria
The above nutrients in plant foods – nature’s carbs – are healing, healthy and vital to preventing and even reversing disease. Many of these nutrients are only found in plants. But, as we have discussed in earlier articles:
- Plant nutrients need converting from inactive to active forms
- Plant nutrients are not always easily absorbed (especially by certain ethnicities or health conditions)
- Plant nutrients are bound by enzyme inhibitors and other substances
- Plant nutrients are easier to digest and absorb when they are properly prepared (sprouted, soaked, soured, fermented)
- Animals that eat a clean plant diet according to God’s design, provide the plant nutrients in very bioavailable, easily usable forms!!
HEALING STORIES
Then there’s the healing stories from cancer, gastrointestinal disorders and other illnesses by shifting to a plant only, vegan lifestyle. While I acknowledge their success, I encourage anyone to also be curious to know what other treatments, modalities and long-term health results are experienced. For example, a cancer survivor who adopted a vegan diet promotes the plant only lifestyle as his answer to healing. Digging a little bit deeper reveals the vegan diet is not the whole story. After surgery which removed the entire cancerous mass, and undergoing a few chemo treatments actually put the cancer in remission prior to adopting the vegan lifestyle. However, the plant only lifestyle is often promoted as the healing solution, which was only part of the story.
While eliminating processed foods, excess sugars, trans fats and harmful additives is always a good idea, and many health benefits can result no doubt, it doesn’t mean that a plant only lifestyle is the ONLY way to do this or the only way to eat for life.
Adopting a plant only diet short term can be rebalancing, eliminates processed foods, detoxifies and cleanses, and can bring healing too!! But I also believe we are not meant to stay there long-term. Often, that same person staying on a plant only diet who may have overcome cancer, will succumb to a stroke or other brain decline as a result of other vital nutrient deficiency from long-term veganism for example.
Others share healing stories of carnivore diets that focus mainly on animal foods or healing power of the ketogenic diet for cancer and many other degenerative diseases…
Which narratives do you believe? Well, they all have an element of truth. Depending on the person, the health profile, the imbalances… therapeutic diets can be healing whether carnivore, vegan, ketogenic, etc. But they should be followed short-term – a few years at most depending on the person, their age, health profile, etc. Simply because a therapeutic diet is not designed to be a sustainable diet, but rather a rebalancing diet. Anyone who adopts a therapeutic diet should do so with the intention of slowly adding back in all food macros.
Vegan – High Carb
Carnivore – High Protein
Ketogenic – High Fat
But, for this article, here are Four Core health reasons why plant based diets – veganism – (long-term) is not enough, and ultimately health does not support veganism as a lifestyle.
#1 – Genetics & Epigenetics
People groups all over the globe have predisposition to certain foods. For example, being lactose intolerant or vitamin deficiencies or having more enzymes to digest carbohydrates. Different climates support different foods as well. Many cultures have diets high in nature’s carbs, high amounts of plant foods with little animal foods. For example Asian cultures experience longevity and health with rice, sea vegetables, soy based plant foods primary in their diets. Whereas, other people groups, like the Northern Scandinavian people consume high amounts of dairy products, even celebrate a butter festival each year, and very little vegetables.
Certain genetic coding allows certain ethnicities to thrive better on a more plant-based diet than others. But history shows us that all healthy people groups used some sort of animal products in their diets in various amounts.
#2 – Hormones & Neurotransmitters
Every hormone and neurotransmitter we make comes from cholesterol, amino acids (proteins), fatty acids (all types) and minerals. As we have looked at in our science article on veganism the plant foods do not contain all essential amino acids, no cholesterol, and minimal amounts of fatty acids. While there are plant-based proteins, and plant based fats, it is extremely difficult to get adequate amounts of each of these macros in an all-plant based diet to form optimal amounts of hormones/neurotransmitters. Vitamin D is also found primarily in animal foods. This vitamin plays a dual role as a hormone like substance, and is also vital in hormone formation.
Mental and emotional health is largely dependent on amino acids, fats, cholesterol and vitamin D … all of which are limited in a plant only diet.
#3 – Neuromuscular & Bone Health
Long term studies show increased risk of fractures in vegan participants compared to those who were ominvores because the anti-nutrients found in plants (phytates, oxalates, lignans, etc) that can often inhibit the absorption of vitamin D, calcium, iron, and other nutrients.
Joint health, ligaments, and muscle building are all so very dependent on collagen, another vital substance NOT found in plant foods. (Although plant foods support its production).
#4 – Energy Production & Maintenance
Animal foods provide critical, mitochondria-supporting nutrients in their most bioavailable form, which are hard or impossible to replace through plants alone. Carbs from plants provide fuel, but without adequate cofactors, the mitochondria may not work optimally.
| Category | Animal Foods | Plant Foods |
| ATP cofactors | Rich in B12, iron, creatine, CoQ10 | Often lacking or poorly absorbed |
| Bioavailability | High | Variable or low |
| Fat-soluble nutrients | Retinol, K2, DHA present | Need conversion (inefficient) |
| Energy yield (cellular) | Supports long-term mitochondrial function | Primarily short-term fuel (glucose) |
| Protein quality | Complete, high leucine | Often incomplete without combining |
Don’t misunderstand my article series on veganism to say that plants are not healthy. But, instead please do understand that plant foods alone are not enough based on evidence from
- Scripture
- Science
- History
- Health
Adopting a living food day 1x a week… or plant only detox 3 days a month can be super helpful!! Go back the Garden…
But don’t stay there.
