Why we should avoid pork
By: Dr. Josh Ax , October 31, 2016
Regardless of what you think about it, pigs are really quite dirty animals. They are considered scavengers of garbage and waste on farms, because they often eat literally everything they find. This includes not only bugs, insects, and any trash they come across, but also their own feces, as well as the carcasses of sick animals, including their young. There are examples of a farmer going to feed his pigs and never coming back. One morning in 2012, one of them literally became breakfast for pigs[3].
When we know what pigs are fed, it is clear why pork could be so unclean or at least disgusting for us to eat. Although the topic of whether or not there is a valid reason to eat or not eat a certain food has already been exhausted, we still need to say something more about pork before we make our own decision about it. So let's talk about this popular, but seriously questionable protein source.
There are reasons why pork is more saturated with toxins than other farm animals. The first reason is the digestive system of pigs. Digestion in a pig, regardless of what it eats, is quite fast and lasts about four hours. A cow, for example, needs a good 24 hours to digest what it has eaten.
Problems with pork - the other side of the coin
1.Problematic digestive system in pigs
During the digestive process, animals and humans get rid of excess toxins, as well as other nutritional ingredients that can be dangerous to health. Since the pig's digestive system works quite simply, many of these toxins remain in that system from where they are stored in the extremely fatty tissue that we so enjoy eating.
Another problem with pigs is that they have very few functional sweat glands and hardly sweat at all[4]. With the help of sweat glands, the body gets rid of toxins. Because of this, more toxins remain in the pig's body. None of us need more poison in our bodies. On the contrary, we should all do what we can to reduce our exposure to toxins. One way to do this is through careful food selection, and for me that definitely means completely avoiding products that contain pork in any form.
2. Bacon and other pork products increase the risk of cancer
Processed food includes products such as bacon, ham, sausage, hot dogs and cold cuts. Do you notice any similarities? These are mostly pork products. How much processed meat is 50 grams? About 4 slices of ham. Probably think about eating only two slices of ham then. According to this study, this increases the likelihood of 9% cancer.
Unfortunately, pork and processed foods are most often used by people who are on a keto-[7] or paleo diet, as well as on the Atkinson diet. Instead, it would be better for them to consume healthier meats: such as beef, lamb, buffalo meat or chicken.
3. Swine flu in humans
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that H1N1 and H3N2 are swine flu viruses that are "endemic to the swine population in the United States and something the industry deals with routinely." Epidemics can occur throughout the year. H1N1 was observed in the pig population as early as 1930 (probably earlier), while H3N2 began in the United States around 1998[9]. Swine flu has not been shown to be transmissible to humans when they eat properly treated and prepared pork - that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tells us. Properly prepared means that it has been cooked at an internal temperature of around 70ºC, which should kill viruses and other pathogens from food. But what if you're using pork from an animal that had the flu and it wasn't cooked according to those instructions? I would definitely not want to do an experiment and try that
4. Dangers of trichinosis
This worm-parasite is very common in pork. When the worm, which usually lives in the cysts of the pig's stomach, is released from the cyst using stomach acid, it releases larvae that are spread all over the pig's body. These new worms remain in the muscles of the pig. The next stage is the unfortunate man who consumed infected meat: similar to pigs, it also happens to humans. When you eat undercooked or raw pork, you also swallow trichinella larvae enclosed in cysts. Gastric juices break down the cyst, which releases the parasites in your gut. The larvae then penetrate the small intestine where they mature into adult worms that reproduce. In this stage of trichinosis, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue, nausea and vomiting are present.
Unfortunately, it doesn't end there. About a week after eating infected meat, adult female worms produce larvae in your body that enter your bloodstream and settle in muscles or other tissues. When this invasion occurs, symptoms of trichinosis include:
- Headache
- High temperature
- General weakness
- Muscle pain and tenderness
- Conjunctivitis[11]
- Sensitivity to light
- Swelling of the eyelids or face
And while, of course, no one wants to eat worms, trichinosis[12] is a serious disease that should definitely be avoided. Abdominal symptoms appear a day or two after infection, while others appear two to eight weeks
after infection. According to Mayo clinic, the severity of symptoms depends on the number of larvae that have been consumed in infected meat.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that pork be thoroughly boiled, but also frozen before cooking, in order to destroy all parasites. I don't know about you, but I don't feel good when I think about having to eat food that I have to kill worms in before I can eat it.
It is assumed that trichinosis was the cause of the sudden death of the genius composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the age of 35. An American researcher proposed this theory after studying documents recorded before, during and after Mozart's death. This research was carried out in Archives of Internal Medicine in June 2001, in which it is stated that Mozart suffered from most of the above symptoms, and in his notes he mentioned that he ate pork 44 days before the night he died[13].
5. Pigs contain various viruses and parasites
They carry a multitude of viruses and parasites that can infect us: either in direct contact with them on farms, or by using pork - so we expose ourselves to a high risk of getting these painful, often debilitating diseases (in addition, there is exposure to an excessive amount of toxic substances ).
Pigs can infect us with diseases such as:
- pork tapeworm
- hepatitis E virus (HEV) in developed countries, sporadic cases of HEV genotype 3 have occurred in humans after consumption of undercooked or raw meat[14]
- porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, known as "blue ear disease"
- Nipah virus
- Menangle virus
- group of viruses Paramyxoviridae[15]
Each of these parasites and viruses lead to serious health problems that can last for years.
Pigs and mass breeding
If all these reasons are not convincing, or you think that you will avoid these evils by thorough heat treatment of pork, then you should still know in what conditions the pigs that are raised for consumption live. Today, a whopping 97% of pigs in the US are raised on farms. This means that these pigs never live healthy, in fresh air and spacious pastures. If you eat pork, you should know that it is very likely that you are eating meat from a pig that has spent its entire life in noisy warehouses, without fresh air and movement, fed monotonous food and harmful drugs that keep them alive, because farmers want pigs to grow faster and to be thicker. These drugs often cause pigs to become immobile due to excessive and unnatural weight[16]. Does that sound like an advertisement for cultured meat? Of course not, which is why you should avoid pork and other mass-farmed meats.
Drug-resistant bacteria in pork steaks and ground pork
I talked a lot about how it affects people. Similar to humans, pigs are increasingly suffering from diseases that are resistant to antibiotics[17]. Maybe you like the taste of pork, but do you really want to consume a pork product that is infected with a "superbug"? The story of pork full of bacteria continues. Through the analysis of samples of pork steaks and ground pork that he carried out Consumer Reports In 2013, the widespread presence of (69%) bacteria was discovered Yersinia enterocolitica. This bacterium infects about 100,000 Americans a year, especially children, and causes fever, diarrhea, and abdominal pain[18].
The history of pork and cultures that do not use it
The pig is one of the oldest types of domestic animals; it was domesticated around 5,000 years before Christ. The history of the use of pork in the USA began with Hernando de Soto, who is considered the "father of the American pork industry". Soto arrived in Florida with 13 pigs in 1539, and that's how the consumption of pork in America began. The first commercial slaughterhouse was opened in Cincinnati, so that city was called "Porkopolis" [19]. The kosher diet of orthodox Jews, as well as the Islamic Halal, prohibit the consumption of pork. There are other religions and cultures that also avoid pork. Christian denominations that prohibit the use of pork are:
- Ethiopian Orthodox Church
- The Hebrew Roots Movement
- Messianic Jews
- Rastafarians
- Seventh-day Adventists
- United Church of God
These groups avoid pork based on Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 14, and Isaiah 65 and 66.
Final thoughts
What you decide to eat is up to you. Personally, I choose to stay away from unclean pork (and shellfish). The reasons discussed here are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to using pork and your health.
If you think you can opt for a "higher quality" pork product, think again. Don't fall for the "no hormones added" claim, because while this is true, hormones are not allowed in any pork products in the US. Pigs, their terrifyingly inhumane living conditions, as well as the mass use of poisonous drugs, are the main problems, which will not be solved by the declaration "No hormones".
Research independently, think carefully about what the Bible has been warning us about for millennia, and then make a decision based on your conscience about what and how you and your loved ones will consume.
If you have consumed this type of meat, we definitely recommend that you consult with our phytotherapists, medical dieticians, and doctors of natural medicine to detoxify your body. https://detoksikacija-organizma.com/shop/
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork
[2] https://biblija.ks.hr/search.aspx?k=3&p=11&r=1
[3] https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/10/farmer-eaten-by-hungry-hogs/
[4] https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/04/22/2223974.htm
[5] https://draxe.com/nutrition/processed-meat/
[6] https://www.cancer.org/latest-news.html
[7] https://draxe.com/nutrition/keto-diet-food-list/
[8] https://www.everydayhealth.com/swine-flu.aspx
[9] https://www.cdc.gov/flu/swineflu/keyfacts_pigs.htm
[10] https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/trichinellosis/
[11] https://draxe.com/health/pink-eye-symptoms/
[12] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/trichinosis/symptoms-causes/syc-203785
[13] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/648393
[14] https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hev/hevfaq.htm
[15] https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/4/2/98-0214_article
[16] https://www.peta.org/living/food/top-10-reasons-eat-pigs/
[17] https://draxe.com/health/antibiotic-resistance/
[18] https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2013/01/what-s-in-that-pork/index.htm
[19] https://www.pork.org/about/
Source: https://draxe.com/nutrition/why-you-should-avoid-pork/
