So what is healthy?

I just saw an article (read it here) today which discusses eating animals in a new ethical, sustainable way vs. being vegan or vegetarian – quite interesting – here are my thoughts…

Over the years I have tried many different elimination diets – cutting out wheat or dairy or soy, etc. – to try to fix various things I could tell were wrong with my body – digestion, energy level, mood, asthma and allergies.  I looked into cutting out meat, I ate more veggies, I ate low-fat too.  I never really felt any of them really worked and I often just felt hungry and like I was on a ‘diet’.  I always craved meat.  Even when I was newly pregnant and totally sick all the time – meat and milk was all I wanted. 

I remember when I was a teenager my mother briefly became a vegetarian and soon after became anemic.  She often said after that to me – we are meat eaters – it is in our blood.  I instinctively knew that I needed ‘fat’ and often would seek it out when feeling run down – whether through a burger and fries or some fried eggs or some really good greasy Mexican food.  Until I read and started to understand the role saturated fat plays in the human diet I just figured I was having will-power issues.  Apparently not – these animal based fats/foods contain vital fat soluble vitamins like A, D and K2  and like B-12- these vitamins are building blocks for our immune systems.  These are not in polyunsaturated fats found in canola, cottonseed, margarine.  Since I have started eating more a more traditional diet that includes more saturated fat I have started to resolve many issues I have had for many years – I am no longer taking asthma medication and I have surprisingly lost about 10 pounds and my stomach isn’t killing me all the time.  I also have far more energy and patience with my toddler.

Now I know how to focus on both eating locally and ethically and eating the foods that nourish me – and not as surprisingly – they are all related.  What do you think?