meat

[Guest guest]

First,

I will disclose that I am a 35 year vegetarian, and follow a lactovegetarian

kundalini yoga diet (sattvic, plus onion and garlic).

Yoga

promotes vegetarianism for spiritual and health reasons.

Moral

issues aside, the main practical objection to meat is that it is dense

and heavy, so hard to digest. It would be essential to cook it properly

and to assure that digestive fire (agni) is up to the job. Yogi Bhajan

said that, from the point of view of physical health, you could eat anything

you want, if it would come out within 24 hours. His opinion was that meat

usually would not. (He once told me in an aside that you could eat a rubber

tire if it would come out in 24 hours.)

Interestingly, the fire tattva

dominant (pitta) type person is the most likely to be able to digest meat,

but may be the type that benefits least from it, as it is usually hot,

and tends to increase aggression.

 

According to Dr. Alan Gaby, a leading

holistic physician, the American diet tends to contain too much protein.

Studies have indicated that excessive protein in the diet may encourage

bone loss. When you eat more protein, the urinary excretion of calcium

rises. The digestion of protein liberates acidic breakdown products. Calcium

is mobilized to buffer these chemicals. Dr. Gaby maintains that science

has shown that people who eat a vegetarian diet have stronger bones later

in life than those who eat meat.

The amino acid methionine,

which is abundant in animal protein, is converted in the body to homocysteine.

It now looks like this chemical, which has become known as a cardiovascular

disease risk factor marker, is capable of causing bone loss.

Animal flesh contains phosphorous,

a necessary nutrient. But Dr. Gaby says that excessive consumption contributes

to osteoporosis. One of the breakdown products, phosphoric acid, must be

buffered by calcium. This probably explains in part why excessive protein

has an adverse effect on bone.

Susan E. Brown, Ph.D., is an expert

in metabolism and diet, with a specialty in osteoporosis.

Dr. Brown’s China Health Project

suggests that we eat too much fat and protein- two noted anti-nutrients.

As for protein, Dr. Brown feels that many of us (but not all of us)

consume twice the amount we should. The U.S. RDA for protein averages 50

grams for females and 63 for males.

Beans, peas and other legumes,

including lentils, are an excellent source of protein. If you include these

in your diet, and also eat whole grains such as whole wheat, oats, corn,

barley, millet, buckwheat and, rice, these two food groups together will

provide the entire assortment of essential amino acids you need for protein.

Legumes are high in the alkaline minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium,

iron, copper, zinc and vitamin B-complex, all nutrients that benefit strong

bones. As an added benefit, legumes are high in soluble fiber, the kind

that lowers cholesterol.

Having said this, remember- it’s

still necessary to consume enough protein. Decreased density of the femur

is associated with a lower amount of protein in the diet. The bone is composed

of a very important protein matrix, in which minerals are deposited. Unless

there is sufficient dietary protein, the body cannot preserve its protein

matrix. So, as with most things, balance is the key- we need neither too

much nor too little protein.

 

Ayurveda,

which is a medical, not an ethical, system, always recommends doing what

works for you as an individual, where you are in your life.

The point is to honestly assess

how your body is coping with your lifestyle, health history, and tattva

balance today. Then make adjustments. It is essential to consume and digest

enough protein. We have all seen people who eat and digest too little protein,

and are depleted from their diet. We also see people who consume excess

protein and do not digest it, resulting in a build-up of wastes and the

need for detoxification.

While Ayurveda is closely associated

with yoga, which is a vegetarian system, Ayurveda is not in and of itself

a vegetarian system. Ayurveda does not prohibit meat. The Charaka Samhita

includes guidelines for eating vegetable and animal products. However,

it does not affirm or recommend routine or excess meat eating. It opines

that meat is nutritious for the relief of certain diseases, and when the

patient dehydrated, emaciated, weak or convalescing. Dr. Marc Halpern,

of the California College of Ayurveda, says, “Some people benefit from

meat while others thrive as vegetarians.”

Well cooked meat broth, for example,

is suggested for those with high vata or those who are severely depleted.

Swami Sadashiva Tirtha, an American

swami and Ayurvedic expert, is the author of numerous works on herbs and

natural medicine. He says, “Ayurveda suggests using meat only as a

medicine since meat does not actually rebuild and regenerate the

cells and tissues. In the case of extreme weakness, such as advanced

cases of anemia, red meat (or its substitutes like liver pills) and bone

soups are useful to take until the anemia is treated.” If meat is to be

consumed, it is best taken during the day, when agni is high, and prepared

by being well cooked to promote digestion.

Ayurveda says that meat is not

to be consumed with milk, yogurt or eggs.

Meat builds blood. Other blood

building options include black sesame seeds, pomegranate, black grape juice

and molasses. Chyavanprash, turmeric and ghee help. Iron supplements should

be taken with ginger or cinnamon to aid assimilation.

The text in the Charaka Samhita

states that meat is ‘unwholesome’ if it comes from an animal that has

been raised in surroundings that is not its natural or native environment.

Meat is toxic if the animal has consumed food not its natural diet or environment.

In present day industrialized countries, meat is produced in unhealthy

ways, and contaminated with many drugs and hormones.