Beauty Detox Solution: Our Body Dictated By Nature

It’s not by choice how we understand what foods work best for our systems, but rather dictated by nature as the chapter title argues. Kimberly Snyder makes it a point to relate our digestive tract and liver to those of plant and meat eating animals. Like monkeys we have the front teeth to open hard nuts and shells and flat teeth to grind vegetables and leaves. Tigers on the other hand, have sharp fangs and claws to rip the flesh of their prey. The point is that our digestive tract, stomach, and liver work differently than carnivorous animals as do the physical traits that we poses. The human liver has a low tolerance for uric acid which is a by-product of consuming animal meat. “In contrast”, marks Snyder, “the liver of the carnivorous tiger contains uricase, which is an enzyme to break down uric acid… this enzyme gives the carnivorous tiger’s liver about fifteen times the capacity to break down uric acid from animal protein than human liver has” (2). In summary, humans’ digestive tract, stomach, and liver are designed to tolerate so much of certain foods and in this chapter Snyder breaks down the effects of over consuming animal protein and how this all ties into The Beauty Detox Solution.

Snyder professes, “the key to being your healthiest, more beautiful self is eating the way your body was designed to eat” (3). The liver is one of the largest organ in human’s body and is in charge of metabolizing fat and cleansing the body of toxins. Snyder explains digesting too much or  just enough animal protein creates all sort of problems for the body such as purines, uric acid, and ammonia. Snyder cites Gabriel Cousens, M.D., author of Conscious Eating where he discusses how ammonia is a by-product of animal meat that actually contributes to the cause of aging or looking older as it also depletes the body’s energy. This is not something all of us want; we want to too look young and vibrant… so why are we filling our body with toxins and wasting our body’s energy from being productive? I was taught that if I want to be strong and healthy i was supposed to eat lots of meat. While this may work for some, it may not work for others, and it is certainly an attitude that most of us have adopted due to factors such as culture, religion, and society. Many studies show that that there is a high correlation between consuming animal protein and numerous health issues including heart disease, cancer, kidney failure, constipation, gout, gallstones, diverticulosis, hemorrhoids, osteoporosis and diabetes. All of these sound pretty scary but I’m sure Kimberly Synder is not trying to scare us away from meats or convert us to vegetarians.

 

I believe her message (and mine) is to be aware of your own body’s reactions to foods, specifically meat. Journal your reactions to different kinds of meat and which kinds of meat you prefer over others. For example, beef is not my favorite meat and in fact leaves me feeling hungry, sluggish, and sometimes sick if I eat too much. If and when I do eat meat I prefer chicken breast or turkey. My overall point in presenting this section of the book is to remind you to be aware of your eating habits as well as the reaction your body has to certain foods; find what foods works for you and find your go to foods and no-no foods.