There are certainly many meat eaters among us who may choose to get some of their protein requirements from red meat. Many of us have been programmed by family eating habits, advertising and clever packaging to enjoy meat. For we certainly are not instinctual meat eaters as are wolves, dogs, lions and other carnivorous species. We certainly do not drool over dead animals on the side of the road nor do we naturally get pleasure from the sound of an animal getting ripped apart as do carnivores. We also do not gravitate towards raw flesh. Animals in the wild do get this pleasure naturally because they are genetically and physically designed for it. In fact our bodies are designed much more like plant eaters than carnivores. We are almost identical to plant eaters. Cavemen were not the most nutritionally educated people on the planet. In fact they copied what their animal friends did using survival instincts not because they were designed to eat meat. It is this survival instinct inside us as well that we have been programmed to accept the sight of a well packaged piece of meat which is then cooked and flavored that has gravitated humans towards being meat eaters.
If an athlete is to eat meat they simply need to realize that the body will use many more times the amount of energy to digest the meat because of the length of the digestive system, the small amount of digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid as compared to animals, and the acidic nature of meat which has been proven to cause inflammation. In fact it has been proven that arthritic conditions in prehistoric times started when man started to eat meat.
As a meat eating athlete you simply have to have this awareness so you could take actions to reduce the harmful affects that meat eating has over the long term (Certainly not in the short term which is why it is transparent and not obvious) If I personally were to begin eating meat again ,even just as something to enjoy occasionally, I would do the following.
1 - Do not eat meat within 48 hours of competition. It takes a few days for meat to pass through the 22 feet of digestive tract
2 - Help your enzyme factory by taking enzyme supplements.(proteases e.g. Bromelain and papain), amylase and lipase
3 - Eat more raw food than you are eating meat. Eat a huge salad which contains active enzymes and add avocado and olive oil which contain the lipase and will help break down the fats in the meat.
4 - Take Probiotics (good bacteria) to help the intestinal flora fight off any bacteria in the flesh of the meat
5 - Eat organic, free range meats. Organic meats mean that the animal is fed organic food and is allowed to roam free and eat mineral rich grasses. The animal is not fed any hormones, antibiotics or pesticides and is therefore happier. The happier the animal the cleaner and more life energy will be in the meat.
I know that most people eat meat out of habit and that probably more than 25% would not eat it if they had all the facts. I understand the saying "what you don't know wont hurt you." However, when it comes to food, that is simply not true. I have best friends that still tell me when I eat a salad that it is going to kill me. They say that we were meant to eat meat because cavemen ate meat yet they are 70 lbs overweight. This is just an example of the way the majority of the population approaches their food choices. There are beliefs and assumptions in our minds that were planted there along the way. Throw in the human ego and our natural need to defend our beliefs and it is very difficult to accept additional education. It usually takes some sort of enlightenment which comes about through some sort of major publicized event such as the recent news that 140 million pounds of meat was just recalled because of the way animals were fed and treated in a slaughter house in California. I predict this is just the beginning of massive amounts of information which will be discovered about the future of food and how the food supply has been compromised by agriculture.
I believe the most critical thing that anyone can do for their sports diet is keep an open mind. Realize that something you know may not be correct because the facts just haven't managed to cross your space, or the facts just are not out there yet and may hit the news tomorrow. We only have as much information as the information which we seek out or seeks us out. I have resolved to not be set in my ways. If evidence is reported tomorrow that eating meat will help extend our lives to over 125 years old and the source and evidence seems credible to me, I then have something to act on or not act on. Without the information all I have is the forces of advertising or the knowledge handed down to me by someone else who may not have had all the facts, The best thing to do is to align yourself with what feels good and what feels right for you. You know whether something is giving you more or less energy, whether it is helping you lose or gain weight and whether it is making you feel guilt and shame or joy and happiness.
