Plants vs. Meat: Why I Stopped Eating Veggies
“Eat your greens!” is definitely a phrase I grew up hearing, probably just like you. I was taught that veggies were important because of all those “phytonutrients.”
I’ve learned since then that because of the different “software” that we’ve talked about before, those plant vitamins aren’t really absorbed very well, and they come with a lot of potential side effects.
Plants are stuck in the ground. They can’t run away or hide. So, they have different ways to defend themselves. There are chemicals contained in their leaves, stems and roots that can cause all kinds of negative effects, because the plant can’t survive if those are all eaten. These effects can be short term like stomach upset, gas and bloat, or built up over time to cause chronic issues and even auto-immune disease. Some plants can even poison you with acute debilitating effects (even death).
Is it any wonder why some animals who eat leaves and grass all day have five stomachs? They need that to digest all that matter, and they can do it well.
Plants require seeds to procreate, so I’m sure you can guess that these are the most well-defended part of the plant, with the most toxic chemicals. The seed is the plant’s next generation, so it protects it as much as possible.
Guess what? Grains, nuts, and legumes are all technically seeds. Is it any wonder that these can cause the most trouble in the human body?
And don’t even get me started about the oils squeezed from these seeds, the notoriously horrible “vegetable oils” that as we have discussed before, should absolutely be removed from your diet.
What about fruit?
Well let’s think about this, what is the purpose of fruit for the plant? Plants that have fruit develop and grow them around seeds to protect them. They want the fruit to be eaten by animals, so that the seed will be swallowed whole, undamaged and then transported to the earth in its own happy supply of fertilizer.
Of course unripened fruit will have defense chemicals and taste bad, because the plant knows it needs time to fully protect the seed. But the ripened fruit, at the peak of deliciousness, will have very few defense chemicals. The plant needs the entire fruit to be eaten to start the next generation.
So ripe fruit is great for you, and in our opinion is your best source of carbohydrates.
But as for leafy salads, that kale or wheatgrass smoothie, steamed broccoli, asparagus or any other “greens,” we say NO THANKS. There is really no good reason to consume them in large quantities, and even the large amounts of fiber in them can be problematic for many people.
Occasionally we will eat fermented vegetables (because many of the toxic chemicals are digested during this process) and also soured and soaked einkorn or oats. But we do NOT eat them on a regular basis, nor do we force our children to eat them either (have you ever wondered why kids almost always instinctively love meat and dislike vegetables.…).
All of the nutrients you need as a human can be found in animal foods and fats, raw dairy and fruits.
Here are some fruits that you may not automatically think of as fruit:
Avocado
Olives
Pumpkin
Squash
Zucchini
Cucumber
Yep, those are ALL fruits. And yes, we LOVE the occasional organic dill pickle, and avocado and olives are regular side dishes on our table. Every once in a while we will have sweet potatoes or carrots slathered in butter and Ceylon cinnamon, or even white rice because of its lower toxicity levels (cooked in bone broth!). But most leaves we avoid, except for rare circumstances.
“And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” Ezekiel 47:12 ESV
Plant leaves are medicinal. They can be used occasionally as a treatment. Most pharmaceutical drugs are derived from some compound found in a plant that has been shown to benefit humans in some way. But be very careful with them. Just like drugs, these plant chemicals have side effects. Using them long-term could cause all kinds of negative downstream effects that would surprise you.
So chomping down on tons of leaves every day, especially raw, is not ideal. It could be causing damage to your body and be contributing to your chronic issues.
I think the main reason Americans are obsessed with veggies is because they have been inundated with the idea of calories being their main nemesis. Everyone is trying to cut calories. Because veggies are mostly fibrous and full of water, they have very little calories, so we have been pushed to consume them as part of a “healthy” diet.
But this is a fallacy. Humans were not designed to eat just to eat. We don’t chew just to chew. And as I have explained before, calories are not our problem. We require daily supplies of nutrients and vitamins and fats and protein that simply cannot be found in plants.
In fact, here’s a key concept:
We believe that there are no nutrients or vitamins or macros required by humans found in vegetables that cannot be more readily found and absorbed from animal foods.
So eat your meat friends, and leave the grass for the cows.