As soon as the word ‘protein’ is mentioned the overwhelming majority of people, especially those in the industrialized countries, think ‘red meat’, and wrongly believe that a day ‘without animal protein’ is a day which lacks this nutrient. True, protein is an essential nutrient, but it is no more important to adequate nutrition than other nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and enzymes. Misguided people labour under the delusion - strongly encouraged by the meat and dairy industries - that we all need animal-derived protein, because ‘plant-based protein is not complete protein’. Of course, the truth is just the opposite! In fact, many studies have clearly shown that there is a strong link between a daily high consumption of animal-based protein and the various degenerative diseases that very often lead to premature death. Despite the many grim statistics, it is difficult for most Americans, for example, to avoid animal protein because the typical daily diet in the United States contains approximately 100 grams of animal-based protein - 62 percent more than a 170-pound person needs for a day. It is far more likely, in fact, that many people are depriving their diets of vital carbohydrates, because of their groundless belief that carbohydrates are ‘fattening’ and animal protein cannot be skipped.

The word ‘protein’ was coined in 1838 by a Dutch physician and chemist, Jan Mulder. Its derivation is from the Greek proteios, meaning ‘of first importance.’ Strictly speaking, proteins are not aptly named because they are not of ‘first importance' -  pure air and water are. (The former consists of 78 % nitrogen, 21 % oxygen, 0.9 % Argon, 0.038% Carbon Dioxide, and 0.062 % Water, while the latter is a mixture of 11.1% Hydrogen and 88.9% Oxygen.) It is a fact we can live many years on a very low protein diet; but we can only survive no more than a few minutes without oxygen, and a week or so without water! Having clarified this issue, proteins are present in all living things great and small, plant and animal, and are the ‘building blocks’ of living substance. There are hundreds of thousands of different kinds of proteins, which function as enzymes, hormones, structural tissue and transport molecules, all of which maintain life. Proteins are constructed as long chains of hundreds or thousands of amino acids. As proteins wear out on a regular basis, we need to replace them by eating foods that contain the right variety of amino acids. (To learn all about amino acids, see the previous chapter.)

Proteins - both animal and plant-derived  - are large, complex molecules with thousands of atoms linked in various ways so that each type of protein molecule has its own pattern. Although each plant and animal species contains a number of its own unique proteins, all proteins have basic similarities. Proteins are composed of amino acids joined by ‘peptide bonds’. A ‘peptide’ is an ‘amide’ molecule comprising two or more amino acids molecules. This amide combines the amino group of one amino acid with the carboxyl group of another, usually obtained by partial hydrolysis of protein. Here it is significant to note that Amino Acids, found both in plant and animal-based proteins, consist of the same types of Oxygen, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, and Carbon atoms. In the cell, proteins perform two major functions. Firstly, they provide most of the structural element in the cells, and secondly, they are the enzymes that control the different cellular chemical reactions. This means that the types of proteins in each cell determine its functions, and each cell is capable of synthesising its own proteins. This process is controlled by the genes found in the cell’s nucleus. Another important function of protein is the formation of Plasma Proteins in the liver. Whenever the concentration of proteins in the plasma decreases substantially, the production of plasma proteins by the liver increases. In general, the body’s cells synthesize much more proteins than are needed to keep the cells alive. Because of this surplus, if amino acids are needed in other parts of the body, some cellular proteins are re-converted into amino acids and transported in this form.

As the primary building blocks of the body, proteins are part of every body tissue and fluid. Some organs, like the skin (skin is the largest organ in the body) and its related structures - the hair, fingernails and toenails - are about 98 percent protein. The eyes are protein, as are other major organs of the body, such as the heart, liver and kidneys. Cell walls throughout the body are made up of protein, and the bulk of cell content is protein. Proteins are also the major components of muscle tissue, and most of the body fluids and secretions are proteins. This includes pancreatic secretion, insulin, the thyroid gland and the pituitary. Digestive and other enzymes are proteins; so are antibodies. In addition, many of the blood constituents are proteins - the haemoglobin of the red blood cells, which transports oxygen to cells throughout the body; proteins that transport nutrients in the bloodstream; and albumin which aids in maintaining the proper balance between acidity and alkalinity (referred to as pH) as well as fluid balance. Also, plasma contains both fat and protein, and the making of neurotransmitters requires protein. The bone’s basic rubbery inner structure and bone marrow contain protein. Proteins also help to form hormones, which have such diverse functions as regulating growth, sexual maturation, reproductive cycles, pregnancy and lactation, plus a host of other functions.

Although proteins are ‘building blocks’, they may also be used to produce some energy, but only when adequate amounts of carbohydrates are not available. In brief, proteins serve these main functions:

• The development and repair of tissues;

• The transport of oxygen and other nutrients;

• The manufacture of enzymes and hormones;

• The provision of some energy under certain circumstances;

• Aiding in the formation of blood clots;

• The maintenance of normal pH and fluid balance;

• The making of enzymes, which are specialized worker proteins that do particular jobs, such as digesting food and dividing or assembling molecules to make new cell and chemical substances.

• The provision of necessary nitrogen and carbon; the former for the manufacture of nitrogenous compounds, and the latter, as a central structure for glucose (when necessary); also, the provision of certain of the 'non-essential' amino acids synthesized by the body.

Most people seem to be aware of the importance of protein in their diets, but are less certain of what proteins actually do in the body or how much protein is required. Furthermore, against all evidence, they labour under the widespread delusion that only animal proteins can give them energy, strength, and even superior mental power! Yes, protein is the ‘body builder’ par excellence. However, this doesn’t mean that, just because all the parts of the body are built mainly out of protein, we should be primarily feeding on this nutrient. Here some athletes will say: “But surely we need more protein.” In a 1978 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association  - Department of Food and Nutrition - it was stated that “...... athletes need the same amount of protein foods as non-athletes. Protein does not increase strength. Indeed, it often takes greater energy to digest and metabolize an excess of protein. In addition, excess of protein in athletes can induce dehydration, loss of appetite, and diarrhoea.” (In fact, as we will see shortly, protein excess - especially animal protein -  can cause far worse health problems than just loss of appetite and diarrhoea!) In any case, as I have already said earlier in this book, knowledgeable athletes are very well aware of the fact that, if strenuous physical activity is anticipated, it is necessary to increase only the carbohydrate intake - and this is exactly what most athletes normally do, especially before all sport competitions. That is, they don’t binge on steaks, bacon and eggs, nor do they gulp down cows’ milk. No, just before any sport event, well-informed athletes greatly increase their intake of, for example, bananas, dates and figs, natural fruit juices, bee pollen, organic, unprocessed honey, and other energy-giving carbohydrates. What most people ignore is that the effects of energy don’t show themselves until the absorption of food from the intestines. A breakfast of fruit and fruit juices, for example, is absorbed in about forty minutes to an hour. By striking contrast, the unhealthy traditional Western breakfast of bacon and eggs, cereal with cows’ milk, or meat and potatoes (apart from being ill-combined) all but forces the digestive system to work for many hours spending its energy! Obviously, when energy is wasted on the process of digesting food, it cannot be used for sport, work, or other activities.

Although there is some disagreement as to the exact amount of protein required daily, it is conceded that pregnant women, nursing mothers, babies, growing children, adolescents, and persons recovering from illnesses require additional dietary proteins. Men also require more protein than women. There is also some disagreement about whether persons who do hard physical labour require more protein than others. Based on nitrogen loss (which some regard as a less than satisfactory way to measure protein consumption and protein needs), there would appear to be little need for such extra proteins. People of any age, who perform heavy manual work, or wish to build extra-muscular bodies, may need a higher supply of protein than do average persons. As a rule of thumb, young people who are still growing, or whoever wish to build more muscle is likely to need more protein than other people. Speaking analogically, protein can be compared with the bricks and cement used to build a house, for example. But, after this house has been built, bricks, cement, or other basic building materials are no longer needed unless, for some reason/s, this house needs to be repaired or extended. Although we are not houses, this comparison is quite sound. As previously mentioned, during sport training periods there may be a greater need for proteins, as increased muscle mass is accumulated with exercise. However, protein overload past these needs is of doubtful value and may even be harmful. In fact, especially in the so-called advanced countries, the great majority of degenerative diseases are the result of too much animal protein consumption, not lack of it! (Further on, I will examine the very strong link between the daily consumption, by some athletes, of very high amounts of animal-based protein and their premature death by heart failure.)

Above, we have seen how important protein really is. Having said that, I don’t wish to give the impression it is all right to overeat protein-rich foods, as long as it is plant protein. Certainly, for many reasons, raw plant protein foods are much better than the processed and cooked animal protein. Be that as it may, the daily ingestion of too much beans and grains protein, for example, can cause various health problems. Having said all that, let’s see why it is very unhealthy to consume a high amount of animal-derived protein (especially meat, processed cows’ milk, and shop eggs) on an ongoing daily basis. As I have already said in the previous chapter, animal-derived protein is still called ‘first class’ protein while in fact it is very much second class and second hand. (It may have escaped some people’s attention, but cows and other herbivores get their first class protein from plant sources, not from other animals like carnivores and omnivores do.) As we have already learned in great detail in chapter two, our physiological and anatomical characteristics are a clear indication that we were never meant to feed on animal-derived foods. Meat, for example, is bad enough for us even when it comes from wild game or organic farms, let alone when we buy it from the butcher’s shop or supermarket! This is because, commercial red meat, for example, is loaded with many toxic additives. Meat is rotting animal flesh, and as such it would stink to high heaven, but for the addition of a large number of preservative chemicals. Also, drugs such as arsenic, stilbesterol and penicillin, which are often fed to animals, deposit in their muscles. (Stilbesterol has been shown to cause cancer, heart failure and reduced sex-drive in males.) Commercial meat contains a high level of pesticides, which is caused by intensive chemical spraying. Furthermore, animals are affected by many diseases, which naturally are passed to meat eaters. For example, there are as many as twenty-six diseases, which we could contract from poultry alone! As doctor of science, Norman W. Walker (already mentioned a few times in past chapters) correctly wrote: “The majority of people, including those who really should know better, still insist that the human body needs meat as an essential part of diet. In the first place the meat is poisoned when the animal is slaughtered, because of the poisons flowing into the animal’s bloodstream from the Adrenal glands through the terrified fear of the killing. In the second place such meat is a dead product deteriorating every second after the death of the animal. In addition, the meat and amino acids are still further destroyed by the heat in cooking”. (Having managed to reach his 109^th birthday on a mainly raw vegan diet, Dr Walker’s warning words about the consumption of high amounts of animal protein should be taken seriously!)

Above we have listed the beneficial properties and uses of protein, let’s now examine the main harmful effects of protein overload in general and animal-derived protein in particular:

• Concomitant low carbohydrates, leading to muscle breakdown and release of myoglobin into the bloodstream, resulting in loss of storage protein for the muscles.

• Ketosis (an abnormally elevated concentration of ketone (acetone) in body tissues and fluids) and dehydration due to low carbohydrate intake and increased urination.

• Iron loss because myoglobin contains iron.

• Calcium loss caused by the ongoing ingestion of animal foods, especially meat and processed cows’ milk. Being highly acid-forming, these foods force the body to withdraw calcium (and some magnesium) from the bones in order to restore alkalinity.

• Enlarged liver because the liver must work harder to ‘deaminize’ (remove) the excessive amounts of amino acids.

• Enlarged kidneys because of the extra work required to clear large amounts of urea from the blood. The large quantities of urea are formed in converting the ammonia (a toxic substance) formed during deaminization to a substance (urea) capable of being carried away from the body by the kidneys. (An  inflammation of the kidneys has been noted in some animals with a high-protein diet.) It should be mentioned that gout can result with high urea levels in some people in whom urea is converted to uric acid.

• Low dietary fibre is characteristic of high-protein diets, and dietary fibre appears to play an important role in digestion and healthy intestines.

• Possible excessive cell turnover. It has been suggested that very high amino acid levels in the blood may increase cell protein turnover and that this heightened metabolic rate causes cells to age faster

Although unpublicised, worldwide statistics have clearly shown that there is an undeniable positive correlation between the high consumption of animal-derived protein and the incidence of degenerative disease. And the American people, in particular, offer the best proof of this fact. Here are the statistics:

• 82% of American adults have at least one risk factor for heart disease.

• 81% of Americans take at least one medication during any given week.

• 50% of Americans take at least one prescription drug during any given week.

• 1 in  2 men and 1 in 2 women will get cancer in their lifetimes. Every 2.5 seconds someone is diagnosed with cancer, and every 4 seconds someone dies from cancer.

• 65% of American adults are overweight.

• 31% of American adults are obese.

• Roughly one in three youths in America (ages six to nineteen) is already overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.

• About 105 million American adults have dangerously high cholesterol levels (defined as 200 mg/dl. or higher - heart-safe cholesterol level is under 150 mg/dl.)

• About 50 million Americans have high blood pressure.

• Over 63 million American adults have pain in the lower back (considerably related to circulation and excess body weight, both influenced by diet and aggravated by physical inactivity) during any given three-month period.

• Over 33 million American adults have a migraine or severe headache during any given three-month period.

• 23 million Americans had heart disease in 2001.

• At least 16 million Americans have diabetes.

• Over 700,000 Americans died from heart disease in 2000.

• Over 550,000 Americans died from cancer in 2000.

• Over 280,000 Americans died from cerebro-vascular diseases (stroke), diabetes or Alzheimer’s in 2000.

Many recent studies and statistics show that the incidence of degenerative diseases in the United States has substantially increased since the above data was compiled.

The unquestionable positive correlation between high animal flesh consumption and the incidence of degenerative diseases was masterly expressed by Neal D. Barnard, M.D., President of the Physician Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington D.C. Dr Barnard wrote: “The beef industry has contributed to more American deaths than all the wars of this century, all natural disasters, and all automobile accidents combined. If beef is your idea of ‘real food’ for ‘real people’, you’d better live close to a real good hospital”. By ignoring the warnings of Plato and others, Americans have, as Seneca put it, “anticipated death.” Starvation, poor sanitation and infectious illnesses, symbols of impoverishment, have been substantially reduced in the so-called advanced countries. However, never before have such large percentages of people died from diseases of “affluence”, not only in the U.S. but also in other countries, especially Western ones. This is the affluence that Socrates predicted so long ago  - a society wrestling with the problems caused by people living luxuriously and binging on meat. Dr T. Colin Campbell describes this poor health situation thus: “Our country population, which numbers almost 300 million people is sick. Never before have so many people suffered such high levels of obesity and diabetes. Never before has the financial strain of health care distressed every sector of our society, from business to education to government to everyday families with inadequate insurance”. (For those interested, the main diseases of affluence are: cancer (colon, lung, breast, leukaemia, childhood brain, stomach, liver), diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer, and coronary heart diseases.) Here it is significant and interesting to note that these degenerative illnesses, as well as others, are primarily the result of people’s daily consumption of cooked animal flesh, processed cows’ milk and other dairy products, as well as sugar and sugar-loaded foods. Various worldwide studies (especially the China Study), research, and statistics have more than convincingly attested to this fact!

As already explained above, it is true that proteins are essential for blood vessels, skin, bones, muscles, cartilages, hair, lymph, digestion, enzymes, antibodies, and more. However, this doesn’t mean that they have to be animal-derived proteins - far from it! Also, although plant-derived proteins are, for many reasons, much healthier than their animal-derived counterparts, they should be consume in moderation, just like any other nutrient, as a daily overconsumption of any type of protein will sooner or later play havoc with our health! Speaking figuratively, we are all ‘sitting ducks’ awaiting to be ‘taken a shot at’ by one or more of the degenerative diseases which are so common in today’s over-polluted and nutritionally misguided world. A world where so many of those who run it are much more concerned with their financial gain than with people’s health and welfare, and the vitally important protection and preservation of the natural environment. Yes, when it comes to preventing today’s diseases, we are truly on our own; therefore it is up to us to do our best to minimize our chance of contracting any of them. As Dr T. C. Campbell wrote in his book The China Study: “The whole entire system  -  government, science, medicine, industry, and media promote profits over health, technology over food, and confusion over clarity”. Unfortunately, this distressing state of affairs isn’t only typical of the U.S., but in most other countries as well!

     This commercial slogan used, by the meat industry in Australia, was quickly changed by meat eating opponents into “Feed the Man a Heart Attack!” The warning that eating meat on a daily basis greatly increases the chances of contracting cardiovascular diseases is solidly based on fact! William C. Roberts, M.D., Editor of the American Journal of Cardiology wrote: “When we kill animals to eat them, they end up killing us because their flesh was never intended for human beings”. That’s right! People who eat animal flesh on a daily basis -  be it beef, pork, poultry, or fish, are breaking Nature’s nutrition and health laws. And as we have already seen above, sooner or later they will have to pay a high price for this transgression. The late Dr Robert Atkins -  a well-known proponent of ‘eat as much meat and fat as you want’ died prematurely of a heart attack after putting into practice what he preached. The Atkins Diet became very popular in the U.S.  -  no wonder more Americans die of heart-related diseases than from any other illnesses! Here, I am not saying that a high animal protein diet is the only cause of all cardiovascular illnesses  -  but it is certainly the number one cause! Unfortunately, cardiovascular illnesses are not the only ones caused by eating animal flesh. In fact, statistically, there also exist a positive correlation between the daily intake of animal-derived protein and degenerative diseases such as most cancers, osteoporosis, diabetes, arthritis, kidney problems, obesity, male sexual impotency, and Alzheimer’s disease. Adding processed cows’ milk and other dairy products, as well as sugar and sugar-riddled foods and drinks to an already high animal-based protein diet, will certainly spell disaster for our health! The two major reasons why red meat in particular is highly harmful to our health is its very high acidity and inflammatory properties. For example, many reliable studies have proven that cancer and other degenerative illnesses thrive in an acidic bodily environment.

In his authoritative book Nature’s Cancer-Fighting Foods, nationally known American health educator, Verne Varona, relates the following true story: “When I was in my twenties, I went to a famous West Coast bodybuilders’ gym for an evaluation. The owner, a well-known Italian-American muscle man, looked at my thin body and said: “If you want muscles, ya’ gonna haf’ to eat a lotta meat”. These are words of irony from a man of perfect-appearing proportions, but died while still young of colon cancer! To be sure, a daily high intake of animal protein will give us plenty of muscle but, when we are ‘six-feet under’, muscle is quite useless! Of course, some people will say this was just an one-off case, a coincidence; but what follows clearly shows that it wasn’t. Many people must have heard of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) – now known as World Championship Entertainment (WCE). For those who haven’t, It is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company that deals primarily in professional wrestling. This kind of wrestling is about 60 per cent sport and 40 per cent entertainment. Be that as it may, if we want to see some of the largest, tallest, and most muscular men (and a few women) in the world, the WWF is certainly the right place. There is no doubt these wrestlers developed their exceptional physique by consuming a very large amount of animal-derived proteins - especially from red meat, cow’s milk, and eggs. Surely, big muscle can be obtained from plant-derived foods as well but not as fast and, may be, quickly or as impressively. But like in the case of the famous bodybuilder mentioned above, a large number of wrestlers died of heart attack when still in their twenties, thirties, and forties. No doubt if they had lived longer, they would have contracted cancer (especially of the bowel and prostate) or other degenerative diseases. Below is a partial list of some of the most popular WWF wrestlers who died of heart failure from 1985 to 2013:

Rick McGraw (30), Eddie Gilbert (33), Garry Albright (34), Brian Pillman (35), Eddie Guerrero (38), Bertha Faye (40), Jeep Swenson (40), Bill Joe Travis (40), Larry Cameron (41), Andre’ The Giant (46), Mike Davis (46), Dick Murdock (49), Ted Petty (49), Richard Rood (42), Terry Gordy (40), Rhonda Singh (40), Ray Traylor (42), John Kronus (38), Bruce Woyan (32), Rodney Agatupo Anoa’i (34), Jerry Tuite (36), Benny MacGuire (54), Shayne Bower (42), Michael Hegstrand (46). Lance Cade (29), Randy Savage (58), Mitsuharu Misawa (46), Brian Adams (43), Raymond Fernandez (48), Moondog Spot (51), The Grand Wizard (54), Gorgeous George (48), Larry Cameron (41), Davey Boy Smith (39), Paul Bearer (58), Bastion Booger (53), Art Barr (28), Skull Murphy (39), Argentina Apollo (46), El Solitario (40), Leroy Brown (38), Missouri Maula (45), Neil Superior (33), Chief Dave Foxx (44), Ken Timbs (53), Chad J. Floyd (37), Victor Mar (51), Antonio Pena (57), Mephist Lephanto (31), Russ Haas (27), Steven Romero (30), Eki Fatu (36), Michael DiBiase (46), Ultimate Warrior (54).

Apart from the above-mentioned wrestlers, the following bodybuilders also died from heart failure:

Mike Mentzer (49), Jesse Marunde (27), Art Atwood (38), Don Youngblood (51), Andreas Muenzer (31), Robert Benavente (30), Charles Durr (44), Edward Kawak (47), Derrick Whitsett (49), Edward Kowak (47), Rob Sager (29), Wall Bell (48), Greg Kovacs (35). This is also a partial list.

These wrestlers and bodybuilders must have spent many hours a day exercising their muscles in order to obtain ‘Mr Universe’ type of bodies. But building super muscles is not what Nature meant humans to do. However, this is not what has sent these athletes to an early grave, but the fact they must have gorged themselves with cooked meat and eggs, and gulped down a large quantity of processed cows’ milk. What surprised me is not the fact they died prematurely, but that they didn’t die much earlier! Older weightlifters are also famous for dying early and for having terrible health after the age of about 40 years with high diseases rates of all kinds. Moderate and regular physical exercise is important but only when it complements a natural, healthy daily diet and lifestyle! However, when it comes to protecting our health, ‘internal’ exercise -  which improve the functioning of our vital organs - is much more important! That is, although it doesn’t produce big muscles, it keeps us healthy and extends our lifespan. Needless to say, even internal exercises are of little use unless we eat right! There is no doubt that, from the health point of view, people’s daily diet is the most important factor in their lives. Speaking hypothetically, if I had only two choices: a) smoking five to 10  cigarettes a day but eating a healthy diet; or b)  not smoking at all but eating the unnatural, unhealthy Western diet, I wouldn’t hesitate to choose the former. This is because, as bad as tobacco smoking is, a daily diet rich in animal flesh, processed cow’s milk, sugar, and starches is much worse! There are three groups of foods the great majority of people worldwide love: meat, milk, and sugar  -  but, unfortunately they don’t love us! Cancer cells, for example, love and thrive on meat and meat-derived foods, cows’ milk and other dairy products, as well as sugar and sugar-riddled foods and drinks. Much worldwide health and nutrition research has concluded that a daily diet rich of these foods is not only responsible for the cancer epidemic, but almost all other degenerative illnesses which afflict so many people, especially in the Western world. In a nutshell, health and longevity is strongly linked to our diet and lifestyle!

One of the hard-to-die myths and misconceptions about eating animal flesh is that it gives energy and strength. In Nature, the strongest, more powerful animals on Earth, such as horses, elephants, rhinoceros, water buffalos, oxen, and gorillas are all strictly vegetarian. These animals have also the greatest endurance and live the longest. A lion, for example, is a strong and ferocious animal but he cannot run like a horse, perform heavy work like an oxen or water buffalo, pull heavy loads even for short distances, or possess the tremendous physical power of an elephant. In fact, but for their strong claws and canine teeth, lions (just like tigers and other large carnivores) would be no more dangerous to people than cows or horses. Unlike herbivore animals, lions spend much of their time resting or sleeping. Herbivore animals as, for example, the Cape Buffalo (who have been known to kill lions) are considered among the three most dangerous animals in Africa; the carnivore crocodile and the plant-eating hippopotamus are the other two. The latter can snap the carnivore crocodile in two. The vegan rhinoceros is another powerful animal who fears no predators but men. Let’s not forget our cousin, the silverback gorilla, who can easily pick up a 80 kilograms man and toss him many meters away. This mighty animal, who is physiologically very similar to humans, is primarily a frugivore. Occasionally, when grasses, green shoots, are in short supply, gorillas have been known to feed on grubs and caterpillars, but no more than 2-3% of their diet. Elephants, whose basic food consists of leafy matter, grass, and fruit, are the strongest and most powerful land animal on Earth, and have been used for many centuries for their strength and endurance.

For centuries people laboured under the nutritional delusion that meat was a food of primary importance, especially for athletes. In fact, the nineteenth-century German chemist, J. von Liebig, came up with the wrong idea that energy for all muscle movements came from protein; but by the middle of this century, most scientists realized that the primary fuels for all physical activities were in fact carbohydrates and fats - not protein. One of these enlightened scientists was Professor Irving Fisher, Yale University - 1906, whose studies led him to believe that a plant-based diet was superior to the standard meat-rich American diet. Unfortunately for people’s health, the meat, dairy industries, governments, and health establishments have always done everything in their power to suppress this nutrition and health fact. Their pro-meat and milk propaganda has worked very well, as even today the majority of people, especially in the West, still believe in this lie. However, nutrition-literate athletes don’t gorge themselves with meat, eggs and cows’ milk just before and during an important sport event, but bee pollen, organic, straight from the hive raw honey, squeezed fruit and vegetable juices and other foods and beverage rich in vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. This makes perfect sense, as energy, comes from fats and carbohydrates found in plant-derived foods, not from animal protein. As American nutrition and health guru, Harvey Diamond put it in his Fit For Life book: “Proteins are disastrous in fuel efficiency and do not aid directly or efficiently in muscular activity. Protein does not produce energy, it uses it! A lion, which eat exclusively flesh, sleeps twenty hours a day. An orang-utan, who eats exclusively plants, sleeps six.” Here it should be understood that only raw foods can supply the greatest amount of energy, as the process of cooking destroys most vitamins, some minerals, and all enzymes. (More will be said about this topic in a next chapter).

As early as the late 1890s and early 1900s, the following remarkable athletic feats were performed by vegetarians:

• To aid their cause, vegetarians of the mid-to-late-1800s sought to prove, through excellence in endurance exercise, the superiority of a plant-based diet. In the 1890s the London Vegetarian Society formed an athletic and cycling club that did amazingly well, outperforming its carnivorous competitors.

• In 1896, James Parsley led the Vegetarian Cycling Club to easy victory over two regular clubs. A week later, he won the most prestigious hill-climbing race in England, breaking the hill record by nearly a minute; other members of the club also turned in remarkable performances.

• American vegetarian cyclists also demonstrated their abilities. Will Brown, who in the 1890s switched to a vegetarian diet for health reasons, went on to thrash all records for the 2,000-mile bicycle race. Margarita Gast established a women's record for 1,000 miles on a vegetarian diet. Other vegetarian athletes joined in the foray.

• Long-distance-walking races were also very popular in the 1890s, and were regarded then as the ultimate test of endurance. In the 1893 race from Berlin to Vienna, the first two competitors to cover the 372-mile course were vegetarians. A 100-Km race held several years later in Germany also attracted much attention, with 11 of the first 14 finishers being vegetarian. In 1912 the vegetarian Kolehmainen became one of the first men to complete the marathon in less than two minutes and 30 seconds. Other records were set by vegetarian swimmers, tennis players, and other athletes, including the West Ham Vegetarian Society's undefeated tug-of-war team.

A few simple early studies attempted to measure the ability of vegetarian athletes. A Belgian researcher carried out tests in 1904 on 25 students divided into vegetarian and meat-eating groups. For each he determined the endurance of the forearm muscles by measuring the maximum number of times each student could lift a weight on a pulley by squeezing a handle. The mean number of contractions for vegetarians was 69; for meat eaters it was 38.

Irving Fisher of Yale University in 1906 reported on his study involving Yale athletes trained on a full flesh diet, athletes who abstained from meat, and sedentary vegetarians (nurses and physicians from the Battle Creek Sanatorium). Each was tested to determine the maximum length of time that the arms could be held out horizontally. The maximum number of deep knee bends and leg raises was also measured. The final tally for all tests was heavily in favour of the vegetarians. In the horizontal arm hold test, only two of the 15 meat eaters were able to keep their arms held out more than 15 minutes, and none achieved a half hour. Of the vegetarians, however, 22 of 32 exceeded 15 minutes, 15 broke the 30-minute mark, nine broke 60 minutes, and one surpassed three hours.

More recently, many researchers have focused on the abilities of peoples who eat a vegetarian, or near-vegetarian diet. For example, in the high plateaus of the Sierra Madre Mountains in Northern Mexico, there’s a tribe of exceptional endurance runners known as the Tarahumara. They call themselves the Rarámuri, or “running people,” and, in fact, long distance running is a part of who they are. The Tarahumaras organise ultra long distance runs, in which teams are competing for a ball which they kick forward on mountain paths; they run continuously for 24 to 48 hours achieving 150 to 300 km. The Tarahumara Indians main nutrition is maize, beans and pumpkin, wild plants and some sweet water fish. Meat is only eaten occasionally at special ceremonies. These Tarahumara super-athletes have made a total mockery of even the very best marathon records of all time. They have also debunked the absurd and moronic misconception that athletes need to binge on animal flesh and gulp down cows’ milk! In fact, the unpalatable truth is that, in the West in particular, athletic exploits occur despite the daily high ingestion of animal protein foods, not because of them! As we have already seen above, many wrestlers and bodybuilders have died when still young, and so have long-distance runners and other hard sport athletes. To be sure, they got their highly muscular bodies, as well as won many records; but these achievements are quite useless when ‘six feet under’!

In the more recent past, or present time, the following vegetarian and vegan athletes have obtained (and continue to obtain) outstanding results:

Murray Rose (Australia), 1956 and 1960, Olympic swimmer, winner of six medals; .Peter Hussing (Germany), 1979, European amateur boxing champion, superheavy weight class; Ingra Manecke (Germany), champion discus throwing from 1977 until 1982; Chris Evert USA), world class tennis champion; Dave Scott recognized as the greatest triathlete in the world, won 4 times the legendary Haways Ironman Triathlon; Peter Hussing (Germany), 1979, European amateur boxing champion, superheavy weight; ‘Olympian of the Century’ Carl Lewis - an acclaimed sprinter and long jumper, and winner of ten Olympic medals;  tennis stars Venus & Serena Williams; Austin Aries, professional wrestler; Surya Bonaly, French Olympic figure skater; ‘Mr Europe’ and ‘Mr Universe’ Andreas Cahling (Sweden), 1980, champion body builder and holder of many records;    Chris Evert (USA),  world class tennis champion in the 1980s;  Chris Campbell, Olympic medalist in wrestling; Surya Bonaly - French-American figure skater, and winner of many medals (including five gold medals) in the 1990’s;  Desmond Howard, ‘Heisman Trophy’ winner and professional football player;  Billie Jean King, tennis champion;  Murray Rose, great Australian swimmer champion; Bill Manetti, power-lifting champion;  Martina Navratilova, tennis champion;  Paavo Nurmi, long-distance runner with 20 world records; Bill Pearl, four-time Mr Universe;  Dave Scott, six-time triathlon winner; former ‘Mr America’ Jim Morris, holder of many bodybuilder records;  four-time ‘Mr Universe’ Bill Pearl; Olympic medallist in wrestling Bill Campbell;  professional football player Roger Brown; Edwin Moses (USA), world record holder, Olympic Champion, 400m hurdles, went eight years without losing a race;  tennis champion Billie Jean King; Henry (Hank) Aaron, Major League baseball player;  Roger Brown, professional football player; Kenneth Williams, America's first vegan bodybuilding champion;  Ricardo Moreira, vegan fighter; Jake Shields, lifelong vegetarian mixed martial art champion with a record of 24 wins;  Robert Cheeke, bodybuilder;  Joe Walsh, vegetarian weightlifter winner of many trophies; bodybuilder Joel Kirkilis;  tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams; two-time Olympian Seba Johnson (a vegan since birth); Patrick Baboumian , strong man competitor, former bodybuilder; Brendan Brazier, Canadian triathlete; Timothy Bradley, professional boxer; Mac Danzig, mixed martial arts fighter; Luke Cummo, mixed martial artist; Brian Danielson, professional wrestler; Step Davies, professional rock climber; Dwayne Rosario, Canadian footballer; John Fitch, professional mixed martial arts fighter; Adrian Foster, NFL footballer; Scott Jurek, runner;  Ed Tempton, professional skateboarder; Mike Tyson, boxer; Ultramantis Black, professional wrestler; the “Great Kali”, gigantic ECW wrestler; Lizzie Armistead (U.K.), cyclist winner of Olympic medal in 2008; Dylan Wykes -  one of the best distance runner Canada has ever produced; Debbi Lawrence - three time race walking Olympian;  Bode Miller, U.S. Skier winner of five Olympic medals; Ronda Rousey - current number one in the pound-for-pound female mixed martial arts fighter in the world;  Charlene Wong - Charlene Wong is a very accomplished figure skater, winning four silver medals at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships; Hannah Teter - talented American snowboarder, and medal winner in the last two Olympic games; Alexey Voyevoda - Russian bobsledder (a mountain of a man) and a two-time Olympic medalist.

The above lists are by no means complete. This is mainly because of the unwillingness of the establishment to admit the superiority of a plant-based diet. As a result, many worldwide achievements accomplished by vegetarian and vegan athletes have been deliberately ignored. Be that as it may, although incomplete, these lists clearly shows how idiotic (to say the least) is the belief that athletes need a daily diet of animal-derived proteins!

Vegetarian (and much better still) raw food vegan diets are not just the paradigm of healthy living, but have been (and are) enjoyed by some of the fittest people on our planet. In fact, it isn’t only possible, but a proven fact, that any athlete can reach the highest level excellence while remaining a strict vegetarian!

A widespread asinine claim is that people who feed on dead animal flesh are intellectually superior to ovo-lacto vegetarians - and especially to vegans. The notion that ‘intelligence is the product of predatory cunning’ is also groundless and absurd. Some anthropologists are telling us that the human brain began really to evolve after primitive man started hunting animals for food. But, using a club, a spear, a bow, or a gun, doesn’t require much intelligence or skill, cultivating land and building homes and roads certainly does! Clearly, the propagators of and believers in this moronic myth are blissfully unaware that the brain of both humans and other animals ‘run’ on glucose and oxygen, not on animal protein or fat. In other words, the brain uses only one nutrient: sugar in the form of glucose (a carbohydrate), which is taken from the bloodstream to meet its needs. Incidentally, the brain is 78% water, 10% fat, and only 12% of it contains protein, which is required for the making of neurotransmitters.

The ridiculous written slogan seen in some butcher shops, stating that ‘meat is food for the brain’, couldn’t be more removed from nutritional truths and facts, as our brain doesn’t requires beef, poultry, pork, fish, eggs, and milk, but only glucose and oxygen. The notion that the brain needs a daily supply of nutrients, which are found exclusively in animal-derived foods, is nonsense! In fact, throughout history, many of the world`s greatest philosophers, writers, scientists, artists, spiritual leaders, and teachers have been adherents and/or enthusiastic supporters of vegetarianism.

It isn’t clear whether the great Leonardo Da Vinci was a strict vegetarian, a vegan, or ate eggs and milk products. One thing is certain, however, he was both a very strong man, and one of the greatest geniuses of all times! In fact, when it comes to multiple genius, Leonardo Da Vinci has no rivals in the whole history of mankind, as he was a great painter and sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, botanist, cartographer, and writer! Some other illustrious vegetarians and vegans of the remote and more recent past were: Buddha, Confucius, Aristoteles, Diogenes, Plato, Socrates, Epicurus, Pythagoras, Plutarch, Seneca, Porphyry, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Voltaire, John Milton, Thomas Edison, George Macilwain, John Milton, Percy B. Shelley, R.W. Emerson, Benjamin Franklin, Henry David Thoreau, John Wesley, Alexander Pope, Albert Schweitzer, Graham Sylvester, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, George Bernard Shaw, Leon Tolstoy, Gustave Flaubert, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Mark Twain, Jeremy, William Blake, Henry S. Salt, Gompertz Lewis,  Leon Tolstoy, Ellen G. White, Jeremy Bentham, Louisa May Alcott, Charlotte Bronte, Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, H.G. Wells, Sir C.V. Raman, Nikola Tesla, Shrinivasa Ramanujan, Kellogg, John Harvey,  Franz Kafka,  Peretz, Isaac Lieb, Thoreau, Henry David,  Herbert Shelton,  Jiddu Khrishnamurti, Alan Watts, N. W. Walker, Agnon Shmuel Yosef, Isaac Bashevis Singer,  Yehudi Menuhin.  

Even in our present time (2014), there is no lack of illustrious vegetarians and vegans: a few of the most famous of them being:

Dr Dean Ornish, Professor of Medicine at the University of California; Stephen Best, philosopher; T. Colin Campbell, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry at Cornel University; Patrick O’ Brown, biochemist; George M. Church, scientist; Michael C. Dorf, Cornell law professor and author; Stevan Harnad, Canada Research Chair in cognitive sciences; James E. Mac Williams, author, professor; David Pearce, British independent philosopher who maintains it is imperative for humans to work towards the abolition of suffering in all sentient life;  Brian Greene, theoretical physicist; Dr Benjamin Spock, M.D. pediatrician; Dee Pack Chopra, author and doctor; Henry Judah Heimlich, famous thoracic surgeon; Edward Witten, American theoretical physicist and professor of mathematical physics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton;  Chandrashekar Subrahmanyam (Nobel prize-winning astrophysicist – 1983;  Alan Calverd, British physicist; Dr Marcel Hebbelinck, Ph D., F.A.C.S.M., Professor at the ‘Free University’ of Brussels; Tom Regan - philosopher, professor emeritus of philosophy at North Caroline State University. (The majority of these illustrious professionals are in fact vegans.)

The complete list of the recent past and present vegetarian and vegan writers, singers, TV personalities, dancers, musicians, actors, comedians, and general entertainers is too long to be shown in this essay. However, these few names should suffice:

Bryan Adams, Maxine Andrews, Madonna, Bob Barker, Kim Basinger, Jeff Beck, Cindy Blum, David Bowie, Elton John, Dustin Hoffman, Boy George, Peter Falk, Olivia Newton-John, Paul and Linda McCartney, Tina Turner, Dennis Weaver, Linda Stoner, Lesley Ann Warren, Mick Jagger, Ellen Burstyn, Skeeter Davies, Sara Gilbert, Elliot Gould, Richie Havens, Doug Henning, Chrissie Hynde, Casey Kasem, Cloris Leachman, Annie Lennox, Catherine Malfitano, Steve Martin, Kevin Nealon, Stevie Nicks, Martha Plympton, Bonnie Raitt, Phylicia Rashad, Tony Robbins, Fred Rogers, Todd Rundgren, Grace Slick, Leigh Taylor-Young, John Tesh, Cicely Tyson, Lindsay Wagner, Leslie Ann Warren, Dennis Weaver, Alicia Silverstone, Tobey Maguire, Bryan Adam, Pamela Anderson, Chad Ackerman, Erykah Badu, Bethany Black, Russell Brand, Portia de Rossi, Tonya Kay, Avril Lavigne, Andre Matos, Lea Michele, Sinead O’Connor, Prince, Belinda Stronach, Ringo Starr, Roger Hodgson, Claudia Schiffer, Claudia Cardinale, Joanna Lumley, Dario Argento, Gianni Morandi, Adriano Celentano, Brigitte Bardot.

Located in a historical and scenic valley, Vilcabamba (a village in the southern region of Ecuador) has become a popular destination for tourists, in part because it is widely believed that its inhabitants grow to a very old age. Locals assert that it is not uncommon to see a person reach 100 years of age and it is claimed that many have gotten to 120, even up to 135, which would make it an area with the oldest inhabitants in the world. It is often called the Valley of Longevity. In 1973, physician and research scientist, Dr Alexander Leaf, visited Vilcabamba, and was astonished to find out that its inhabitants did really live to be ultra-centenarians and were still physically, mentally, and sexually active! Although the Vilcabambas weren’t vegans, they ate mainly a very large variety of fruits, green vegetables, as well as potatoes, sweet potatoes, soybeans, yucca roots, corn. They also ate raw eggs, and some goat cheese and yogurt. Medical journalist, Dr Morton Walker, who also visited Vilcabamba, reported that during his stay there, the only obese person he saw was the major’s wife, who ran a Western-style food store! Dr Walker also reported he found no, or very few, degenerative illnesses in Vilcabamba. Dr. Guillermo Vela of Quito found a striking low caloric consumption also among the elderly of Vilcabamba. The average daily diet provided 1200 calories, with 35 grams of protein, 12 to 19 grams of fat and 200 to 260 grams of carbohydrates. Protein and fat were largely of vegetable origin.

Sula Benet, a professor of anthropology, who reported on her visit to Abkhasia, wrote: “Not long ago, in the village of Tanush in the former Soviet Republic of Abkasia, I raised my glass of wine to toast a man who looked no more than 70. “May you live as long as Moses (120 years)”, I said. He was not pleased. He was 119. With regard to health and fitness Dr. Benet observed that: “The Abkhasians usually have very good eyesight, and most have their own teeth; their posture is unusually erect, even into advanced age; many of the 70 and older take walks of several miles a day swim in mountain streams. Studies led by Soviet and foreign investigators showed that, in general signs of arteriosclerosis, when they occurred at all, were found only in extreme old age. There were no reported cases of either mental illness or cancer in a nine-year study of 123 Abkhasians over 100 years old. Overeating is considered dangerous in Abkhasia, and fat people are regarded as ill. The Abkhasion diet contains very little meat. At all three meals they eat abista, a corn meal mash cooked in water without salt, which takes the place of bread. Abista is eaten warm with pieces of home-made goat cheese tucked into it. They also consume two glasses of buttermilk a day. The other staples in the Abkhasion daily diet include fresh fruits, especially grapes, fresh vegetables, including onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and cabbage, a wide variety of pickled vegetables, and lima beans, cooked slowly for hours, mashed and served with a sauce of onions, peppers, garlic, pomegranate juice and pepper. Large quantities of garlic are always at hand. They drink neither coffee, nor tea, but they consume in small quantities a locally produced, dry red wine of low alcoholic content. Absent from their diet is sugar, though honey, a local product, is used”. In his book entitled Youth in Old Age, Dr Alexander Leaf wrote: “Most important, good dietary habits should be established in early life...and endurance exercises are most beneficial... If I can offer you no guaranteed formula of my own of how to obtain a long, vigorous healthy life, let me at least share with you the clue I received from Markhti Targil, age 104, of Duripshi in Abkhasia. Markhti told me that every morning as long as he can remember he walks down the steep hill to bath in the icy waters of a rapid mountain stream. After dressing he climbs back up the hill to his house. Surely any day Markhti can do that he must be too fit to die.”

 In a survey of the long living Hunza, Pakistani nutritionist Dr. Magsood Ali found that their almost vegetarian diet had a very low caloric intake of 1923 Calories with 50 grams of protein, 36 grams of fat and 354 grams of carbohydrate, meat and dairy products constituting only 1.5 percent of the total (cited in: Leaf, 1975). The diet of the Hunzas is mainly grain (wheat, barley and buckwheat), jobs tears and small seeds. Green vegetables (e.g., spinach and lettuce), root vegetables (e.g., carrots, turnips, potatoes, radishes) are eaten. Beans, chickpeas and other pulses such as lentils and sprouted pulses are part of their diet: they also eat marrows and pumpkins, as well as plenty of cottage cheese; their fruits are mainly wild apricots and berries, eaten fresh or sun-dried. Meat is eaten only on rare occasions.    

    Recently, It has been calculated that there are roughly 400 million vegetarians and 168 million vegans in the world but, unfortunately for their health, most of the former are ovo-lacto “vegetarians”. That is, they consume far too much processed cows’ milk and dairy products, as well as starchy and sugary foods; also, they cook most of what they eat. However, from an ethical and moral point of view, ovo-lacto vegetarians are a step above animal flesh eaters, but most of them don’t seem to realize that there is a great deal of ongoing cruelty in the production of commercial cows’ milk and its products, and the same can be said about shop eggs, wool, leather, fur, pearl, silk, etc. Briefly put, true vegans eat nothing from a mother and nothing with a face. Furthermore, they refrain from animal-tested products too, as much as they can.

Be that as it may, the oldest woman in China, the oldest man in India, Sri Lanka’s oldest man, the oldest man in the nation of Denmark, Britain’s oldest man, Japan’s okinawans, the oldest marathon endurance runner, the world’s biggest bodybuilder, the oldest confirmed man in history, the 2nd oldest confirmed woman Marie Louise Meilleur (and in effect oldest human to ever live on the planet) were all said to be vegetarians. However, sometimes vegans have also been classified as ‘vegetarians’.

Disregarding the ovo-lacto vegetarians (which I don’t consider to be real vegetarians) let’s now take a look to the following vegans, raw foodists, clinical ecologists, and natural hygienists of the present:

Florence Ready  - 101 year old raw food vegetarian centenarian. To this day (2014) she practices a 6-day-a-week aerobic exercise regimen. That’s right, this vegetarian food lover is over 100 years old and still doing aerobics 6 days a week. She mostly eats raw foods, including mainly fruits and vegetables.

Loreen Dinwiddie  - 108 year old Centenarian vegan - the oldest woman on record in Multnomah County and perhaps the oldest woman in her entire state. She follows a fully plant-based vegan diet. This vegan centenarian is in incredible fitness and health even at her near super-centenarian status.

Missi Devi - 105 year old Centenarian vegan. She followed the Jain lifestyle, which respects all animals. Jains follow “Ahimsa” in which they avoid even dairy in order not to inconvenience the cows, and try to eat mainly fruits and vegetables.

Mimi Kirk  - 71 years old - has been eating a vegetarian diet (then vegan, and now raw vegan) for 40 years now, and she recently won a "Sexiest Vegetarian over 50" award. Mimi is still fit, healthy, and beautiful, and says she wakes up everyday feeling 20!

Sunny Griffin  -  first vegan supermodel in the world, actress and long-time raw vegan. She came from an overweight family and was always sick as a young woman, but after finding raw foods, she never again had problems controlling her weight or staying healthy. Now at 70 years old, the owner of her own raw cosmetics company, Sunny says: "If you want to look good in your 70s and 80s, start in your 20s! For me, eating raw was like hitting the sweet spot on a tennis racket. I never felt better in my life. Everything felt great, I felt full of energy, my skin glowed, my eyes got clear. It really worked wonderfully for me."

A relatively large number of successful sportspeople worldwide are turning vegan. While their reason/s for taking this path may be motivated by ethics, morality, health and longevity, the desire to reduce the negative environmental impact, and/or other reasons, they have one basic similarity. That is, they have proved that athletic excellence and veganism often go hand in hand. Myths and misconceptions, that state that ‘it is not possible to be a vegan and be successful in sport’, are still plentiful! These myths have no scientific foundation whatsoever. Their basis is primarily based on abysmal ignorance of our biological, biochemical, anatomical and, above all, physiological features. This widespread ignorance, is often fostered by governments, meat and milk industries, othodox medical science, the mass media, and most educational institutions. Despite all that, vegan athletes build muscle and endurance on plant sources and many of them go on to achieve great things. The performance of these athletes should be more than good enough to prove that veganism can and does enable excellence! A whole book could be written on this topic, but for the purpose of this chapter, the following partial list of contemporary vegan athletes should suffice

Alexander Dargatz, Amanda Riester, Andreas Hanni, Andy Lally, Arian Foster, Austin Aries, Bill McCarthy, Billy Simmonds, Brian Danielson, Brendan Brazier, Cam Awesome, Carl Lewis, Catherine Johnson, Catra Corbett, Christine Varderos, Craig Heath, Dalila Eshe, Denise Nicole, Dusan Dudas, Dustin Watten, David Zabriskie, Ed Templeton, Ellen Jaffe Jones, Emily Jans, Esther Hahn, Fiona Oakes, Georges Laraque, Greg Chappell, Harri Nieminem, Helen Fines, Henry Akins, Ida Andersson, Jack Lindquist, James Southwood, Jason Sager, Jim Morris, Joel Kirkilis, John Salley, Joni Purmonen, Kara Lang, Keith Holmes, Kenneth G. Williams, Kevin Selker, Laura Kline, Luke Cummo, Leilani Munter, Mac Danzig, Madi Serpico, Meagan Duhamel, Michael Zigomanis, Mike Mahler, Mirko Buchwald, Mo Bruno-Roy, Molly Cameron, Neil Robinson, Pat Neshek, Pat Reeves, Patrik Baboumian, Peter Ebdon, Peter Siddle, Rich Roll, Rob Bigwood, Robbie Hazeley, Robert Lichtenwalner, Robert dos Remedios, Ruth Heidrich, Salim Stoudamire, Sarah Stewart, Scott Jurek, Seba Johnson, Spencer Pumpelly, Steph Davis, Tony Fiametta, Vicki Cosio, Vlad Ixel, Weia Reinboud, Willie Austin, Yassine Diboun, Zak Covalcik.

Although not complete, this list is yet another proof that the “there are no true vegans athletes” myth is nothing but hogwash! Let’s now examine the lives of a few of these remarkable men and women:

Jim Morris  -  super-vegan. The 78-year-old Jim Morris - a vegan and a former bodybuilding champion and Mr America -  posed completely nude as Rodin’s iconic The Thinker statue to show off his still admirably firm body for a new PETA campaign. Morris’ example makes a very strong case for choosing a vegan diet and belies the notion that a balanced vegan diet cannot be healthy. “The protein in animal products is so laden with fats and chemicals and all sorts of stuff that’s harmful to you,” said Morris in a recent interview. “When I was competing and stuffing down all of that sort of stuff, I had lots of digestive problems. I was constipated and bloated, just miserable all the time. I don’t concern myself with protein anymore, because there is enough in what I eat. I am not only healthy, but I feel better about myself and how I relate to other creatures in the world. I know as a fact I would not be here and I would not be in this condition now had I continued eating the way I was.” Morris, who was also Elton John’s former bodyguard, became a vegetarian when he was 50 and a vegan 15 years later. In 1996, at the age of 61, he proudly ended his 30-year competitive career with a graceful victory in the class of those over 60. Apart from the Mr America, Mr USA, Best Muscular, Best Back, Best Chest, Best Abdominal, and Mr London Universe awards, Jim Morris won 18 other titles!

After more than six decades of eating animal flesh and drinking cows’ processed milk, Jim’s health greatly deteriorated. Here is how he describes his poor health nightmare: "In 1999 because of a nerve condition I consulted a cardiologist, neurologist, rheumatologist, hand specialist, acupuncturist, chiropractor and two pain specialists from Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Had a brain scan, an MRI of my neck, another of my entire spine, had an unnecessary carpal tunnel operation, suffered Vertigo from interaction of medications prescribed by several of the above and continued to have the problem. A friend got me in to see the Chief of Neurology at the Norton Hospital in the USC Medical Centre who advised me to try to endure the pain and the problem may clear up on its own, which it did. The horrific nightmare of an experience so terrified me that I determined to do everything in my power to never again fall into the clutches of the Pharmedical Industry products." When Jim became a vegetarian, in 1985, he stopped eating all animal flesh, and fifteen years later he stopped eating fish and all processed and refined foods. “It was only after I retired from competition in 1985 that I started considering my health and eliminated what I had over the years identified as the cause of my digestive, respiratory and joint problems, namely all animal sources: beef, fowl, dairy, pork and fish.” At age 78 - and on a diet of primarily fruit, vegetables, nuts, and beans  -  Jim says he has never felt better! (I, for one, fully agree with Jim Morris, as I also experienced various health problems before changing my unhealthy cooked, animal-based daily diet into a mainly raw, plant-based one.)

Patrick Baboumian  -  Patrik Baboumian (born 1 July 1979) is an Armenian-German strongman competitor, psychologist, and former bodybuilder. Born in Abadan, Iran, at the age of seven Baboumian, along with his mother and grandmother moved to Hattenhof, Germany. In 1999, aged 20, he won German Junior Bodybuilding title. He holds the world log lift record for under 105kg, with a 165kg lift, as well as the German heavyweight log lift record . His heaviest log lift is 190kg. In 2011 he won Germany's Strongest Man, 105kg category.  In 2012 he continued his success by winning the German log lift title for the fourth time in a row, and setting a keg lift world record (115 kg). He took the European Powerlifting title in Finland, and set a world record for fronthold by holding a 20kg weight for 86 seconds. In 2013, Patrik Baboumian rounded off a successful year with the first ever title of Vegan Athlete of the Year. The Iranian-born, German-based strongman has been competing with the world’s best in a strongman events and has shown amazing strength and set world records.

In 2013, Patrik set a world record in yoke walk by carrying a 550kg yoke for 10 metres at Toronto Veg Fest. After the amazing feat he told the audience: “This is a message to all those out there who think that you need animal products to be fit and strong. Almost two years after becoming vegan I am stronger than ever before and I am still improving day by day. Don't listen to those self proclaimed nutrition gurus and the supplement industry trying to tell you that you need meat, eggs and dairy to get enough protein. There are plenty of plant-based protein sources and your body is going to thank you for stopping feeding it with dead-food. Go vegan and feel the power!” Patrik has been vegetarian since 2005 and vegan since 2011. Originally, he did so for humanitarian reasons; as he put it: “I just found myself thinking that if I would have to kill the animals I ate with my own hands I couldn't because I was to compassionate. I felt that I was fooling myself eating meat considering my inability to kill an animal so I just thought I'd better be honest to myself and stop eating meat.”

Early this year (2014) he competed at FIBO, Europe’s largest fair dedicated to fitness and strength. Patrik was among the invitation-only competitors who included athletes placed second and third in World's Strongest Man and some of the biggest names in the sport. His performance beat all other Germans. He won the crucifix hold, and scored an impressive eight repetitions of the overhead lift of a 140kg log. Setting aside ethic and moral reasons, from a health point of view, Patrik Baboumian has certainly never regretted becoming a vegan!

Fiona Oakes  -  This English marathon runner is an incredible woman in more ways than one, and a credit to humankind! Fiona Oakes has made fantastic achievements in her running; this despite her incredibly busy lifestyle, which means that her training heavily competes with a number of other demands on her time and energy. Fiona works as a retained firefighter, a job which means she is often on call and needs to be ready to react quickly. She also works long hours on her animal sanctuary, which she runs almost by herself. The 400 animals she cares for include horses, pigs, sheep and dogs. She also fundraises for the sanctuary, for which the food bill is over £5000 per month, and for other animal needs. Fiona’s working days start before dawn and end around 8pm on her sanctuary in Essex, UK. If this weren’t demanding enough, this superwoman somehow manages to make more time during the day to fit in a training run. Fiona stopped eating meat at age 6 and became vegan as a teenager.

Fiona’s achievements as a professional marathon runner are so many that describing them all would fill up a whole book; however, for the purpose of this chapter this partial list will suffice:

• Fiona got 5th place in the Florence Marathon (2004), and 8th place in the Amsterdam Marathon (2007)

• In 2007, Fiona won 1st place in the Halstead Marathon, in which she broke the Essex County Champion Course Record (which had stood for 9 years) by 11 minutes.

• In June 2010 Fiona won the Rovaniemi (Finland) marathon, and in doing so set a world women's record for the fastest marathon ever inside the artic circle. In 2010, Fiona got 10th place in the Moscow Marathon. In the same year she won 1st place in the Santa Claus Marathon (Finland).

• Fiona won the 2011 Great North Run half marathon (Masses Race), winning the Levi International Marathon (Finland) in a course record of 2.58 in September 2011 - beating the old course record by 22 minutes. This was while wearing a backpack for training reasons.

• In 2011, Fiona entered the tough Dartmoor Marathon in training for a future event. She carried weight as part of her training, but still won the event by over 14 minutes

• Fiona got 1st place in the Dartmoor Vale Marathon in 2011; and in the same year she came first in the Ruska Marathon in Finland.

• Fiona has completed the 2012 Marathon des Sables, a 156 mile event across the sand dunes and rough terrain of the Sahara Desert. She faced extreme temperatures of 51 degrees Centigrade and suffered a broken foot days before the race began. Early on another entrant collapsed so Fiona dragged her to safety.

• In 2013, Fiona won 1st Place in the Isle of Man Marathon; and in the same year she took on the North Pole Marathon, in temperatures of -28 deg. Centigrade. She completed the event, won the women's race, came third to two male competitors and broke the women's course record by an amazing 45 minutes.

• Later in 2013, Fiona became the fastest woman ever to complete a marathon on all continents plus the North Pole. She also set the world record for the shortest aggregate time for those runs. As part of that marathon series she set the course record for the Antarctic Ice Marathon.

Early this year (2014), Fiona also attempted the Marathon des Sables again.

Cam Awesome (Lenroy Thompson) is a super heavyweight American amateur boxer with numerous titles. He was born in 1988, and became a vegan in 2012. “I started boxing in 2005”, he explained, “I wanted to lose weight and get into better shape.” Since then he has made great progress. At age 20 he won the 2008 USA National Championships in the Super Heavyweight division, which he repeated in 2010. He was the National Golden Gloves Champion in both 2009 and 2011, and in 2012 he became the Olympic Team Trials Super Heavyweight Champion. He fought in the National PAL Championships and won them all for three years (2009/10/11) and also won the Ringside Worlds Tournament in the same years

His performance in the World Tournament pitted him against the world’s best. Having beaten the Argentinean national champion he faced the world Number One and lost on a decision. The performance was said to be excellent and the scores were close. This lifted Cam to a ranking of 9th in the world.

National Champion Cam Awesome went to Spokane, USA to defend his superheavyweight boxing title at the end of January, 2013. In defending his title Cam faced Elvis Garcia who was in his home state. The fight was a tough one for both boxers. Referee Garcia successfully dominated the centre of the ring, although Cam attacked relentlessly with a constant barrage of powerful punches. He fought through to win the title by decision, recording his 4^th win at this event and 11^th National title.

Also in 2013, he won the Arnold Classic Super Heavyweight title and USA National Elite Men’s 201 lb+ title. He won the Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions. He’s travelled with the US team to Puerto Rico and Chile, reaching the final of the Continental Championships where he lost the final on a split decision and left the tournament ranked fourth globally. The same year started off with Cam winning the US men’s national competition and then the national Golden Gloves tournament. He competed in Puerto Rico and won two Golds, a tournament in the Ukraine, as well as a Silver in Canada.

In February 2014, Cam won an international Gold after competing in the Dominican Republic, where he also helped America bring home the team trophy. Two months later he competed in Poland in the Felix Stamm tournament, which he won  -  also winning the Outstanding Technical Boxer award.

In June 2012, Cam started looking for a healthy diet with the help of his trainer Bill Mackey and Bill’s wife Ami. “This couple taught me the importance of eating right and how it can benefit my boxing career. This is how I became a vegan”, he explained in recent interview. This diet has been very successful, and Cam is now an outspoken supporter of a daily vegan diet. Recently, this 6 ft 3 inch 99 kg Super Heavyweight was described as ‘Mohammed Ali-like’, and he now has won eleven national titles. “My biggest achievement personally is being ranked Number One in the country and representing the USA in international competition”, he proudly said in a recent interview. Cam Awesome has now won more medals than any other in American amateur boxers in history. Furthermore, he has managed to do so in only a few years. (So much for the widespread moronic stereotype that depicts vegans as weak, feeble-minded men and women!)

In this section we will examine some statistical facts and figures which will debunk the widespread die-hard misconception that superior brain power and a daily animal-based diet go hand in hand.

The advocates of meat-eating keep ignoring the fact that what almost all world’s centenarians have in common is that they eat very little or no animal flesh at all! Eating a lot of meat and gulping down cows’ milk - like most Westerners do - may give them muscles when they are young, but it won’t certainly prolong their life-span. Despite all that, there are many “nutritionists” who maintain, against overwhelming world-wide evidence, that a plant-based diet is unhealthy and can actually shorten human life. Although clearly unique, the following true life stories show how wrong these pseudo-nutritionists really are.

Li Ching-Yung, resident of the Kaihslen region in the province of Szechwan, was a Chinese herbalist, martial artist and former university professor who had the longest confirmed life-span in history. He lived to be 256 years old (1677-1933). He outlived 23 wives, and was living with his 24th wife at the time he was over 200 hundred years old! A New York Times article published at the time of his death in 1933 reported: ‘Many who have seen him recently declared that his facial appearance is no different from that of a person two centuries his junior.’ (S. F. Strong, New York Times, May 6, 1933, page 13). It was agreed that ‘Li’s extraordinary longevity was due to his life-long very strict vegetarian diet and his calm and serene attitude toward life’. Of course, Li Ching-Yung was an extraordinary human being, and he didn’t have to live in our modern highly stressful and heavily polluted world!

In their best-selling book, Fit For Life, Harvey and Marilyn Diamond (themselves vegetarians and nutritional American gurus) reveal some very interesting facts about the effects of diet on health and longevity. They report that the Los Angeles Times and Weekly World News printed articles about a man living in China named Wu Yunqing. Mr. Yunqing was 142 years old in 1980. The article includes a photo of him riding his bicycle! When he was interviewed about his diet, he answered, “I eat corn, rice, sweet potatoes, and other fruits and vegetables.”

Dr. Norman W. Walker, D.Sc., Ph.D., (1875-1984), was the longest-lived, widely-known raw-foodist of the modern era. Thousands upon thousands of people credit Dr. Walker's live-vegetable-juice therapy for healing them of "incurable" diseases, including Jay Kordich, known to the world as "The Juiceman". When Jay Kordich had cancer, he met and was tremendously inspired by Dr. Walker. After healing himself of bladder cancer through juice therapy, Jay worked with Dr. Walker, beginning in the 1940s up until Dr. Walker's death in 1984 at an age of 109. Dr Walker was living proof that a longer, healthier life can be achieved by eating according to our anatomical and physiological characteristics. In one of his seven books, he wrote: “The Laws of Nature are very simple. Eat mostly food in its raw state, preferably grown organically without chemical fertilizers or poison sprays.” He strongly recommended drinking fruit and vegetable juices regularly, because, as he put it: “The juices extracted from fresh-raw vegetables and fruits are the means by which we can furnish all the cells and tissues of the body with the elements and the nutritional enzymes they need in the manner they can be most readily digested and assimilated.” When it comes to nutritional and health matters, Dr Walker was the exact opposite of Dr Robert Atkins, who advocated a diet rich in beef, pork, chicken, turkey, duck, butter, lard, cheese, cows’ milk, eggs, and any other fatty foods we want. A victim of his own nutritional advice, Dr Atkins tragically died of chronic congestive heart failure at only 72  -  and it is a miracle he managed to reach this age! By comparison, Dr Walker passed away in his own bed at 109 years of age. The former died of unnatural causes, while the latter ‘died healthy’ of old age. (Incidentally, people who die of degenerative diseases, don’t die of natural causes, but of unnatural ones.) Dr Atkins  - the ‘darling’ of the meat, dairy, and pharmaceutical industry - wrote many books on nutrition (or more correctly, malnutrition). Here, I can’t help asking myself the question, how can any person, with even a basic knowledge of nutrition and health, take his books seriously?

There is no doubt that one of the greatest health myths of all time is that vegan (and even ovo-lacto) diets don’t provide the body with the necessary nutrients it needs to function. This couldn’t be farther from the truth; in fact, vegan diets, in particular, are associated with many health benefits, as they contain much less saturated fat and cholesterol with more dietary fiber. Vegans have lower blood pressure and a much lesser risk of heart disease.. Unfortunately, this is not the case with those ovo-lacto vegetarians who have merely eliminated animal flesh from their daily diet.

One of the main excuses animal flesh eaters use is that ‘yes, our early ancestors’ diet consisted of plant-based foods, but things have greatly changed since then. That is, our digestive systems have evolved the capacity to produce the gastric juices to digest animal flesh.’ This, of course, is nonsense. For example, hydrochloric acid wasn’t meant to facilitate the digestion of meat, but plant-derived protein. What have substantially changed (often for the worse) since our early pre-historical time, are our tastes and our natural environment. The devastation of the latter having resulted in the deterioration of our natural foods; but, most importantly, our biological, biochemical, anatomical, and physiological characteristics have remained the same. This being the case, why do about 96 per cent of people, especially in Western societies, continue to do damage to their health and shorten their lives by eating animal-derived foods? There are at least, three main reasons for this deplorable situation:  a) widespread ignorance in nutrition and health matters;  b) constant misinformation from both governmental and private sources;  and  c)  most people disinclination to give up their unnatural and unhealthy eating habits and tastes. Humans are creatures of habit, and they stick to their habits and traditions even if it kills them  -  and when it comes to their bad eating habits, it often does! As already mentioned earlier in this book, the great majority of people judge foods by their taste, not their nutritional and health values. In other words, unlike all other members of the Animal Kingdom, people in general live to eat not eat to live! Let’s take the consumption of meat, for example, as we have seen in chapter two, humans are totally unsuited to eating any kind of animal flesh. Here I say once again that, if we were meant to feed on this kind of food, evolution would have equipped us with the right kind of anatomical and physiological characteristics to eat it in its original, unprocessed and raw state! And it is exactly in this raw state, that natural carnivores eat animal flesh. To all normal people, unprocessed and raw meat tastes disgusting, and Nature made no allowance whatsoever for any kind of meat-cutting, processing, and/or cooking paraphernalia! Furthermore, evolution has never equipped human animals with the anatomical apparatus which allows animal carnivores to chase, grab, kill, tear apart the bodies, crush the bones, and swallow big chunks of their preys’ flesh when they are still alive! No, humans were never meant to be hunters! They did acquire this unnatural habit after they discovered fire and started cooking some of their foods.

As I have already said many times in this book, we are neither natural carnivores nor omnivores - humans have always been, and still are, plant eaters. Yes, and they will remains so until their anatomical and physiological characteristics stay unchanged. This is a scientific fact, and no amount of deliberate misinformation and lies to the contrary will change it. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of people have no access to a variety of readily available fresh, unpolluted, sun-ripened, and organically grown (especially tropical or sub-tropical) fruits. Therefore, an exclusive raw fruit diet is no longer suitable in these modern times. Therefore, such a fruitarian diet needs to be complemented with a variety of fresh, mainly raw vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouted beans and grains, tubers, roots, and dried fruits; cooked dried beans can also be consumed in moderation.

At this point, I would like to add to what I have already said mentioned previously in Chapter One about ovo-lacto vegetarians and vegans. For example, ovo-lacto vegetarians who think they are on a healthy diet just because they don’t eat any kind of animal flesh, are sadly mistaken. As it happens these vegetarian tend to eat too many eggs and drink large quantities of cows’ milk. They also are likely to include too much bread and other grain, as well as sugary and starchy foods in their daily diets. To make things even worse, many ovo-lacto vegetarians (just like meat-eaters) cook most of their foods and don’t drink enough, if any, fresh vegetable and fruit juices. There is no doubt that eating any kind of animal flesh (especially cooked or processed in any way) is unhealthy and unnatural, but an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet can be just as unhealthy, as it is also the kind of diet cancer and other degenerative diseases feed on! No wonder ovo-lacto vegetarians are generally not a particularly good example of health and vitality

Having said all that, I wish to make it crystal clear that eating up to 3 - 4  free-range (non-commercial) fresh eggs per week may not harm our health. That is, as long as these eggs are not fried, but eaten raw, slightly cooked, or steamed in a dish with a small amount of extra-virgin, cold-pressed, and properly stored olive oil.  Likewise,  drinking  a  small amount of freshly-milked, raw, and unprocessed (non-commercial)  goat milk is unlikely to cause any health problems. “Vegetarians” who think (quite wrongly) that they cannot function without these two animal-derived foods, must remember that Nature never meant humans to eat any of them! Regarding the consumption of animal flesh (especially cooked), my view on it isn’t to just reduce it, but to avoid it altogether! On this topic, I agree with the eminent American physician and nutrition researcher, Dr Walter Willet, M.D., Dr. P.H.,  who concluded his research on red meat with the words: “If you step back and look at the data, the optimum amount of red meat you eat should be zero.” However, I would apply this rule not only to red meat, but to all kinds of animal flesh as well!

As for vegans  -  although they avoid  all kinds of animal-derived foods  -   many of them tend to follow some unhealthy patterns.  As a result, although not to the same frequency, extent or severity, vegans are likely to contract some of the degenerative illnesses so-common amongst animal flesh-eaters and those vegetarians who include eggs, and milk in their daily diets. Unfortunately for their health, meat-eaters, as well as ovo-lacto vegetarians and some vegans have an unnatural and unhealthy habit in common:  they cook most of their foods! Obviously, they have forgotten or deliberately ignored the fact that cooking destroys most or all nutrients and, therefore, any kind of cooked food is dead food. As I will explain in a next chapter, the most important rule of optimum nutrition is at the very least 50-60% of food must be eaten raw and free from all kinds of chemical additives! Here, I say once again that all foods we need to cook and/or load with condiments, in order to make them palatable, are foods Nature never meant us to eat! And sure as death, if we consistently keep breaking  Nature’s laws of nutrition and health, sooner or later we will seriously damage our health and shorten our life-spans.

These four nutrients are: vitamin B12, docosahexaonic acid (DHA), carnosine, and vitamin D Let’s now take a close look at these substances

According to some health authorities, lack of Vitamin B12 is connected with dozens of health problems such as: AIDS, anaemia, agitation, apathy, attention deficit disorder, decreased blood tissue lipids, damage to nerve cells, the spinal cord, and the brain; dementia, demyelination of the spinal cord, depression, dizziness, heart pain, fatigue, inflammation of tongue, laboured breathing, memory loss, irritability, mood swing, numbness of the limbs, paranoia, poor appetites, psychosis, retarded growth, restlessness, schizophrenia, temper outburst, weakness, and weight loss.

The establishment has it that ‘if we don’t eat meat we will develop a vitamin B12 deficiency’. Here, I am tempted to use a rude epithet but the word ‘hogwash’ will do just nice. First of all, vitamin B12 is produced in the body by the bacterial flora in our intestines. The stomach secrets a substance called the ‘intrinsic factor’, which transports the vitamin B12 made in the intestine. Here, it should be considered that putrefaction greatly hampers the secretion of this factor, thus retarding the production of the vitamin B12. So flesh-eaters are more likely to develop a vitamin B12 deficiency than vegetarians and vegans, as putrefaction is much stronger in a meat-eater’s intestine. Secondly, we need only a very minute amount vitamin B12, which is measured in microgram. For example, one milligram of vitamin B12 will last the average man over two years! Thirdly, it isn’t true that vitamin B12 can only be gotten from animal-derived foods, because if it were true all herbivore/frugivore animals would either have died or be suffering from many diseases, and the same can be said about the relatively large vegan population of the world. As this has obviously not been (and it isn’t) the case now, either:  a) the necessity and therapeutic power of vitamin B12 has been exaggerated out of all proportions; or b)  the approximately 168 million human vegans (as well as the herbivores, frugivores, and leaf-eaters) animals in the world have obtained their supply of vitamin B12 from their strict plant-based diet. Having been living in a country area for decades, I have watched many horses, cows, sheep, as well as other ruminant mammals, but none of them appeared to be suffering from any of the illnesses attributed to vitamin B12 deficiency! Here, my obvious question to the so-called nutrition and health experts is: where do these herbivores get their supply of vitamin B12 ? Come to think of it  -  where does the Australian koala, who thrives exclusively on a diet of eucalyptus leaves, get his supply of this vitamin? Perhaps my readers would like to answer this question.

I am in the opinion that, just like in the case of Vitamin B12, the importance of DHA is quite exaggerated. DHA is present in fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel) and mother's milk; it can also be found at low levels in meat and eggs. According to some “experts”, this fatty acid is essential for the growth and functional development of the brain in infants, and it is also needed for the maintenance of normal brain function in adults. Other illnesses and health problems which have been associated with a lack of DHA are:  foetal alcohol syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cystic fibrosis, unipolar depression, aggressive hostility, cognitive decline during ageing, the onset of sporadic Alzheimer disease, cardiovascular diseases, as well as hypertension, arthritis, atherosclerosis, and the adult-onset of diabetes mellitus. Claims have been made that epidemiological studies have shown a strong correlation between fish consumption and reduction in sudden death from myocardial infarction. The reduction is approximately 50% with 200 mg day (-1) of DHA from fish. DHA is the active component in fish. Another claim is that, not only does fish oil reduce triglycerides in the blood and decrease thrombosis, but it also prevents cardiac arrhythmias. If all the above claims are true, DHA is a great nutrient, especially for the brain and the heart.

Research has shown that the best source of DHA are fatty fish, and fish oil. This is the main reason why some vegetarians think that adding fish oil to their diets will help because of its rich content of Omega-3 fats. But, apparently, the reasons for doing so are not convincing enough. I, for one, I wouldn’t dream of eating commercial fish or taking fish oil, even if I weren’t a strict vegetarian, for two reasons:  a) I am convinced that any benefit, which may comes from any animal-based source, is going to be negatively affected by its unhealthy nature; and b)  these days commercial fish is likely to be highly polluted and loaded with toxic chemicals. In any case, according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vegans - who eat no fish or drink fish oil -  have similar blood levels of Omega-3 as the heavy fish-eaters, and higher DHA levels. As this study concluded: “Despite having significantly lower intakes of EPA and DHA (from fish or fish oil), blood levels of EPA and DHA in vegans and vegetarians were approximately the same as regular fish eaters. The results indicate that the bodies of vegetarians and other non-fish-eaters can respond to a lack of dietary Omega-3 EPA and DHA by increasing their ability to make them from Omega-3 ALA”. We all need ALA, however, ALA has to be converted by your body into the far more essential omega-3 fats EPA and DHA. Some vegan sources of Omega-3 fatty acids, are:  flaxseeds, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, chia seeds, savi seeds, chlorella, spirulina, and pumpkin seeds. For example, one cup (168 grams) of flaxseeds contain 38.235 grams of omega-3 fatty acids.

Having said all that, I have to repeat what I said above about the importance of vitamin B12. That is, if a DHA deficiency can cause the very serious illnesses mentioned above, how come that herbivores, for example, who eat exclusively grasses and a few other plant-based foods -  appear to be perfectly healthy? More importantly, if DHA fatty acids are vital for the proper functioning of the brain, the heart and other bodily organs, how come the vegan geniuses of the distant and recent past have managed to produce their literary, scientific, and artistic masterpieces on their strictly vegetarian diets? And what about the relatively many vegans in today’s world, who are obviously lacking DHA .... are we to assume that they are a large multitude of feeble-minded, unhealthy individuals? This is food for thought, isn’t it?

Carnosine (beta-alanyl-L-histidine) is a dipeptide of the amino acids beta-alanine and histidine. It is highly concentrated in muscle and brain tissues. Like carnitine, carnosine is composed of the root word carn, meaning flesh, alluding to its prevalence in animal protein. A vegetarian (especially vegan) diet is deficient in adequate carnosine, compared to levels found in a standard animal-based diet. Allegedly, carnosine has many therapeutic uses, ranging from diabetes to cancer. However, here I will examine only those applications related to the brain and its functions. Allegedly, the high concentration of carnosine found in the brain is used to protect this organ from oxidation, glycation, carbonylation, and the effects of excitotoxins. Carnosine is also supposed to protect the brain against lipid oxidation and the harmful byproducts of alcohol metabolism. Also, carnosine is said to be a chelator of the heavy metal, which have been shown to contribute to the formation of amyloid beta deposits present in Alzheimer patients. Furthermore, according to the Journal of Child Neurology, administering 800mg of L-carnosine daily for 8 weeks to autistic children had significant beneficial effects in their behaviour, socialisation, and communication. Apparently, carnosine levels decline with age; therefore, according to the “experts”, daily supplementation is required to maintain its benefits. All this sound great, but for a “small” detail, which is never mentioned by the advocates of animal flesh eating. That is, if it is true that carnosine is so indispensable to people’s physical and mental health, why then many vegetarians and vegans (whose daily intake of carnosine is very low or absent) excel in so many fields of human endeavor? Here comes the sixty-four-million-dollar question: Where did the greatest vegetarians and vegans geniuses of the recent and remote past obtain their daily supply of carnosine?

Unlike the rather dubious health role of the above three nutrients, many worldwide nutrition and health studies have indicated that vitamin D is actually a very important vitamin. This vitamin was already amply discussed in Chapter Three, and the message conveyed by that chapter is that although there are several vitamin D compounds, the safest and best form of vitamin D3 is that obtained from the sun. That is, the sun’s UV-B rays make this vitamin in the skin by the action of sunlight on a cholesterol derivative that is plentiful in the body. Therefore, as long as we get enough sunshine, this is all the vitamin D we need. As proved by our anatomical and physiological characteristics, Nature never meant humans to obtain this vitamin from any kind of meat, fish, milk, and/or fish oils. Therefore, all animal-derived vitamin D3 should be used only as the last resort, and only by people who live in area with severe lack of sunlight. The main reason for this is that these animal-derived foods are acid-forming and inflammatory; therefore, they are the cause of various degenerative illnesses. The people who live in cold, sun-starved countries obtain their vitamin D from meat, fish, milk, and fish oil. But, in order to do so, they have to ingest large amount of these unhealthy foods, thus inviting the same kinds of health problems they wanted to prevent or intended to rid themselves of in the first place. For example, one of the main functions of natural vitamin D from the sun is to prevent osteoporosis; however, a high animal protein diet causes the body to leach calcium and some magnesium from the bones, thus causing this dreaded widespread illness! As we have already seen in Chapter Three, all being equal, our daily diet determines our resistance to sunburn and skin disease and the amount of vitamin D we get from the sun. That is, a diet rich in vitamins, minerals, enzymes and antioxidant can give us plenty of vitamin D at a much lower risk of getting sunburn and/or contracting more serious skin diseases such as skin cancer. But if we keep gorging ourselves with meat, fish, cheese and eggs, and gulping down processed cows’ milk we will be most likely candidates, not only for skin, and other types of cancer, but other illnesses such as, for example, diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

Before ending this Chapter, I think it would be an useful idea if I summarize some of the main reasons why drastically reducing or eliminating altogether all kinds of animal flesh foods from our daily diet is so vitally important. Below is a list of the main reasons for drastically reducing, or stopping altogether, our daily consumption of meat and all other animal-derived foods:

• Various studies have shown that hormones given to animals to make them grow faster are very likely to produce cancer. Also, drugs such as arsenic, Stilbesterol, and penicillin are fed to the animals. Stilbesterol has been known to cause vaginal cancer, heart failure and reduced sex-drive in males.

• Meat is certainly not the food of our biological adaptation, but commercial meat is much worse as, apart from other poisons, it contains a high level of pesticides which is the cause of intensive chemical spraying.

• Contrary to what we have been led to believe by the meat industry, governments, educational institutions, and the mass media, meat (red or white) rates very low in the scale of healthy nutrition.

• Researchers have found that red meat is highly acidic and inflammatory, which make it a major cause of cancer of the colon and rectum, and other cancers. Processed meat is even more carcinogenic, as it contains animal products which have been smoked, cured, salted, or chemically preserved.

• Meat begins to putrefy only a few hours after it has been ingested. Also, undigested rotten meat adheres to the walls of the intestines for 2-3 weeks and can even stay in the intestines for months or even years. No wonder bowel cancer has become quite common especially in Western countries.

• Meat is rotting animal flesh, and as such it would start stinking  to high heaven even before reaching the supermarket shelves, but for the addition to it of literally dozens chemical preservatives!

• Statistics have shown that vegans live 6 to 10 years longer on average than animal flesh-eaters.

• The risk of developing heart disease among meat-eaters is 50%  higher than it is among vegans.

• Vegans are about 40% less likely to develop cancer than those who follow a high animal protein diet, regardless of other risks exposure elements such as smoking.

• Meat-eaters usually consume more unhealthy fats than vegetarians, and much more than vegans. These fats  block their arteries leading to high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, as well as impotence in men  and other health problems.

• Meat-eaters have a higher rate of diabetes, possibly because they consume less whole grains, fruits and vegetables than vegans and vegetarians.

• Various statistics  have shown that at the age of about 65, the average meat-eater has twice the bone loss of their vegan counterparts. This is because a diet which contains too much animal protein acidifies the body -  causing calcium and some magnesium to leach from the bone, thus leading to osteoporosis. 

• Non-vegetarians are more subject to food poisoning than vegans and  vegetarians. In fact, about 80% of food poisoning cases are meat-related.

• Those who regularly eat meat and other animal-based foods are much more likely to become obese than vegans and even ovo-lacto vegetarians. However, if the latter consume high amount of eggs, dairy products, as well as sugary and starchy foods, they also will become obese.

• A daily diet rich in beef, pork, poultry, and other meat products greatly increases our likelihood of developing  various types of cancers, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, kidney and liver diseases, as well as other serious health problems.

• Cooked animal flesh, especially roasted, fried, and barbecued contains  various carcinogenic substances.

• In his famous book “The China Study", Dr. T. Colin Campbell explains the strong link between the occurrence of various cancers and the consistent consumption of animal protein.

• There is compelling evidence that cancer, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, asthma, bone weakness and obesity can all be prevented or reversed through vegan eating.

• The body makes huge energetic expenditure to be able to digest meat, that is not compensated for by what we get from meat. Basically we use more energy digesting meat than we gain from eating it. Meat doesn’t generate energy   -   it uses it!

• Up to 60% of chickens sold at the supermarket are infected with live salmonella bacteria. Approximately 30% of all pork products are contaminated with toxoplasmosis. Eating meat increase the risk of our exposure to highly contagious diseases such as Mad Cow and Foot and Mouth diseases in sheep and cattle. For example, there are as many as at least 26 diseases, which we could contract from poultry alone!

• A high consumption of animal-based protein stresses the liver and kidneys because cause they were never meant to deal with this type of foods.

• Factory-farmed animals contain toxic chemicals. Meat contains accumulations of pesticide and other chemicals up to 14 times more concentrated than those in plant foods. Half of all antibiotics used in the U.S.  are used in farm animals and 90% of those are not used to treat infections but are instead used as growth promoters.

• Raising animals for food is the biggest environmental polluter of  water and topsoil. Factory farm animal waste greatly pollutes the ground and groundwater.

• About 70% of ground beef sold in supermarkets contains pink slime, a muck made out of waste trimmings previously reserved for dog food and cooking oil.

• People who stop eating meat often experience a  substantial general physical and mental improvement, especially when they adopt a vegan diet.

• Animal protein intake interferes with the absorption of manganese in the body, which can cause atherosclerosis, birth defects, epileptic seizures, loss of  hearing, pancreatic damage balance disorders, spasms, convulsions, sexual problems, congenital malformations, and other serious ailments.

• Meat contains high amounts of adrenaline, because of the terrifying experience the animal get when it’s slaughtered. The high levels of adrenaline contained in meat make the consumer aggressive and anxious, and it is also exhausting the human adrenal glands, which eventually leads to hypertension and other health problems.

• Meat is toxic because of the uric acid (which causes gout),  phosphoric acid and sulfuric acid, which are formed in the process of digestion and metabolism of meat proteins.

• The average American adult male’s colon carries within it about 2.5 kilograms of putrid, half digested red meat. The saying ‘death begins in the bowel’ was certainly tailored to animal flesh eaters!

• The meat industry doesn’t give a  hoot for the consumers’ health. After a few days of an animal  having been slaughtered, the carcass turns a gray-green olive, because the rot process starts. So, the meat industry uses various unhealthy substances, such as nitrates and other preservatives, to make it appear artificially red.

• Eating any kind of animal flesh is not concordant with our primate anatomical and physiological characteristics, which clearly indicate we neither natural carnivores nor omnivores! Our transgression of this law of Nature is the primary reason of today’s  degenerative diseases which, in some cases, have reached epidemic proportions!

• Worldwide statistics have clearly shown that there is a positive correlation between a plant-based daily diet and a longer lifespan. In other words, as a rule, all the centenarians of the distant or recent past had one thing in common:  they were either vegans, vegetarians, or consumed very few animal-derived foods  -  and this rule, still applies today.

• These days many nutrition professionals, researchers, and even some doctors, agree that a daily diet rich in animal protein is unhealthy. However, they hardly (if ever) mention the fact that the most convincing reason why human beings were never meant to feed on any kind of animal flesh is primarily physiological That is, our physiological and anatomical characteristics are those of fruit, vegetable, and other plant-based eaters, NOT carnivores or omnivores!

From an economic and environmental point of view, animal products deplete resources such as land and water massively, since the animals have to be daily fed and hydrated all through their lives. Growing loads of crops for animals and then feeding on them is a very inefficient way to feed ourselves: It takes up to 10 kg of grains to make 1 kg of animal food! According to a recent UN study, a whopping 70% of the world’s agricultural land, 18% of the greenhouse gas emissions, and considerable deforestation, is the result of breeding animals for food. Our non-vegan choices lead to the breeding  -  and subsequent torture and killing   -   of 10s of billions of farm animals in one year! Apart from other considerations, there is simply not enough land and water to sustain the world on animal products.

From an ethical and moral point of view, the slaughter of animals for food is a barbaric and cruel practice. The truth of how animals are treated in meat factories is horrendous! Many of the animals are sick, disabled, and injured. From the day they arrive at the slaughter house they “live” a painful life leading to the day of the slaughter. Not many people know that - like meat -    milk, eggs and other animal products also lead to animal killing and torture.  The truth is that there is NO such a thing as a humane slaughtering procedure! (Incidentally, barbaric and most inhumane are also the terrible way cows, chicken, pigs, and goats are raised for meat, milk and/or eggs!) It may come as a surprise to the overwhelming majority of people, but animals exist for their own reasons   -   they were not made for humans!

In conclusion, setting aside ethics and morality, the truth is that all kinds of animal flesh and its derivative products are as unnatural for us as they are unhealthy, and much more so when processed and/or cooked. This is why Nature never meant we humans to feed on them; therefore, the penalty we have to pay for this transgression is poor health and premature death! Every years billions of animals are slaughtered for food but, metaphorically speaking, they ‘take revenge’ by causing the untimely death of many millions of people in return. According to the latest statistics, about 7.6 million people around the world die of cancer alone, every year; and, according to research, at least 80% of these cancers are attributable to a daily high consumption of animal-based proteins, especially meat and cows’ milk. In this chapter I have dealt with the former, the dangers of processed cows’ milk and dairy products will be the main subject of the next chapter.