Earlier this week, Andrew and I were intrigued by the latest and hottest Netflix documentary What the Health , which is a mostly one-sided view on meat and highly processed foods Americans eat every day and how it is deadly affecting our health. Yes, there are dozens of documentaries like this, and yes, a lot of them are biased opinions. This one in particular really caught my attention, so I wrote a status on Facebook the night we watched it:
"People are always poking fun when they find out I don't eat meat at the dinner table and assume I do it to be apart of the vegetarian/vegan "save the animals" movement - but the true reason is because my body has always rejected it and I would immediately be sick, so I ditched it (almost) all together to just avoid the regret & painful sickness. I'm definitely no extremist when it comes to health, but I do try my best to eat well. Any who, Andrew and I were sucked into watching the newest documentary fad "What the Health" on Netflix - and although much of it could be one-sided, it reassured many of my questions and thoughts on keeping processed meat & dairy out of my diet. I'm sure there's a lot more to learn to gain my own full opinion, but if you feel like being a bit more educated about health, you might as well give it a watch. Main reason behind this post is just because I'm curious to see others opinions on the documentary & this subject. Every one is open to their own opinion, of course. Meat eater or not, it's never a bad thing to educate yourself on what you're putting in your belly :)"
Now, we all know how dangerous it is to ask Facebook's opinions on things, but I feel like this subject doesn't have to be that extremely controversial to the point where people will start Myspace arguing through the comments, ya know?
First of all, I am the last human being to ever write my opinions loud and proud through the internet. I normally keep to myself, sometimes share a positive thought and carry on with my day. But a memory came to mind - when I was about six years old, I vividly remember eating a hamburger and immediately {sorry in advance} throwing it up. Immediately! This may be dramatic, but I haven't eaten a burger since that day, no joke.
I'm sure it had something to do with being ill prepared. Thankfully, red meat isn't even slightly appealing to me, so I'm fine living life without them.
Anywho - fast forward 15-ish years. Through dozens of traumatic food poisoning experiences from ill prepared meat, gnarly stomach pains every night, painful bloating 24/7, etc... I decided "why not just be vegetarian?". Cold turkey {pun intended}, no meat or dairy, donezo. And I was fine! Then I met my carnivore boyfriend {now husband} who eventually taught me the importance of health and how my diet severely lacked protein. So ever since then, I eat light meat {like chicken, turkey, fish} about three times a week, give or take. Or just whenever the heck I feel like it. So, I don't claim to be titled as a "vegetarian" or whatever. I just like to know what I'm putting in my body!
So back to Facebook - I had a lot more direct messages versus comments, so a lot of people weren't able to hear these specific people's voices about the matter - but I got some feedback on both sides of the "animal biproducts" argument. I like to be open minded and hear every side of every opinion. A lot of people were surprised to even find out I even had interest in health and wellness. Which blows my mind, because it's a huge part of my life! Andrew and I exercise every morning, meal prep, count our calories and macros, read the labels, you name it. So this made me realize, I should be more open about other personal interests in my life other than art and fashion. I love finding other ways to connect to the world! Majority of the responses I received were from vegans/vegetarians and how their reason behind nixing animals out of their diet was the same reason as mine. And then of course, I was reminded to support my local farmers! A lot of the world forgets the extreme difference between store bought Oscar Meyer lunch meat versus the grass fed cows and chickens on local farms. Just good ol' fashioned, fat and happy animals roaming grass land, with no injected chemicals. If we just educated ourselves a little more about the extreme differences between the two & seeing the amazing nutrients local farm animal protein provides, I think people would be open to adding "smarter" meat into their diet. Sparingly, of course. But obviously this subject isn't interesting enough to be on Netflix to become viral. So, this is my small way to be a reminder - look into your local farming! Get your vegetables at the farmers market. Educate yourself and gain your own opinion. Most importantly, listen to your body. You may find a dramatic change in your health, in the best way possible - whether it's adding more meat to your diet, or none at all.
Obviously, I am no expert on this matter! But health is something I've been passionate about as I get older and while my body changes. Keeping and open mind and learning something new every day is the key to a happy lifestyle :)
..Who's hungry?
