Meat is murder and breakfast rolls can be a real killer too
Eating meat for nearly every meal is unnatural, unhealthy, costly and fattening,
ILOVE meat. There was a time when if a dish did not have meat in it, I would have considered it a mere snack. And no sob story about cows and their physical attachment to their young or the emotional intelligence of pigs could turn me off my dinner.
In fact, you could throw in lunch and breakfast too because four years ago, I was eating meat twice a day, seven days a week.
The idea that one day I would reduce my carnivorous ways to a palm-sized portion of meat once a week was unfathomable.
But my big change of heart came when I happened across a simple chart in a book by nutritionist to the stars Kimberly Snyder — and though I would normally laugh off health advice dished out by good-looking girls on yoga mats, this was based on a set of simple, convincing facts.
The chart showed how the human body, with our flattened teeth for grinding plants and our lengthy intestines, differs dramatically from the bodies of heavy meat eaters such as the tiger.
Instead, we are much more similar to the planteating gorilla and should base our diets accordingly.
For example, the tiger’s stomach has a high concentration of acid to break down animal protein. Whereas humans have a low concentration of stomach acid, perfect for breaking down plant matter.
Our intestines are also dramatically different from meat-eating tigers. They are at least 12 times as long as our trunks — which provides a long transit time to extract minerals and nutrients from plant foods. A tiger’s intestines, on the other hand, are only three times as long as its trunk, perfect for rapidly expelling heavy waste matter like meat.
The inside of our mouths also holds evidence of a plant-heavy diet.
A tiger has long sharp and pointed fangs for ripping apart meat whereas our flattened molars are ideal for grinding plant matter. Again physically, our gnashers are far more like the green-munching gorilla.
The chart made me question all that diet advice I once believed which claims we are all hunter-gatherer meat eaters.
The theory was physically out of kilter with our body.
Other things began to niggle, too. I checked out how many injections cows and other farm animals get each year for protection against disease, and I just didn’t think it was healthy to eat so much of something that was on the receiving end of that.
I gradually began to change my diet. In place of the chicken in my lunch box, I added lentils, olives, more vegetables and grains.
At night time, I opted for grilled fish and invested in a slow cooker for curries and casseroles.
My shopping bill more than halved and I felt lighter and better than I had done in years, just as studies came out to back up my new lifestyle choice.
In 2015, the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a warning that our colossal consumption of meat was causing all types of cancer.
It estimated that 34,000 deaths from cancer every year could be down to diets high in processed meat. It also concluded that each 50g portion of processed meat a day increased the chance of bowel cancer by almost 20pc. Bear in mind a cooked breakfast with two sausages and two slices of bacon is around 130g.
Remember, this is the same organisation that was the first to sound the siren about the links between smoking and cancer. We look back now at a time when we all sat in restaurants and on planes as a smog of fumes wafted in from the designated ‘smoking sections’ and wonder how we could have been so stupid.
I believe one day we will do the same with meat.
These days, I have reduced my intake of meat by 90pc. I now only eat it once a week or on special occasions when I dine out.
If I could give you one diet tip this New Year, it is to do the same.
Forget counting calories or dropping a dress size, and think about your overall health — especially if you eat as much meat as I once did.
This one small measure has reduced my waistline, put more money in my pocket and, for those who are that way inclined, it is the single greatest thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint and help in the fight against climate change.
You can still enjoy your steak on a night out. In fact, as I write, I’m still digesting my first delicious T-bone. I just see it as a treat rather than a go-to meal.
As for the fear-mongering over plant-heavy eaters missing out on their recommended protein? You try telling a 400lb gorilla he doesn’t have enough muscle for strength and see how you get on.
‘My shopping bill more than halved, I felt better than I had in years’