Be an ‘almost’ vegetarian

There has been much discussion over the years about whether it is
healthier to
be a meat-eater or a vegetarian. Chinese medicine suggests that we
should eat
only a small amount of meat because of its ‘rich’ qualities, which I
have already
mentioned. Research bears out this view.
Too much meat
Eating a lot of meat can lead to a diet that is far too high in fat.
Studies have been
carried out in the West on the correlation between a regular high
consumption
of meat in the diet with coronary heart disease and many types of
cancer.
Research carried out in the United States found a difference between
people
who consumed meat daily and those who didn’t. Those who ate meat
every day
were found to have a 60% greater chance of dying from coronary
heart disease
than those who consumed meat less than once a week.

Not enough meat

On the other hand, a lack of meat can lead to serious deficiency. A
study has
linked eating meat during pregnancy with healthier babies. In this
study 549
women were surveyed between 1948 and 1954 and the offspring
traced 40 years
later. This research suggests that women who cut down on eating
meat during
pregnancy could risk producing children who suffer from an increased
risk of
high blood pressure and heart disease in middle age.26
Nourishing our ‘Blood’ by eating meat
Chinese medicine says that animal products such as meat and fish are
especially
effective for nourishing the ‘Blood’ in our bodies. It views Blood in a
slightly
different way from Western medicine. Blood is responsible for
‘nourishing and
moistening’ our systems and for keeping our ‘spirit’ settled in the
body.
If we become ‘Blood deficient’ we can have symptoms such as
anxiety, panic
attacks, insomnia and a poor memory. These are symptoms affecting
our spirit.
Other symptoms such as tiredness, cramps, pins and needles, light-
headedness,
dry skin, or floaters in front of the eyes can arise. This is because our
system is
not properly nourished and moistened by our Blood.
From these symptoms we can realize that Blood deficiency causes
many
disabling symptoms. These include anxiety, jumpiness and possibly a
lack of
confidence. A condition sometimes treated as a mental or emotional
problem
can simply be due to a deficient diet.