The correlation between consuming animal protein and risk of getting at least one chronic degenerative disease has been well documented in the scientific and medical literature. The more animal protein you consume in your diet, the greater your risk of getting at least one chronic degenerative disease in your lifetime, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, or cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer’s. While most experts believe that consuming a whole, plant-based diet and eliminating all animal-based foods is best, according to Joel Fuhrman, MD, whether or not you are a strict vegetarian, your diet must be plant-predominant for optimal health.
While you may decide to significantly increase the amount of plant-based foods in your diet, you might also decide not to completely eliminate animal-based foods. Perhaps you want to continue to enjoy a piece of fish, or chicken, or maybe even some beef occasionally. If that’s what you choose and you’re trying to limit the amount of animal-based foods in your diet, make your animal-based foods count. Think of your animal-based foods as currency that you don’t want to waste. In other words, don’t squander them by unknowingly consuming foods that are loaded with animal-based foods when you can’t even taste the animal-based food. One example that comes to mind is protein powder. Many people love having their protein powder, especially before a workout. The protein in many protein powders is whey protein, which is an animal-based protein that’s a by-product from making cheese, and it’s not like you’re using the protein powder because it tastes like cheese. So rather than getting additional unwanted animal protein by using whey protein, try using a plant-based protein such as soy protein or pea protein instead. Then enjoy a piece of fish once or twice a week, knowing that you’re keeping your consumption of animal-based foods low enough to greatly reduce your risk for chronic degenerative diseases.
While you may decide to significantly increase the amount of plant-based foods in your diet, you might also decide not to completely eliminate animal-based foods. Perhaps you want to continue to enjoy a piece of fish, or chicken, or maybe even some beef occasionally. If that’s what you choose and you’re trying to limit the amount of animal-based foods in your diet, make your animal-based foods count. Think of your animal-based foods as currency that you don’t want to waste. In other words, don’t squander them by unknowingly consuming foods that are loaded with animal-based foods when you can’t even taste the animal-based food. One example that comes to mind is protein powder. Many people love having their protein powder, especially before a workout. The protein in many protein powders is whey protein, which is an animal-based protein that’s a by-product from making cheese, and it’s not like you’re using the protein powder because it tastes like cheese. So rather than getting additional unwanted animal protein by using whey protein, try using a plant-based protein such as soy protein or pea protein instead. Then enjoy a piece of fish once or twice a week, knowing that you’re keeping your consumption of animal-based foods low enough to greatly reduce your risk for chronic degenerative diseases.
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