[Persephone]

Frankly, my first impression was, "lalala, I can't hear you!", but I want to be a bit more open minded than that.

Quote:

Meat Molecule Builds Up in Human Tumors by Dr. Michael Greger (If you don't know who he is, Google him. The man is amazing!) For years there has been suspicion that components of meat and dairy were absorbed whole through the human digestive tract, triggering autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and childhood diabetes as our bodies try to fight off these foreign substances. Last month, researchers published new evidence that a substance found in lamb, pork, beef and dairy can build up in human tissues and may contribute to chronic disease. If you take autopsy samples, you can find traces of a molecule called NeuGc in human tissues, particularly in human tumors (especially breast cancer). And you can find relatively high concentrations of anti-NeuGc antibodies in human blood. This mystified researchers, as human beings can not produce this substance. But other animals can. Maybe, the researchers proposed, human beings absorbed it from eating these other animals. So the researchers went vegan for a few days to clear their system (no animal-derived ingredients in foods or drugs or shampoo), and then basically drank a glass of diluted pig mucous. Within days this invading meat molecule could be found oozing from their bodies, in their saliva, urine--even their hair clippings. Maybe, the researchers speculate, this is why meateaters have such higher rates of cancer and heart disease compared to vegetarians. Yes, they acknowledge it could just be the saturated fat in meat and dairy, but maybe it's also because of the incorporation of this foreign substance found exclusively in animal products (plants don't produce NeuGc either). The researchers found it particularly interesting that vegetarian diets seem to improve rheumatoid arthritis. Maybe this reactive alien molecule also triggers autoimmune diseases like hepatitis and arthritis. This article was published in the proceedings of the most prestigious scientific body in the United States, the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers end their provocative article wondering what the long-term consequences might be of constantly challenging our immune systems in this way, and what the long-range implications are of having anti-Neu5Gc antibodies circulating throughout the bodies of meateaters and milk-drinkers.{3]

 

[Nora'sMama]

That's interesting...but haven't most societies throughout history eaten meat? It seems like if it is so awful for us people would have figured this out sooner?

I dunno. I would like to be a vegetarian for ethical reasons, but have always felt that eating meat is HEALTHIER for me.

Again, very interesting!

 

[JaneS]

I think a veg. diet improves arthritis b/c the protease enzymes are freed to clean up debris around the body. This can also be accomplished by eating a lot of raw proteins and other raw foods within an NT diet (or taking digestive enzymes too).

I think the inability to digest food properly is indeed consequence of many disease.

It never ceases to amaze me that "researchers" still think of things in this manner: not holistically but finding that "one bug" that causes all disease. Yes, let's ignore what supports our immune system and go for some big bad germ that must attack us.

 

[accountclosed3]

what is pig mucous and why would any researcher use it as research?

and what kinds of researchers conduct research on themselves? when is this part of normal lab practices?

and how would a 'few days' of veganism 'clear this up?' and then it comes immediately back and "oozes" from people's bodies?

no, there are a number of things definately "off" about this article.

do you have a source and endnotes?

 

[Persephone]

Nope, that's all that was posted on the blog I got it from.

 

[luv my 2 sweeties]

Quote:

Dr. Michael Greger (If you don't know who he is, Google him. The man is amazing!)

I did Google him, and he appears to be a very prominant vegan/vegetarian advocate. I noted that he himself was not the researcher from the article -- he is interpreting the research to support his stance on vegetarianism.

After some searching, I found the text of the article.
But it's *very* academic and hard to understand. I wouldn't bother with it unless you have a degree in biochem or something.

There's a much more accessable (and neutral) analysis of the study in Science Daily.

It's definately reasearch to watch if you're a red meat eater, but I don't think it's time to panic. Here's a quote from the Science Daily article that is much less alarmist than the article quoted in the OP:

"The authors cautioned that a causal relationship between Neu5Gc expression in human tissues with any human disease would be premature and scientifically speculative at best. Instead, they said their findings point to the need for population-level analyses of the presence of Neu5Gc in human tissues in relationship to disease incidence, and the mechanisms of human incorporation and antibody response against this sugar."

 

[Gale Force]

Thanks for the leads Stephanie. Interesting info.

 

[accountclosed3]

thanks stephanie.

 

[Laurel723]

Not really the point, I know but I have to ask-

Why pig mucous, and how did they get it? The thought of that is absolutely revolting, diluted or not.

My stomach is doing flips and flops right now just thinking of it...