Meat And Disease

Does Meat Cause Rheumatism?

You have heard some neighbor say: “We are eating little or no meat now. Father has the rheumatism.” It used to be thought that meat, especially red meat, was a cause of rheumatism. This was largely an unfounded guess. A great deal has been learned about meat since that time. Every well posted physician now knows that ulcerated teeth, bad tonsils, a diseased appendix, or some other source of infection in his body is giving father his rheumatism. With the removal of the source of trouble, rheumatism disappears. Neither meat, nor any kind of other food, causes rheumatism.

Will Meat Give One High Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure is another ailment that has been blamed upon meat eating by some physicians. The cause of high blood pressure is not easy to determine, but heredity and race have something to do with it. Perhaps fear, anxiety, and the pace most of us travel now have something to do with it. A number of eminent physicians have studied the question of protein of meat and blood pressuure. They have shown conclusively that high meat or high protein diets do not bring about high blood pressure. A survey of 17,000 life insurance cases by the Life Extension Institute has shown that is not to blame. The survey showed that overeating and the resulting overweight were very frequently accompanied by high blood pressure.

Do Cancer and Meat Eating Go Together?

A few faddists who do not believe in eating meat have tried to show that cancer is a common thing among meat-eating people. Occasionally one reads some such statement in the newspapers or magazines. Dr. Wm. H. Woglom, a noted authority, has written an article in Hygeia dealing with this question. He shows that cancer is commong among races that do not eat meat and that animals, such as the horse, cow, sheep, and the rabbit which do not eat animal food have cancer. He concludes : “There is not a shred of evidence to show that meat plays a part in the causation of this disease.”

Does Hardening of the Arteries Result from Eating Meat?

No, this condition is caused most often by some source of infection in the body which needs to be cleaned up.

Will Meat Give You the Gout?

Meat does not cause gout, although some people have blamed gout to meat eating. Gout is a condition once commonly found in those who lived high and ate much food. Overeating of all foods, not of any one in particular, is a chief cause of gout, and some source of infection, like in rheumatism, is another cause. This disease is less common at the present time.

Will You Get Kidney Disease If You Eat Meat?

No. Meat eating will not cause any kidney disease. Such a disease is usually the result of cold, some infectious disease such as scarlet fever, or by consuming chemicals, such as mercury, turpentine, or carbolic acid. Also, some source of infection, such as those mentioned in connection with rheumatism, is a common cause. One should always see a good physician about such a disease. This physician may require you to eat less meat (because it is a source of protein and protein leaves some residues in the body which may tax a diseased kidney) until he can cure you, but eating protein or meat does not cause kidney disease. Many of the best physicians will not take meat away from you, but will use other more suitable means of cure.

Will Eating Meat Bring About a Condition Known as Acidosis?

In diabetes or advanced kidney disease, a condition known as acidosis results. In diabetes this condition may be helped by a “regulation of the diet with respect to the proportions of carbohydrate, or sugar and starchy foods, to protein and fat. Also, the use of insulin, a recently discovered preparation, helps. The modern physician does not deny meat and protein foods to the diabetic. The best advice to follow in both diseases is: Consult a good physician and follow his directions.

But Does Meat Cause Acidosis?

No, meat does not cause acidosis. There is an acidosis resulting from an excess of acid-forming minerals in the diet over acid-neutralizing minerals. These acid-forming minerals are needed just as greatly as the acid-neutralizing minerals. Trouble results only from a large excess of either kind. This is very rare in human beings. Fruits, vegetables and milk have an excess of acid-neutralizing minerals, while meat, eggs, cereals and grains have an excess of acid-forming minerals. One should use food from both groups.

Will Meat Help Anemia?

A person suffering with simple anemia, that is, a deficient sup-ply of blood, can usually be helped greatly by eating certain foods. Those usually recommended are egg yolk, spinach, beef, and beef juice. However, kidney and liver are of unusual value in this respect, surpassing all other food tested.

Does Meat Help Cure Pellagra?

The careful work of members of the United States Public Health Service has shown that lack of proper protein in the food of people living in the mountains of the Southeast results in a disease known as pellagra. This disease can be cured or prevented by a good protein, such as is found in lean meat and milk.

Will Meat Cause Obesity, Constipation or Other Near-Diseases?

Meat is not a fattening food. Even fat meats will not cause one to become overly fat if one is not a glutton. Overeating of starchy and fatty foods, however, may well cause obesity. There-fore, do not eat too much and watch your weight if you are inclined to fatten too much.

Constipation is usually the result of lack of exercise and the eating of too little food or food of too little residue. If you are healthy, the use of green, leafy vegetables, fruits and whole cereals will prevent this. Meat has nothing to do with such conditions.

Think for a minute of the Eskimo. He eats practically nothing but meat and other parts of the animal body. According to the explorer, Stefansson, the Eskimo never has any of these diseases sometimes blamed upon meat. Although you do not want to imitate the Eskimo, you may rest assured that meat eating does not cause disease. Eat a well-balanced, mixed diet. Take care of your teeth, tonsils and other sources of infection. Consult a good doctor when you are ill and have a health examination once a year. Then eat meat with your meals and join the ranks of the world’s dominant people.”