Description: In this episode, Melissa interviews Lierre Keith, Author of The Vegetarian Myth, radical feminist, food activist, and environmentalist. Lierre was a vegan for 20 years, and though she is an animal lover that did so for ethical reasons, she later learned about the harmful effects that vegan, vegetarian and high-carb, low-fat diets can have on the body. Melissa and Lierre discuss why people should eat a more holistic diet that includes animal products.
In this episode you’ll learn:
04:25 Destructive Cultural Nutritional Myths
11:05 Lierre’s Vegan Story
20:58 The Effects on the Body
29:59 Reintroduction
45:46 The Nature of Nature
54:04 Realizations
Destructive Cultural Nutritional Myths
There are many nutritional myths that people believe are hard facts. Lierre explains some common cultural myths and how the population has been treated as an experiment as a result of the power structures within the American food system. We were taught about the food pyramid which told us to eat a diet of mostly carbs and a small amount of meat. Weight gain and poor health are a result of this.
Lierre’s Vegan Story
Lierre became a vegan, like most people do, by being convinced by another person. Right away, she started to get extreme blood sugar crashes. This happens with any high-carb, low-fat diet. Lierre talks about how veganism becomes part of people’s identity and fundamental belief system.
The Effects on the Body
There were other problems that she experienced in her body as well, some of them permanent. She stopped menstruating for a period of time, and after 20 years of being vegan, she now has multiple autoimmune diseases and deals with pain on a daily basis.
Reintroduction
Lierre decided that the first animal product she was going to reintroduce was eggs. She saw changes in her complexion after four days. She hopes that listeners can learn from her experience and try a change in diet to see if they feel better if something isn’t working. Lierre explains why she doesn’t feel it’s possible to live optimally with vegan and vegetarian diets. She discusses some common deficiencies and issues that happen in the body.
The Nature of Nature
Lierre shares her advice for changing your mindset behind the vegan diet in regards to ethical reasons. She says it comes down to a misunderstanding of the nature of nature, and the nature of agriculture. Farming wheat, rice and soy has a huge impact on the biodiversity and amount of life in these regions. Her point is that these farming practices are not good for animals.
Realizations
It was a sad moment for Lierre when she realized that no matter what, something had to die for her to eat that day. It was a horrible realization for a vegan. But what you can do, is eat sustainable, ethically sourced meats and animal products to contribute to recreating ecosystems and starting to heal the impacts of mass grain farming.
Resources from this episode:
Get Lierre’s Book: Here
Visit Lierre’s Website: Here
Melissa’s Recommendations and Affiliation links Here
Follow Melissa on Instagram
Find out more about Melissa Here
Get The M.A.D.E. Diet Ebook Here
Thank you so much for listening to this episode! I’m honored and excited to be on this journey toward personal growth, a healthy lifestyle, and a greater more confident you. I’d love to hear from you. So please share this episode with anyone that you think needs to hear this message and remember to rate review and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. My name is Melissa McAllister. And until next time, thank you for being your own health advocate.
