Saturday 12 June 2010

Excellent video from Michael Klaper, MD

Shortest post to date, but could be the most important one.

Here is the most persuasive video I've ever seen on why we shouldn't be eating animal foods ('health reasons'). Some of you may already be familiar with it, but I hadn't seen it before, so thought I should post it.

A medical doctor explains, in a very watchable, entertaining (and humorous!) way.

I realise many of you are vegetarian, or vegan, but please consider sending the video to people you love who aren't, and prevent them from suffering needlessly.

(PS Yes, it's not about 'raw' as such (he's not a raw foodist, but does at least explain why people should increase their raw percentage), and, yes, he promotes grains (which I'm aware some raw people think are the devil), BUT, for 99% of the population, who aren't, realistically, going to be going raw (at least not this week), this video could nevertheless enormously improve their health!)

9 comments:

Unknown said...

I enjoyed the video. It offered a lot of valuable information. The only thing that he didn't cover was Vitamin B12. He mentioned it and said he would discuss it but didn't. I have had low B12 levels so I'm interested in more information.

I work as a paramedic and when drawing blood, I've seen globs of fat sucked up into the tubes. It looked just like chicken fat. Amazing. The people were not always overweight, either.

Sylvia

Debbie Took said...

Fraga, when washing up the other day exactly the same thing occurred to me - he said he would mention B12 but didn't!

(I've gathered quite a bit together on B12 in my March and April '10 articles.)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this video Debbie. It is very persuasive. I was also a little upset that he didn't cover B12 as I would have been interested in his take.

It's a little depressing to think that the video is obviously at least 20 years old, and yet, despite this knowledge being around for that long, people are still getting fatter, developing osteoperosis...etc, etc

Debbie Took said...

Yes, although Dr Klaper's website does say that this video has been highly successful in getting people to change their diets.

The pity is that so many of those so much in need of it will not watch it. However, for those whose eyes are opening slightly...?

Unknown said...

Hi Everyone, The B12 info is on this site:
http://www.vegsource.com/klaper/optimum.htm
at the very bottom. It's good stuff - enjoy!

Debbie Took said...

Thank you so much, Susan. I've said similar re unnatural lifestyle on my blog (although Dr Klaper and others came up with it first!). Here is Dr Klaper on B12:

'One issue that we need to cover is vitamin B-12 and its roll in a vegan diet Vitamin B-12 is an essential nutrient that you need for healthy blood and healthy nerves. There is a prevailing feeling that only animal products contain vitamin B-12

. Let me be very clear about this, cows do not make vitamin B-12. They never have, they never will. Pigs don't make vitamin B-12, chickens don't make vitamin B-12, no animal makes vitamin B-12. They never have, they never will.

Vitamin B-12 is synthesized by single-celled microbes (bacteria) that live in the soils of the earth. And long ago when the earth and soils were healthy, before we put all sorts of chemicals on them, the surface of the earth was covered with vitamin B-12. There used to be lots of vitamin B-12 in our lives. Even if you were a pure vegetarian 300 years ago, you could open up the back door of your cottage and outside would be a beautiful organic garden. Every carrot you pulled out of the ground would have little particles of vitamin B-12 sticking to it. When it came time to get your water, you'd take a bucket of water out of the stream, and there too you would find vitamin B-12. There would be B-12 under your finger nails from working in the garden. There would be plenty of B-12 in your life, and since you needed so little of it, concerns about deficiency would not be an issue.

We've become very isolated from the earth and we've lost our natural sources of B-12. Cows have B-12 in their muscles because they're eating grass all day and their pulling up clumps of dirt that have B-12 producing organisms clinging to the root of the grass. They eat the B-12 producing organisms who produce the B-12, which gets absorbed into their bloodstream, goes out into the muscles, and is deposited into their muscles and livers. But that is bacterial B-12 in the cow's muscle. The cow did not make it, nor did the pig or chicken.

Those same organisms are now cultured in big vats, producing their B-12 that is eventually separated out. It is then added to breakfast cereals, soy milks soy burgers, nutritional yeast, and vitamin tablets. It's easy to get vitamin B-12 without consuming animal products and I suggest if you really want to lighten up your diet, find a non-animal source of B-12.

We are evolving as a species. What our caveman ancestors ate is of little import to us now. The question is what is the best diet for modern human beings? Medical literature is clearly showing that the less animal fat and animal protein you put in your system, the healthier you are going to be.'

Reminder to readers again that Dr Klaper is talking about a cooked vegan diet here, but of course raw vegans for whom B12 is an issue can consider a B12 supplement.

Unknown said...

Frankly, this video is horrible. It's biased, outdated, makes sweeping and erroneous statements, ugh. He's ignoring so many factors, and equating an "affluent western" diet with meat is just wrong. The modern diet is, of course, terrible - vegetable oil, processed food, refined flour, sugar, where are those factors? People thrive and have thrived for millennia eating animal products. Where's the consideration of societies that thrive on high-fat/animal diets?

Debbie, have you read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Westone Price?

And yes, this is the same Jonas. =) I started eating meat again several months ago, and am happy as can be. The aforementioned book had a large part in that.

Why do you always insist on telling those who eat meat that they're wrong?

Debbie Took said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Debbie Took said...

Because they ARE wrong, Jonas. I have also been persuaded by various arguments for it in the past, and I was wrong too.

I see you're 'as happy as can be'. More than can be said for the animals in the slaughter houses.

You're obviously not swayed by the health arguments, so how about thinking about the animals?

Please see my article here:

http://debbietookrawforlife.blogspot.com/2009/07/no-i-dont-eat-raw-meat-pt-2-animal.html