It’s that time of year again to get the oven fired up and toss in the turkey. But, for those who are whole food plant-based or vegan, that’s not an option. We can either totally enjoy a meal of well-cooked and seasoned vegetables or succumb to our desire to have something that reminds us of a slaughtered animal, like Tofurky or other meat substitutes.
I suggest the first option.
When I converted to veganism I would have gone for the first option, but that was back in 1989. From that period until 2012 or so, I ate most of the fake meat products or at least tried them. Most of them are made with seitan, tempeh or tofu, with plenty of “flavorings” added in. Some tasted great, while some were absolutely horrible. Then, when I started research for my book, “The 1st Aisle: How to Eat for Maximum Health“, I turned against most of those fake meat products. The more I educated myself the more I came to the conclusion that meat products are not our biggest problem. I believe chemical food additives are the biggest culprit.
Whenever you consume fake meat products, you’ll most likely get a full complement of chemical additives to simulate the taste and feel of meat. Those chemical additives are the same ones that may be added to paint, household cleaning products or perfumes to produce similar coloring, texture and smell of actual meat.
However, have our bodies adapted to digesting those chemical additives? They may be “generally regarded as safe” by the government or food manufacturers, but I’ve never trusted that designation. I’m of the belief that our bodies have not adapted to those chemicals, even in small amounts. That said, we must shy away from them for maximum health.
For instance, on the label, Tofurky “…contains less than 2% of onion, carrot, celery, garlic, leek, lemon juice concentrate, cornstarch, garbanzo bean flour, white bean flour, rosemary extract, calcium lactate, potassium chloride.”
Although most of the ingredients sound innocuous, due to creative labelling, over time they could wreak havoc on your body. Therefore, it’s time to get over our obsession with what reminds us of meat.
Play it safe and stick to those veggies.
