Should You Be a Vegetarian?

My patients often ask if I'm a vegetarian. I am not. My diet is free of gluten, sugar, dairy and fruit but not animal protein. I love fruit. It has a lot of good vitamins in it but my body doesn't love it. Except for limes and lemons I really do get all my vitamins from vegetables and healthy grains. I love buckwheat and the highest source of plant based protein is found in lentils so I eat lentils almost every day. If you want to incorporate lentils in your diet you have to cook them with a pressure cooker to get the lectins out. That is also how I cook the buckwheat and any rice I eat too. Lectins are a protein found in many plants that can cause leaky gut.

I also don’t eat eggs because my body doesn’t like them. Even pasture-raised eggs my body goes weak to. Pasture-raised eggs are the best quality eggs, even better than organic and if you can find pasture-raised organic eggs that would be even better.

In 2001 I did spend 3.5 years being a vegetarian but it wasn't for me. At first I felt like it was a relief to my body to go vegetarian but eventually my health started declining so I started eating meat again but just a little for I would say I still eat 85% vegetarian. That other 15% is just enough meat to make my body happy. I am very careful about the quality of meat I eat and make sure it is grass-fed or pasture raised and straight from the farmer who I know treats the animals well. I can respect eating vegetarian or even going all the way vegan but unfortunately what I have found in my office is that for most people being vegan for a long period of time is a disservice to the body. Being vegetarian can be sustainable given your body type and that's why muscle testing is so important. Everyone is different.

Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride is an MD who wrote a great article on this topic called Feeding vs. Cleansing. This article explains the importance of a plant based diet for a temporary time in order to cleanse the body. "Human body (without water) is largely made out of protein and fat (almost half and half), these are the 'bricks and mortar' from which your bones, muscles, brain, heart, lungs, liver and all other organs are made. Laboratory analysis of plants and animal foods show that the best protein and fat for human physiology comes from animal foods. The amino acid profile of animal protein is correct for the human body, while amino acid profile of plant-derived proteins is incomplete and unsuitable for human physiology. The same with fat: animal fat has the right fatty acid composition for human body to thrive on, while plant oils are unsuitable. So, when it comes to FEEDING your body and BUILDING your bodily tissues and structures animal foods are the best and the only suitable ones."

If you are thinking about becoming a vegetarian or are a vegetarian and you are thinking about incorporating more animal product you can always let me know so I can test the body and see what your body says. Just ask me; the answer is always to muscle test!