Column #257

Kevin Stock, DDS spent nine months writing a report about protein. Maybe you remember him from my “Meet the Carnivores” column 15 months ago. He is one of those “meat only” eaters. Most folks would consider him a whacked out nutcase because he’s nearly as whacked out as I am. But, he might be onto something.1

Like many “health nut” Internet bloggers, both of us are scientifically bent. But we differ from the majority because Kevin eats meat exclusively and I market grass-fed and Omega-3 meat and eat it too. Since most Americans have been programmed to think meat is unhealthy for mankind and the planet, we’re both looked down upon as if we’re drug dealers, politicians, con artists, or whacked out nutcases.

In reality we are avid students of the nutritional and biological sciences. Kevin could eat anything he wants and I don’t have to market grass-fed/Omega-3 meats and wild-caught seafood. Since we have a choice, why do we go against the grain and talk to the masses about something they are being told they really shouldn’t eat? Does that make us really insufferable whacked out nutcases?

Because Kevin is a dentist and a long-term devote to physical fitness, he is fully capable of researching and analyzing highly technical, nutritional, scientific literature. His article, “Your 1-Stop-Guide for All Things Protein,” does a thorough job of addressing the many negative viewpoints about meat that are explained to you daily by doctors, nurses, veterinarians, newspaper and magazine reporters, school teachers, neighbors, political leaders, owners of health food stores, “intellectuals,” environmentalists, bloggers, fitness coaches, PETA promoters, vegetarians, USDA My Plate, and MSM types. Rather than use scaremongering tactics and 100-year-old myths, Kevin’s review of modern research delves into how the human body actually processes nutrients (chemicals). This is why I think reading his analysis is worth your time.2

He explains why the Standard American Diet (SAD), which is universally promoted as pure and healthy by our government, medical community, and educators, is pure nonsense. People have been following that approach for no less than 70 years and overall health has continued to get worse and healthcare more expensive year in and year out. That demonstrates how the mob just doesn’t get it when they hear the famous Henry Ford quote: “If You Always Do What You've Always Done, You'll Always Get What You've Always Got.” What’s really sad is that most folks assume that getting sick as they get older is perfectly normal and it’s not caused by their own actions.

Here are some of the points Kevin addressees.
●    Excess protein damages kidneys, liver, and causes gout.
●    Acid from meat will leach calcium out of your bones.
●    Excess protein turns to sugar and elevates cortisol.
●    Meat eaters age faster and have shorter life spans.
●    Red meat intake causes cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Everyone has heard these claims against meat. They are ubiquitous. Our government even drums them into us. But if modern science has dispelled those beliefs, shouldn’t everyone be told about it? Well, it’s not happening. Change is too difficult. It’s scary. It’s unsocial. It’s distasteful. It’s expensive. It’s boring. It’s unethical. It’s dangerous. The excuses for continuing to eat foods that cause disease cover the whole gamut and people seek them out even if it means they will be sick.

In addition to recommending meat for combating and preventing chronic diseases, I also swim upstream even further by stressing the importance of balancing the essential fatty acids (EFAs). This is really off the wall and consumers just don’t get it. That’s in spite of the science being more than 40 years old! There are thousands of antidotal cases where people have solved severe chronic diseases by balancing their Omega-6 and Omega-3 EFAs. One has to wonder why it’s not highly promoted. Could it be partially because there’s no money in it.3

Nothing much changes when people change what they eat. When that happens farmers switch crops and grocery stores change their inventories. The major impact is on some manufacturers of processed foods and, if people are healthier, of course the medical community is a big loser. When it comes to whole foods there are no exclusives, no patents, no prescriptions, no operations, and no secret recipes. Whole foods are simply basic commodities. They are not exceptional. One hundred years ago many suburban and nearly all rural Americans raised some whole foods. It wasn’t rocket science.

Today, people are missing the boat when it comes to healthy old-fashioned foods. They are literally afraid of the most nutritious food they can eat, which is meat. They are being taught to cut off the fat, avoid red meat, eat processed veggie burgers, whole grains, nuts, and fruit. It’s really SAD and their record for diseases shows it.

If “everyone” says meat is bad for you, how can it be that “everyone” is wrong? How can whacked out nutcases like Kevin Stock and Ted Slanker be better informed than the mob? Well, it happens and there have been millions of times in recorded history where individuals distanced their thinking and actions from the mob and eventually time proved they were right.4

Galileo Galilei was confined to house arrest because he said the world revolved around the sun. Most scientists and engineers confidently believed that heavier-than-air flight was impossible. For instance, in 1895 Lord Kelvin stated that “heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible” just eight years before the Wright brothers’ flight. Eighty-four years after it was shown that vegetables and citrus fruits prevented scurvy (the first recognized nutritional deficiency) and 36 years after Capt. Cook proved it beyond a doubt on his long voyages, the British Royal Navy finally mandated that its ships sail with limes on board.5

More recently during my lifetime, smoking was once considered chic. In 1970 the recommendation to buy gold at $35 an ounce was considered unpatriotic and misguided. In 1976 the idea of a home computer was considered rather dumb. It took Texas A&M Animal Science professors several decades to even begin to suggest that modern rotational grazing methods and Expected Progeny Differences (genetic tracking) were valuable cattle management tools. I could go on and on and on.

But you get the idea. The majority is not always right when it comes to their beliefs. As individuals, if we want to be healthy in this day and age we must stand apart from the mob and think for ourselves. Very advanced information about nutrition is available and to deviate from the mob requires a certain kind of advanced, independent thinking. The information that Kevin presents in no longer cutting edge. It’s been known for some time, but the mob is off on a nutritional tangent that will only make it sicker. Let’s hope we all have the intestinal fortitude to stand aside and avoid their fate.

Now it’s time to read Kevin’s article.2

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

Don’t miss these links for additional reading:

1. Meet the Carnivores by Ted Slanker

2. Your 1-Stop-Guide for All Things Protein by Dr. Kevin Stock

3The Importance ofthe Omega-6 Omega-3 Fatty Acid Ratio in Cardiovascular Disease and Other Chronic Diseases by Artemis P Simopoulos

4. Evidence for a Meat-Based Diet by Dr. Kevin Stock

5. Scurvy and Fatty Acids by Ted Slanker