Are Plants as Healthy As We Think?
2."Are plants really as healthy as we think? I've been very interested in high fat-low carb diets."
Foods Built For You
Good health comes when we eat foods that come from nature. To understand the best foods to eat, we can look back millions of years to what our ancestors ate. Our bodies were designed to eat foods specific to our heritage and ancestry. Nature provided us with two groups of food: plant foods (cleansing foods) and animal foods (feeding foods), each group works differently in the body and both are important. Certain vital nutrients occur only in animal foods and are better absorbed from animal foods. These nutrients are particularly important for fetal development and for growing children.
Anti-nutrients and Fermentation
Our ancestors did eat seeds, grains, legumes/beans and nuts but first they soaked, sprouted, fermented or naturally leavened them to make these foods more digestible and their nutrients more available. When you soak them, you begin breaking down the plant's chemicals/anti-nutrients and when you sprout them, you increase the nutrient content of the food. When you ferment them you are allowing the bacteria to further breakdown the carbohydrates, fats, and protein making them more digestible. I will address this more in further updates to my website.
Effects of Low Stomach Acid / HIGH pH
Our Stomachs are Designed for This
Human beings are omnivores, our stomachs are designed with strong acid / Low PH to digest meat proteins. When stomach acid gets to low, meaning the pH is too high, many complications can occur as seen on the image labeled "Effects of Low Stomach Acid". Enzymes in the small intestine break down proteins into peptides that the body absorbs through the gut wall. Other nutrients from animal foods not predominantly found it plants are Vitamin A as retinol, which is better absorbed than carotenes, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6, Zinc, Iron, Calcium, EPA & DHA Omega 3 fatty acids, Arachidonic Acid, Amino Acids, Cholesterol and Sulfur.
Plant Based Risks
Vegetarians and especially vegans are at high risk for malnutrition and poor health outcomes. When they rely heavily on seeds, grains, legumes/beans and nuts for nutrition, they consume high amounts of plant chemicals or anti-nutrients that affect the ability of the digestive tract to absorb nutrients. When not prepared properly, they harm the gut and increase the pH of the stomach. The plant chemicals or anti-nutrients that affect digestion include enzyme inhibitors that can block digestion, phytic acid, which blocks mineral absorption, tannins and lectins, which irritate the gut, hard to digest complex starches, gluten, which is hard to digest and can be toxic, and cellulose which cannot be digested at all.
