Following a healthy eating routine is what everyone should do to maintain proper intake of nutrients. When you are pregnant, the body requires more of certain nutrients, including calcium, vitamin D, potassium, folate, protein, iron, choline, and iodine. Making smarter food choices can ensure a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby. In this article, we aim to give you some quick dietary tips to help you eat healthy while pregnant. 

Before we get started, the basic principles of healthy eating remain whether you are pregnant or not. Make sure that you consume plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats. A few nutrients during pregnancy deserve special attention, though. To maintain a healthy pregnancy, the following components come into play:

• A balanced diet
• Regular exercise
• Appropriate and timely vitamin/mineral supplementation
• Appropriate weight gain

Get The Right Amount Of Calories

The amount of calories you need will change during the course of your pregnancy. Generally speaking, most pregnancies require the following caloric needs:

• First trimester (first 12 weeks): no extra calories
• Second trimester (13 to 26 weeks): about 340 extra calories per day
• Third trimester (after 26 weeks): about 450 extra calories per day

Weight gain is completely natural during pregnancy, but that doesn’t mean you have to eat everything in sight. How much weight you’ll need to gain, in addition to the number of calories, will depend on a few things. Ask your doctor or midwife how many calories you need and how much weight is necessary for you to have a healthy pregnancy. 

Follow A Healthy Eating Routine

Ideally, you want to consume a wide range of healthy foods while pregnant. Choose a mix from the following food groups to enjoy daily:

• Whole fruits: berries, apples, mango, bananas, and more
• Whole grains: such as brown rice, bulgur wheat, millet, oats, and multi-grain bread
• Vegetables: sweet potatoes, okra, beets, spinach, bell peppers, jicama, broccoli, and more
• Healthy oils: olive oil, avocado oil, and virgin coconut oil
• Lean protein: eggs, beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, tofu, salmon, lamb, and skinless chicken
• Low-fat or fat-free dairy: yogurt, lactose-free dairy, cheese, soy yogurt, or fortified soy beverages

Should You Take A Prenatal Supplement?

Most health care providers or midwives will prescribe a prenatal supplement either before conception or shortly thereafter. This is to ensure that you meet all of your nutritional needs. Please note that a prenatal supplement does not replace a healthy diet. Whether or not you decide to take a prenatal supplement is up to you. Just make sure that you get enough of the following nutrients: 

• Iron: Many women do not get enough iron during pregnancy. Iron helps your baby develop, so consult your healthcare provider to see if you need a prenatal supplement with iron, or a separate iron supplement. 
• Choline: An important nutrient for the developing baby’s brain. Foods that contain choline include lean meats, seafood, beans, lentils, eggs, and fat-free dairy. Most prenatal supplements do not have choline, so if you don’t think that you are consuming enough, consult your healthcare professional.
• Folic acid: Keep in mind that folic acid is the synthetic form of folate, which exists in many dark leafy vegetables, beans, peas, and nuts. You can also obtain folate from oranges, lemons, strawberries, melons, and bananas. If you take a prenatal supplement, make sure that it contains 400 to 800 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid. 
• Iodine: Another nutrient that is integral for the baby’s brain. If you use salt to season your food, make sure it is iodized salt. Prenatal supplements typically do not have iodine, so ask your doctor whether you need an iodine supplement or not. 

Avoid Certain Foods

During your pregnancy, please note that you should stay away from certain foods. The following foods may contain bacteria that can harm the baby:

• Lunch or deli meats, smoked seafood, and hot dogs
• Raw (uncooked) or rare (undercooked) meats, poultry, or eggs
• Raw sprouts, including clover, radish, alfalfa, and mung bean sprouts
• Unpasteurized juice, cheese, or milk. Make sure you see “pasteurized” on the label.
• Raw or rare fish or shellfish, such as sushi or raw oysters. (You can eat fish because it contains healthy fats, but some seafood is high in mercury. Generally speaking, you can eat eight to 12 ounces of seafood per week, so long as it is low in mercury and high in healthy fats).
• Refrigerated pate and meat spreads

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Dining out with high cholesterol can seem like an unenjoyable experience, but only if you don’t know how to tackle the menu. You can still enjoy family nights out, festive occasions, or even romantic dinners at your favorite restaurants. All you have to do is educate yourself about the best low-cholesterol choices. 

In order to understand how to manage high cholesterol, you have to know what you’re eating. Reading the menu carefully and identifying problematic ingredients is paramount. How do you know what to look for, though? While going to healthier restaurants and making your own food is the best plan of attack, it may not be sustainable for everyone. This article aims to educate you on how to dine out if you have high cholesterol. 

If Eating Chinese Cuisine, Go For Steamed Instead Of Fried

Chinese restaurants usually have a lot of fried food options, but there are many low-cholesterol options to choose from. Instead of enjoying deep fried egg rolls, opt for spring rolls that are steamed. Better yet, see if you can roll the ingredients in lettuce leaves! Steamed rice is a better choice than fried rice, but try to ask for brown rice if it is available. For your main course options, seafood can be a good choice, especially if the protein is steamed. Boiled or broiled seafood entrees are also good options. Just remember to eat shrimp in moderation and choose entrees with lots of vegetables. Resist dishes with a lot of oil if you want to care for your arteries!

Go For Vegetables And Skip Ghee At Indian Restaurants

There are many vegetarian dishes at Indian restaurants, which is great if you want to eat on the healthier side. Chickpeas are a common ingredient in Indian cuisine, and a heart-healthy legume to consider. Try to order dishes with plenty of vegetables, but stay away from heavy dishes with ghee, which is clarified butter made from buffalo’s or cow’s milk. Just as in the above explanation about Chinese cuisine, ask if the dishes can be made with minimal oil, provided the dishes are made to order and not in large pots. 

Skip The Sour Cream At Mexican Restaurants

Believe it or not, one of the healthier dishes (and perhaps most eye-catching) to order when eating at a Mexican restaurant is fajitas. They usually contain a lot of vegetables and don’t have fried components. Black beans tend to be a better choice, since they are rich in soluble fiber. That said, some restaurants over-salt the beans, no matter what type they are. Try to choose corn tortillas instead of white flour tortillas, because corn tortillas contain fewer calories and less sodium, sugar, and saturated fat than flour tortillas. If possible, choose grilled fish as your protein because it is a leaner protein with lower fat and sodium content. Lastly, resist ordering nachos as an appetizer and skip the sour cream and queso, opting for pico de gallo instead.

Avoid Saturated Fats And Limit Fatty Meals

There has been an interesting development in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It no longer includes a specific limit for dietary cholesterol, but that isn’t an excuse to eat carelessly. The USDA guidelines and other dietitians advise people to eat as little cholesterol as possible. One study followed 30,000 men and women who did not have cardiovascular disease at the beginning of the study. After a 17-year period, researchers noted that for every 300 milligrams of cholesterol that participants added to their daily diet, they increased their risk of cardiovascular disease by 17%. 

Health experts suggest that cholesterol you eat impacts your blood cholesterol levels, but that isn’t the only factor to consider. Maintaining a balanced diet is the best way to manage your cholesterol levels. Reducing your consumption of meat, especially processed meats like bacon, sausage, and deli meat, can go a long way in reducing cholesterol and your risk of heart disease. Many foods that are rich in cholesterol, including high-fat dairy, bakery items, and fatty meats, also have a higher content of saturated or trans fats, both of which elevate cholesterol. For this reason, do your best to avoid these foods when you dine out. Such foods include pizza, burgers, tacos, sandwiches, and casseroles. Additionally, watch out for cheesy foods, palm oil, cookies, snack foods, and cakes. 

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New research found microplastics deep within the lungs of living humans for the first time in history. In previous years, researchers discovered micro-plastics in human cadaver autopsy samples. In 2018, the Environment Agency Austria estimated that over 50% of the world’s population may harbor microplastics in their stools. A 2022 study, however, discovered the disturbing fact that microplastics exist in human blood. 

A few years ago, microplastics were discovered in fish guts and shellfish, making the consumption of seafood somewhat dangerous. Shellfish, in particular, was a big worry because people eat the entire animal, unlike fish. In 2017, Belgian scientists announced that seafood consumers could consume up to 11,000 plastic particles per year by eating mussels. Not only do microplastics exist in our waterways, environment, and seafood, but they also exist in our bodies. Some evidence found microplastics in rain and the air we breathe! 

What Are Microplastics?

Plastic is a material that is composed of synthetic compounds and semi-synthetic organic compounds. Plastic materials are easy and inexpensive to manufacture, which is why there are so many plastic goods in existence. Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic smaller than five millimeters in size. They disintegrate from larger plastic materials, but you can also find them in food containers, clothing, and exfoliants. 

Plastic materials are not biodegradable; rather, they break up into much smaller pieces after physical abrasion or ultraviolet light exposure. When plastic bottles end up in the ocean, for example, the continuous sunlight exposure causes them to break down. Once microplastics move with the currents of the ocean, they can travel throughout all areas of the marine ecosystem. 

Five Main Types Of Microplastics

Nurdles

Even though this is a fun word to say, these small plastic pellets easily end up in waterways. Manufacturers use them to make plastic goods, but their tiny size causes them to spill out of transportation vehicles. Similar to microbeads, nurdles end up in the ocean or waterways, where wildlife mistake them as food. 

Microbeads

Microbeads are non-biodegradable particles of plastic, which measure less than one millimeter in diameter. They exist in exfoliating products, facial cleansers, toothpaste, and more. It’s very easy for wildlife to mistake microbeads for food, and this poses a danger because plastics are not digestible. In fact, microbeads clog the intestines of animals, leading to potential starvation and death.

Fibers

Fibers come from cigarette butts, fleece clothing, diapers, and other materials. Microfibers easily enter waterways via washing machines. Unlike cotton or wool, microfibers are not biodegradable, which is why they harm the environment. 

Foam

Coffee cups, food containers, and other similar styrofoam items are some of the most harmful items to the environment. Foam chemicals leach into beverages and foods, and reheating food in styrofoam containers increases the risk of toxic exposure. Similar to fragments (detailed next), styrofoam breaks down into lots of tiny pieces. 

Fragments

These are essentially smaller pieces of plastic that break off from larger plastic materials. The sun’s UV rays break down fragments into even smaller pieces of plastic. Fragments are commonly from plastic cutlery, single-use water bottles, or plastic lids. 

Microplastics In Humans

Research on microplastics is far from new. In fact, Richard Thompson, a marine scientist from the University of Plymouth, coined the term “microplastics” in 2004. The term followed Thompson’s discovery of plastics the size of grains of rice above the tideline on an English beach. Since then, researchers have discovered microplastics around the world, from the deepest point of the ocean to the summit of Mount Everest. They are even in fresh fruits, vegetables, drinking water, and the air we breathe. In fact, they exist in incomprehensible numbers, with the latest 2021 tally totaling at 24.4 trillion microplastics in the world’s upper oceans. To put that in perspective, that’s the equivalent of 30 billion half-liter water bottles.  

Scientists in the U.K. and the Netherlands found tiny plastic particles in living humans. The microplastics were deep inside the lungs of surgical patients and in the blood of anonymous donors. Scientists agree that they have never seen plastics in those areas of the body before. The published studies never answered the question of potential harm; rather, the focus seemed to shift from plastics to airborne particles that we breathe. Some of these particles are so small that they can penetrate deep within the body and end up inside cells. 

More research is necessary on how the types of microplastics affect plasma or cell types. If microplastics end up in cells, can the cells transport them across the mucosa and into the bloodstream? And once plastic particles are in the bloodstream, they can exist in immune cells, posing a serious risk for overall immune function and autoimmune disorders. By 2050, the World Economic Forum says there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans. Let’s do our best to correct that statistic! 

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You don’t have to invest in a composting toilet and harvest rainwater to live a more sustainable life. There’s no need to dive headfirst into the extreme in order to make a difference. Often times, you can take action from your plate. Whatever you put on your plate has a large impact on the environment. Eating more sustainably may not only save you money and improve your health, but also benefit the health of the planet. 

What Does It Mean To Eat Sustainably? 

A sustainable diet should be nutritionally adequate, economical, and culturally acceptable. Essentially, eating sustainably works to protect both your health and the environment. Emissions from food production have a damaging effect on our world, more so than transportation emissions. Beyond the environmental concerns of food systems, they also create unhealthy food choices, which reduce physical health and life expectancy. If you want to reduce the risk of chronic illnesses and do your part for the planet, dive into the seven tips below for more sustainable eating.

Eat Seasonally

This is a very easy habit to adopt, especially when you realize that seasonal produce is the freshest. You can taste the difference when you enjoy an apple in the fall, asparagus in spring, or watermelon in summer. Seasonal foods are not only less expensive than those purchased out of season, but they also exhibit more nutrients. Growing crops year round requires food producers to use fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals. They may even need to use extra gas or electricity to grow herbs, for example. Eat seasonally and locally to support your community!

Seek Out Local Growers

It’s very common to see farmer’s markets everywhere nowadays. When you purchase the fresh produce offered from local growers, you get to meet the people who produce your food. Knowing where your food comes from is a big part of sustainable eating. Farmers can educate you on how the food was grown, when it was harvested, and even how to prepare it. Most local grocery stores also carry food that local farmers grow. 

Be Picky With Seafood

If you choose to eat seafood, be picky with the fish you purchase. Most fishery laws outline sustainability standards that work to protect ocean habitats and prevent overfishing. There are, however, many fish farms that are not the best living conditions for fish, and they pollute the surrounding environment. The increased demand for fish and overfishing laws in the ocean is the reason these farms exist. Elevated mercury levels and omega-3 contents can be indicators of eco-ratings, helping you determine if your fish is healthy. Support sustainable fishing when you purchase wild caught fish from local fishermen.

Eat Your Leftovers

There’s a large problem with food waste in the United States. Too often do people throw away their leftover food, which is a perfectly good meal option the next day or the day after. There are certain time frames of when you should eat food after making it, though, so be sure to keep that in mind. Besides reducing food waste, eating your leftovers prevents you from spending money on a meal or new groceries that you don’t need. If you don’t love leftovers, consider repurposing leftover meat in salads and stir-fries, or tossing extra fruits and vegetables in salads and smoothies. 

Avoid Ultra-Processed Foods

If you want to do a lot of damage to your health, continue to eat ultra-processed foods. These foods undergo multiple industrial processes and contain added flavors, sugars, and preservatives. Candy bars, chips, and cereals are some of the most common ultra-processed foods. Eating these foods increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Ultra-processed foods also harm the environment because many ingredients have a large carbon footprint. 

Minimize Meat Consumption

Reducing your consumption of meat can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to statistics, beef production and the raising/transportation of livestock requires a lot of energy and resources. Meat production requires more water, land, food, and energy than plants need. In addition to reducing cholesterol and plaque build-up in the arteries, eating less meat benefits the environment, so focus on protein sources like vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes. 

Buy A CSA Share

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) gives farms and farmers the opportunity to sell excess in-season produce to their community. Often times, you can get a box of seasonal, local produce for a very reasonable price. There is typically a drop-off or pick-up point for these boxes. CSAs work to reduce food waste from farms by getting fruits and vegetables into the hands of community members. With competitive prices, it’s hard not to get one!

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A lot of people want to avoid meat and poultry because of the poor living conditions and diets of these animals. They turn to seafood in hopes that there will be better alternatives. Certain types of wild-caught fish exhibit powerful nutrients that aid with muscle-building and improve cognitive performance. Wild-caught tuna, mahi mahi, cod, or salmon provide ample omega-3s, but they can be quite costly. That prompts many people to shop for more affordable fish like tilapia or Swai.

What Is Swai? 

Swai has become increasingly popular in the United States within the last couple decades. It’s a freshwater fish that is native to the Mekong lake in Southeast Asia, with most of the extensive fish farming occurring in Vietnam. Most swai that you purchase comes from Vietnam, despite ongoing controversy about their living conditions. There is an incredible demand for seafood, and low prices have lead to seafood mislabelling, i.e. intentional fish fraud. Vietnamese catfish, also known as swai, became labeled as wild-caught snapper, grouper, or cod on menus at restaurants around the United States.

A lot of Americans enjoy swai because it is affordable and doesn’t have a typical fishy taste or smell. It takes on the flavor of whatever seasonings, dressings, or sauces you put on it, and it doesn’t have a very bony structure. These qualities make it attractive to the consumer, but concerns about unsafe practices of fish farming in Vietnam should make you question swai consumption. 

Is It Safe To Eat Swai?

If you want the honest truth, then the answer is no. This doesn’t have anything to do with swai’s nutritional content; rather, it’s because of the farming practices and the diet of the fish. The main reasons that you should avoid swai is because of the presence of dangerous microbes, antibiotic use to treat sick fish, and filthy water conditions. Continue reading to learn the primary reasons to stop eating swai. 

Fish Farms Are Harmful To Humans And Animals

People establish factory fish farms in the Mekong Delta with very little oversight, if any at all. Untreated wastewater from the fish ponds flows directly into the river. The water in these ponds contains feces, chemicals, medicine, and other pathogens from the river’s natural ecosystem. This negatively affects wildlife that inhabit the river downstream from the ponds. For many people in that region, the Mekong is the primary source of drinking water. The river is naturally polluted, and the harmful waste from the fish farms leads to further contamination.

Heavy Antibiotic Use During Production

Think of fish farms like crowded hen houses, where the the risk of infectious diseases in fish increases. One study found that 70-80% of swai samples exported to Poland, Germany, and Ukraine contained Vibrio bacterium. This is a common microbe that is involved in shellfish food poisoning in people. A separate study of imported seafood found that swai frequently exceeded drug residue limits. Vietnam has the greatest number of drug residue violations among the countries that export swai. There was a recall of 84,000 pounds of frozen swai filets imported from Vietnam because they failed to meet U.S. requirements that test fish for drug residues. Even with proper inspection and antibiotic and other drug residues being below the legal limit, the frequent use of antibiotics can promote antibiotic resistant bacteria in swai. 

Fish Mislabeling And Fraud

In addition to the high sodium content and antibiotic presence in swai, there is a lot of fish mislabeling that surrounds it. Many people like to consume swai because of the price, but restaurants commonly mislabel it and sell it as more expensive fish like grouper, sole, and flounder. A report by Oceana indicates that swai was one of the top-three types of fish most commonly substituted for higher-value fish. Oceana included 200 sources confirming this fact in its report. Researchers found that all but one study in this report recorded evidence of seafood fraud. Lastly, in 58% of cases, the samples substituted for other types of fish posed health risks to consumers. 

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People enjoy eating fish as a healthier alternative to poultry or red meat products. Salmon fillets, shelled shrimp, mahi mahi steaks, or catfish strips are commonly sold in frozen form. The individually packed nature of these products, especially in regards to fillets, makes cooking and preparation very easy. The reality is that there may be more in fish, and other frozen meat products, than you realize. The worst part is that labeling of one specific, potentially toxic ingredient is not mandatory in the United States.

Sodium tripolyphosphate (STTP) is an inorganic compound that is a common additive to detergents, industrial products, and even food products. It’s a colorless salt that is a common food preservative, making seafood, meats, and poultry appear firm, glossy, and plump. Some seafood retailers may even soak wild-caught fish in a quick chemical bath with STTP to achieve the aforementioned effects. 

What Is STTP?

STTP contains three phosphate units that are linked together. In brief, it undergoes a couple stages of manufacturing. STTP is a commercial emulsifier that results from the neutralization of phosphoric acid with sodium hydroxide. The mixture that you get from that process is monosodium phosphate and disodium phosphate. Manufacturers then heat that mixture to 500-550º C to achieve food-grade STTP. 

Why Is STTP Added To Food?

Ultimately, STTP helps food absorb water, making the food more appealing to the consumer. This affects the original weight of the meat or seafood product you purchase, as food products absorb more water after soaking in an STTP bath. You can often tell if fish has been soaked in an STTP solution because a milky white liquid will ooze out as it cooks. You may also notice that the fish reduces in size during the cooking process. 

The color, odor, and texture of seafood are three primary concerns to manufacturers, especially before freezing. Without an STTP bath, the fish may smell more and thaw with a darker appearance. For this reason, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has authorized the use of STTP. Otherwise, fish that was freshly cut may experience damage by ice crystals and protein denaturation during the freezing process. 

STTP is also added to meat to improve the texture and color. It interacts with the inherent amino acids or hydroxyl groups in proteins, improving water retention of the protein product.

Is It Safe? 

The USFDA considers STTP to be generally recognized as safe (GRAS). Because STTP is associated with this label, there is no suggested dosage. It’s also exempted from the typical Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) for food additive tolerance requirements. Additionally, food manufacturers don’t have to include it as an ingredient on labels. In large quantities, however, STTP is not safe. In fact, STTP is a suspected neurotoxin, carcinogen and a registered pesticide and air contaminant in the state of California. Because of CA Prop. 65, any food containing STTP must list it as an ingredient. According to several reports, STTP can cause skin and eye irritation, in addition to digestive and respiratory troubles. Keep all of this in mind when you purchase fish, meat, or poultry, especially in pre-packaged frozen varieties. 

Can You Steer Clear Of STTP?

Yes, it is possible if you do your due diligence by asking questions. If you live outside of California, keep in mind that frozen varieties don’t have to list it as an ingredient. It’s better to buy fresh and develop a rapport with your local butcher. Ask if the meat or seafood has been packaged or treated with STTP. It’s quite common in scallops and shrimp, so keep this information in mind the next time you purchase meat or seafood. 

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The attraction to imitation crab is that it is more affordable than the real thing. People also like it because it is low in fat and calories, but there are many other, healthier options that are low in calories and fat. The reason we say this is because imitation crab, while mildly exotic to the Western palate and eye, is not crab at all.

What Is Imitation Crab?

The budget-friendliness and versatility has lead to the popularity of imitation crab in restaurants and grocery stores. Imitation crab does come from the sea, but this red and white “crab” stick is like the seafood version of a hot dog. The Japanese refer to it as surimi, which translates to ground meat. Surimi is a blend of different fish that have been ground into a paste. Manufacturers also add artificial flavors, sodium, MSG (occasionally), and starch, according to SF Gate.

Is Imitation Crab Good For You?

Just in case you were wondering, imitation crab is not gluten-free because the starch in it is made from whole wheat. It is also low in protein, vitamin B12, and selenium. Real crab, on the other hand, is more nutritionally diverse and contains a wide variety of vitamins and minerals. Because of the harmful food additives in imitation crab, consuming it can occasionally lead to leaky gut syndrome, intestinal inflammation, diarrhea, bloating, or abdominal pain, especially if someone is gluten intolerant.

Because manufacturers occasionally put MSG in imitation crab, people can have adverse reactions after consumption. Many people, even though they may not realize it, have MSG intolerance. The signs of MSG intolerance can often be muscle tightness, weakness, numbness/tingling, or headaches after ingesting it.

We always encourage cutting out processed foods and processed ingredients from your diet. The body was not designed to process food additives, which are often detrimental to overall health. Consuming imitation crab can lead to blood sugar spikes, due to the high carbohydrate content. You also should know that imitation crab is easily replaced by whole food substitutes that are much healthier, including jackfruit, artichoke hearts, lion’s mane mushroom, or hearts of palm.

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The word “shellfish” may seem innocent enough, but in reality, shell fish are actually one of the dirtiest types of sea food you can eat. There are two types of shellfish:

• Mollusks-oysters, clams, mussels, abalone, scallops, etc.
• Crustaceans-lobster, crab. Shrimp, langostino, crawfish, etc.

Crustacean means “insect of the ocean.” They are the bottom feeder of the ocean. Mulloscs fllter ocean water for food, and eat anything with nutritious value, even the waste or feces of other fish.

Some religious law prohibits the consumption of shellfish due to its “unclean” status. While it’s commonly believed the foods are banned to test faith, the reality is these foods were likely banned because they were commonly associated with food poisoning or public health issues.

Lobster

The reason lobsters are cooked “live” is due to the bacterial problem, which occurs immediately upon their death.

Lobsters turn red when boiled due to the chitin they possess. Chitin contains a bright red pigment called “astaxanthin.” Astaxanthin is bonded to several proteins, and when the chitin bonds, it remains brownish-red in color. However, when the protein is heated with boiling water, the bonds break and the astaxanthin is released.

Shrimp

Shrimp is a scavenger that thrives off of eating the flesh of dead creatures.

If you eat shrimp, you should be aware that you might be eating feces as well. The dark-colored tube on the shrimps back is the intestinal tract of the shrimp and it harbors bacteria. If you enjoy eating shrimp, you should remove the intestinal tube by running a small pick down the back of the shrimp until the tube falls out.

Natural Alternatives to Shellfish

Today, you can find mock crabmeat, mock shrimp, and mock tuna. For many people this may be an acquired taste, but there are less health risks when eating mock meat compared to the real thing.

There are a few ingenious mock seafood products available today in some health food stores. There are restaurants that prepare delectable mock seafood as well. These products are usually soy based, so be careful of how much you eat due to potential issues that can arise from overconsumption of soy.

Tuna lovers should experiment with mock tuna meats because many dolphins are being caught in the nets used for catching tuna fish.

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Many people claim to have an addiction to meat but these people are not really addicted to the meats themselves, they are addicted to the chemicals that are added to the meats.

Meats produced in commercialized and industrial nations can be toxic because of how the animals are reared, killed, and processed in slaughterhouses and factory farms.

Contrary to popular belief, meat is not a necessary source of protein, especially if the meat is cooked. No true carnivore eats his or her meat cooked.

The human being is not a carnivore by nature. It is the mind of man and woman that deludes him or herself into thinking and believing they are carnivores or herbivores.

Dangers of Eating Meat

Cooking the meat alters it’s molecular structure and it’s impossible to acquire the complete protein with 22 amino acids without consuming the entire animal.

Animals in the wild acquire complete protein because they eat everything on an animal that they have captured for purposes of devouring. True carnivores have large amounts of hydrochloric acid in their bodies to digest animal meat and animal scales, fur, wool, feathers, and even the bones. Humans, of course, do not have large amounts of hydrochloric acid in their systems and are not meant to eat these sorts of things.

In industrialized nations such as the United States, animal meat contains a plethora of harmful chemical drugs due to the injections and food that is fed to the animals. These drugs and harmful substances include DDT, Arsenic (used in cattle feed as a growth stimulant), Sodium Sulfate (used to give meat that “fresh” red color), DES (a synthetic hormone and known carcinogen), Sodium Nitrate (another known carcinogen), and BGH (bovine growth hormone).

These factory farm bred and raised animals are fed Cement (to make them weigh more for purposes of the auction block), Sodium Bicarbonate (which makes them expel gas), Antibiotics, and even road-kill. Yes, dead animals are being added to animal feed and fed to animals that are vegetarian by nature which makes these animals go mad, hence “Mad Cow Disease.”

Even slaughtered cows are being ground up and fed to cows.

Most people who eat meat are not willing to go out and kill any of the animals they eat themselves. Corporations conveniently provide the meat for their consumers. This is the same reason why some people consume unhealthy foods. People are more willing to purchase goods that are readily available and accessible. Convenience plays a role in our daily habits and we need to be more mindful of this.

As humans, everything we to survive, including nutrition, are freely provided for by the land on Earth.

Today, man eats a lot of meat because of taste preference. If you cook your meat, you are altering the molecular structure of the animal and not deriving complete protein.

Lastly, remember that if you eat meat, your chances of bringing parasites into your body are greater.

How To Cut Out and Eventually Eliminate Meat From Your Diet

The first thing you need to do is a full body detox about every 3-6 months. The more you detox the more pure your body becomes, helping to remove the chemical residues from the meat and unhealthy foods that you consume. It also helps you gain much-needed experience with eating raw foods.

After detoxing, you may resume eating animal meat if you choose to do so, but remember to take it one day at a time and think about undoing the harm you have done to yourself by eating meat.

If you can’t avoid eating meat completely, simply eliminate eating the meat of one animal at a time.

Decide how long you will continue to eat the meats of certain animals until you have removed all meat from your diet.

To start off, try giving up meat one day a week. Instead of eating meat for seven days a week, eat meat only six days a week. On the day that you don’t eat meat, try eating vegan and/or raw foods for that particular day. This will help you acclimate to a vegan and raw foods diet and lifestyle.

Once you feel comfortable, try going 2-3 weeks on this diet diet: 6 days meat consumption, 1-day vegan/raw foods consumption.

Pork

Despite advertising pork as “the other white meat,” it’s actually one of the more unhealthier meats. Pork can be detrimental to your health because it can contain parasites and worms, give you headaches, raise your blood pressure, and raise your cholesterol level. Eliminate all pig or pork products first.

Pork products include but are not limited to pork chops, pork ribs, pastrami, pork wieners (hot dogs, frankfurters), bacon, ham, chitterlings, pork skins, pig feet, pig snouts, salt pork, salami, hog head cheese, fat back, pepperoni, bologna, pork sausage, ham hock, Vienna sausage, potted meat, deli ham slices, liver, and Spam.

Next, since you gave up pork, now give up beef. At the same time, give up two days of eating meat. So, instead of eating meat for six days of the week, eat meat only five days of the week. Two days a week, eat vegan and/or raw foods and stay away from meat.

Beef

Beef includes but is not limited to hamburger, barbecued beef ribs, steak (tenderloin, Salisbury), beef wieners, ground beef, beef sausage, pastrami, neck bones, meat loaf, beef stew, liver, and beef jerky.

For each type of meat you give up, also give up a day of eating meat.

For example:

No pork consumption = 1 day of not eating any meat and only eating vegan/raw foods for that one day.

No beef consumption = 2 days of not eating meat and eating vegan/raw foods. This means, two days of eating meat and two days of eating vegan/raw foods.

After you have given up beef, also give up lamb (if you eat lamb). Lamb is a favorite meat for many Muslims those living in the Mediterranean world and culture.

Lamb

Lamb (baby sheep) includes but is not limited to lamb chops, veal, shish kabob, lamb korma, lamb rogan, liver, and lamb keema.

So, instead of eating meat for five days a week, only eat meat four days a week. These three particular days can be back-to-back-to-back or just any three days out of the week that you choose to eat vegan and/or raw foods.

Cutting out pork = 1 meatless day

Cutting out beef = 2 meatless days

Cutting out lamb = 3 meatless days

After you give up lamb, also give up chicken and turkey.

Fowl and Poultry

The next step is eliminating fowl and poultry from your diet.

A fowl (cock or hen) and poultry (chicken, turkey, ducks, and geese) include but are not limited to chicken wings, chicken breasts, chicken thighs, drumsticks, chicken nuggets, ground chicken, turkey bacon, turkey, ground turkey, Rock cornish hen, squab, Peking duck, grilled chicken, deli turkey, chicken and turkey jerky, and chicken slices.

Instead of eating meat for four days a week, now only eat meat three days a week. Take the four meatless days out of the week and eat vegan and/or raw foods. These days can be back-to-back-to-back-to-back or just any four days out of the week that you choose to eat vegan and/or raw foods.

When you get to this point, now you’re eating less meat and your week consists of eating mainly vegan and raw foods. You’re now well on your way to becoming meatless or vegetarian.

After you give up fowl and poultry, give up seafood in the form of crustaceans.

Crustaceans (Shellfish)

Crustaceans includes but is not limited to crabs, lobsters, shrimps, barnacles, clams, and oysters.

Many crustaceans are scavengers in nature and eat dead remain in the ocean. Technically, fish is considered seafood because fish is food that comes out of the sea for humans. Octopus is also technically considered seafood.

So, instead of eating meat for three days a week, only eat meat for two days a week. Take the five meatless days out of your week and eat vegan and/or raw foods. These particular days can be back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back or just any five days out of the week that you choose to eat vegan and/or raw foods.

Fish (Fresh water and salt water)

Lastly, you give up fish, the best meat you could eat if you had to or chose to eat animal meat.

Fish includes, but is not limited to anchovy, sardine, tuna (albacore), salmon, whiting, buffalo, red snapper, catfish (a scavenger); cod, halibut, mackerel, mako (shark); rainbow trout, swordfish, and trout.

Because fish is the very last meat you should give up, it will constitute the last 2 days. Once you give up fish, there won’t be any days scheduled to eat meat in this specific diet.

After giving up fish, you technically be a vegetarian.

Solutions

On your path to becoming a vegetarian, it is important to take certain products to help digest the meat in your intestinal tract and get rid of any left over residue from the meat.

If you need to consume some enzymes while you’re still eating meat, enzymes from a fruit-based source such as pineapple (bromelain) and papaya (Papain) would be best.

These enzymes will help the meat digest in the stomach. Remember that our bodies were not designed to consume raw or cooked animal meat. Humans don’t have the necessary amounts of hydrochloric acid in their bodies to digest animal meat.

Bromelain and Papain help digest animal proteins. Most commercial brands of enzyme supplements are in hardened pill or tablet form, but DHerbs.com vegan or gelatin-free capsules.

If you eat meat, you should also consider consuming Cayenne as well as periodically perform a parasite and worm cleanse.

Meat lacks enzymes, especially cooked meat. It is not going to move in the intestinal tract and thus your colon may become impaired. It is the enzymes in live foods such as sun-cooked organic raw foods that stimulate peristalsis in the bowels.

Peristalsis is the involuntary constriction and relaxation of the muscles in the intestines, creating a wavelike movement that pushes the contents of the canal forwards.

Meat does not stimulate peristalsis because whereas fruits and vegetables are alive, meat, especially cooked meat, is dead.

Fruits and vegetables contain enzymes, meat does not.

The herb ‘Senna’ is so powerful an herb that experiments have been done on the bowels of dead people with this native African plant.

Colon hydrotherapy is another highly recommended regimen. You should perform a series of three colonic sessions in a one-week period, every 3 months if possible.

Enemas are also recommended because meat has a tendency to get stuck in the rectum.

Periodic fasting is also recommended.

In closing, a person who eats meat would really do themselves wonders and justice by eliminating animal products from their diet. There is no comparison in health benefits when comparing a plant-based diet to a meat-based one.

Studies

Consider the following:

Respected nutrition and health researcher, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author of “The China Study” reveals “People who ate the most animal-based foods got the most chronic disease… People who ate the most plant-based foods were the healthiest and tended to avoid chronic disease.

Further, scientific studies have correlated animal-based diets with disease. The authors of the China Study conclude that diets high in protein, particularly animal protein (including casein in cow’s milk are strongly linked to diseases such as heart disease, cancer and Type 2 diabetes.

There is a relationship between the consumption of animal products and illnesses such as cancers of the breast, prostate, kidneys, the colon; diabetes, coronary heart disease, obesity, autoimmune disease, osteoporosis, degenerative brain disease fibroid tumors, kidney stones, high cholesterol, respiratory disorders, menstrual complaints, and macular degeneration.

The authors of The China Study recommend that people eat a whole food, plant-based diet and avoid consuming beef, poultry and milk as a means of minimizing and/or reversing the development of chronic disease.

For meatless recipes to assist in one’s transition to a vegan diet, please visit Dherbs Recipes section for recipes and the Dherbs Directory for a list of vegan and raw food restaurants in major U.S. cities.

For a directory of vegan and raw food restaurants around the globe, visit Happy Cow.net

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