New research found microplastics deep within the lungs of living humans for the first time in history. In previous years, researchers discovered micro-plastics in human cadaver autopsy samples. In 2018, the Environment Agency Austria estimated that over 50% of the world’s population may harbor microplastics in their stools. A 2022 study, however, discovered the disturbing fact that microplastics exist in human blood. 

A few years ago, microplastics were discovered in fish guts and shellfish, making the consumption of seafood somewhat dangerous. Shellfish, in particular, was a big worry because people eat the entire animal, unlike fish. In 2017, Belgian scientists announced that seafood consumers could consume up to 11,000 plastic particles per year by eating mussels. Not only do microplastics exist in our waterways, environment, and seafood, but they also exist in our bodies. Some evidence found microplastics in rain and the air we breathe! 

What Are Microplastics?

Plastic is a material that is composed of synthetic compounds and semi-synthetic organic compounds. Plastic materials are easy and inexpensive to manufacture, which is why there are so many plastic goods in existence. Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic smaller than five millimeters in size. They disintegrate from larger plastic materials, but you can also find them in food containers, clothing, and exfoliants. 

Plastic materials are not biodegradable; rather, they break up into much smaller pieces after physical abrasion or ultraviolet light exposure. When plastic bottles end up in the ocean, for example, the continuous sunlight exposure causes them to break down. Once microplastics move with the currents of the ocean, they can travel throughout all areas of the marine ecosystem. 

Five Main Types Of Microplastics

Nurdles

Even though this is a fun word to say, these small plastic pellets easily end up in waterways. Manufacturers use them to make plastic goods, but their tiny size causes them to spill out of transportation vehicles. Similar to microbeads, nurdles end up in the ocean or waterways, where wildlife mistake them as food. 

Microbeads

Microbeads are non-biodegradable particles of plastic, which measure less than one millimeter in diameter. They exist in exfoliating products, facial cleansers, toothpaste, and more. It’s very easy for wildlife to mistake microbeads for food, and this poses a danger because plastics are not digestible. In fact, microbeads clog the intestines of animals, leading to potential starvation and death.

Fibers

Fibers come from cigarette butts, fleece clothing, diapers, and other materials. Microfibers easily enter waterways via washing machines. Unlike cotton or wool, microfibers are not biodegradable, which is why they harm the environment. 

Foam

Coffee cups, food containers, and other similar styrofoam items are some of the most harmful items to the environment. Foam chemicals leach into beverages and foods, and reheating food in styrofoam containers increases the risk of toxic exposure. Similar to fragments (detailed next), styrofoam breaks down into lots of tiny pieces. 

Fragments

These are essentially smaller pieces of plastic that break off from larger plastic materials. The sun’s UV rays break down fragments into even smaller pieces of plastic. Fragments are commonly from plastic cutlery, single-use water bottles, or plastic lids. 

Microplastics In Humans

Research on microplastics is far from new. In fact, Richard Thompson, a marine scientist from the University of Plymouth, coined the term “microplastics” in 2004. The term followed Thompson’s discovery of plastics the size of grains of rice above the tideline on an English beach. Since then, researchers have discovered microplastics around the world, from the deepest point of the ocean to the summit of Mount Everest. They are even in fresh fruits, vegetables, drinking water, and the air we breathe. In fact, they exist in incomprehensible numbers, with the latest 2021 tally totaling at 24.4 trillion microplastics in the world’s upper oceans. To put that in perspective, that’s the equivalent of 30 billion half-liter water bottles.  

Scientists in the U.K. and the Netherlands found tiny plastic particles in living humans. The microplastics were deep inside the lungs of surgical patients and in the blood of anonymous donors. Scientists agree that they have never seen plastics in those areas of the body before. The published studies never answered the question of potential harm; rather, the focus seemed to shift from plastics to airborne particles that we breathe. Some of these particles are so small that they can penetrate deep within the body and end up inside cells. 

More research is necessary on how the types of microplastics affect plasma or cell types. If microplastics end up in cells, can the cells transport them across the mucosa and into the bloodstream? And once plastic particles are in the bloodstream, they can exist in immune cells, posing a serious risk for overall immune function and autoimmune disorders. By 2050, the World Economic Forum says there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans. Let’s do our best to correct that statistic! 

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A lot of people want to avoid meat and poultry because of the poor living conditions and diets of these animals. They turn to seafood in hopes that there will be better alternatives. Certain types of wild-caught fish exhibit powerful nutrients that aid with muscle-building and improve cognitive performance. Wild-caught tuna, mahi mahi, cod, or salmon provide ample omega-3s, but they can be quite costly. That prompts many people to shop for more affordable fish like tilapia or Swai.

What Is Swai? 

Swai has become increasingly popular in the United States within the last couple decades. It’s a freshwater fish that is native to the Mekong lake in Southeast Asia, with most of the extensive fish farming occurring in Vietnam. Most swai that you purchase comes from Vietnam, despite ongoing controversy about their living conditions. There is an incredible demand for seafood, and low prices have lead to seafood mislabelling, i.e. intentional fish fraud. Vietnamese catfish, also known as swai, became labeled as wild-caught snapper, grouper, or cod on menus at restaurants around the United States.

A lot of Americans enjoy swai because it is affordable and doesn’t have a typical fishy taste or smell. It takes on the flavor of whatever seasonings, dressings, or sauces you put on it, and it doesn’t have a very bony structure. These qualities make it attractive to the consumer, but concerns about unsafe practices of fish farming in Vietnam should make you question swai consumption. 

Is It Safe To Eat Swai?

If you want the honest truth, then the answer is no. This doesn’t have anything to do with swai’s nutritional content; rather, it’s because of the farming practices and the diet of the fish. The main reasons that you should avoid swai is because of the presence of dangerous microbes, antibiotic use to treat sick fish, and filthy water conditions. Continue reading to learn the primary reasons to stop eating swai. 

Fish Farms Are Harmful To Humans And Animals

People establish factory fish farms in the Mekong Delta with very little oversight, if any at all. Untreated wastewater from the fish ponds flows directly into the river. The water in these ponds contains feces, chemicals, medicine, and other pathogens from the river’s natural ecosystem. This negatively affects wildlife that inhabit the river downstream from the ponds. For many people in that region, the Mekong is the primary source of drinking water. The river is naturally polluted, and the harmful waste from the fish farms leads to further contamination.

Heavy Antibiotic Use During Production

Think of fish farms like crowded hen houses, where the the risk of infectious diseases in fish increases. One study found that 70-80% of swai samples exported to Poland, Germany, and Ukraine contained Vibrio bacterium. This is a common microbe that is involved in shellfish food poisoning in people. A separate study of imported seafood found that swai frequently exceeded drug residue limits. Vietnam has the greatest number of drug residue violations among the countries that export swai. There was a recall of 84,000 pounds of frozen swai filets imported from Vietnam because they failed to meet U.S. requirements that test fish for drug residues. Even with proper inspection and antibiotic and other drug residues being below the legal limit, the frequent use of antibiotics can promote antibiotic resistant bacteria in swai. 

Fish Mislabeling And Fraud

In addition to the high sodium content and antibiotic presence in swai, there is a lot of fish mislabeling that surrounds it. Many people like to consume swai because of the price, but restaurants commonly mislabel it and sell it as more expensive fish like grouper, sole, and flounder. A report by Oceana indicates that swai was one of the top-three types of fish most commonly substituted for higher-value fish. Oceana included 200 sources confirming this fact in its report. Researchers found that all but one study in this report recorded evidence of seafood fraud. Lastly, in 58% of cases, the samples substituted for other types of fish posed health risks to consumers. 

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The word “shellfish” may seem innocent enough, but in reality, shell fish are actually one of the dirtiest types of sea food you can eat. There are two types of shellfish:

• Mollusks-oysters, clams, mussels, abalone, scallops, etc.
• Crustaceans-lobster, crab. Shrimp, langostino, crawfish, etc.

Crustacean means “insect of the ocean.” They are the bottom feeder of the ocean. Mulloscs fllter ocean water for food, and eat anything with nutritious value, even the waste or feces of other fish.

Some religious law prohibits the consumption of shellfish due to its “unclean” status. While it’s commonly believed the foods are banned to test faith, the reality is these foods were likely banned because they were commonly associated with food poisoning or public health issues.

Lobster

The reason lobsters are cooked “live” is due to the bacterial problem, which occurs immediately upon their death.

Lobsters turn red when boiled due to the chitin they possess. Chitin contains a bright red pigment called “astaxanthin.” Astaxanthin is bonded to several proteins, and when the chitin bonds, it remains brownish-red in color. However, when the protein is heated with boiling water, the bonds break and the astaxanthin is released.

Shrimp

Shrimp is a scavenger that thrives off of eating the flesh of dead creatures.

If you eat shrimp, you should be aware that you might be eating feces as well. The dark-colored tube on the shrimps back is the intestinal tract of the shrimp and it harbors bacteria. If you enjoy eating shrimp, you should remove the intestinal tube by running a small pick down the back of the shrimp until the tube falls out.

Natural Alternatives to Shellfish

Today, you can find mock crabmeat, mock shrimp, and mock tuna. For many people this may be an acquired taste, but there are less health risks when eating mock meat compared to the real thing.

There are a few ingenious mock seafood products available today in some health food stores. There are restaurants that prepare delectable mock seafood as well. These products are usually soy based, so be careful of how much you eat due to potential issues that can arise from overconsumption of soy.

Tuna lovers should experiment with mock tuna meats because many dolphins are being caught in the nets used for catching tuna fish.

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Many people claim to have an addiction to meat but these people are not really addicted to the meats themselves, they are addicted to the chemicals that are added to the meats.

Meats produced in commercialized and industrial nations can be toxic because of how the animals are reared, killed, and processed in slaughterhouses and factory farms.

Contrary to popular belief, meat is not a necessary source of protein, especially if the meat is cooked. No true carnivore eats his or her meat cooked.

The human being is not a carnivore by nature. It is the mind of man and woman that deludes him or herself into thinking and believing they are carnivores or herbivores.

Dangers of Eating Meat

Cooking the meat alters it’s molecular structure and it’s impossible to acquire the complete protein with 22 amino acids without consuming the entire animal.

Animals in the wild acquire complete protein because they eat everything on an animal that they have captured for purposes of devouring. True carnivores have large amounts of hydrochloric acid in their bodies to digest animal meat and animal scales, fur, wool, feathers, and even the bones. Humans, of course, do not have large amounts of hydrochloric acid in their systems and are not meant to eat these sorts of things.

In industrialized nations such as the United States, animal meat contains a plethora of harmful chemical drugs due to the injections and food that is fed to the animals. These drugs and harmful substances include DDT, Arsenic (used in cattle feed as a growth stimulant), Sodium Sulfate (used to give meat that “fresh” red color), DES (a synthetic hormone and known carcinogen), Sodium Nitrate (another known carcinogen), and BGH (bovine growth hormone).

These factory farm bred and raised animals are fed Cement (to make them weigh more for purposes of the auction block), Sodium Bicarbonate (which makes them expel gas), Antibiotics, and even road-kill. Yes, dead animals are being added to animal feed and fed to animals that are vegetarian by nature which makes these animals go mad, hence “Mad Cow Disease.”

Even slaughtered cows are being ground up and fed to cows.

Most people who eat meat are not willing to go out and kill any of the animals they eat themselves. Corporations conveniently provide the meat for their consumers. This is the same reason why some people consume unhealthy foods. People are more willing to purchase goods that are readily available and accessible. Convenience plays a role in our daily habits and we need to be more mindful of this.

As humans, everything we to survive, including nutrition, are freely provided for by the land on Earth.

Today, man eats a lot of meat because of taste preference. If you cook your meat, you are altering the molecular structure of the animal and not deriving complete protein.

Lastly, remember that if you eat meat, your chances of bringing parasites into your body are greater.

How To Cut Out and Eventually Eliminate Meat From Your Diet

The first thing you need to do is a full body detox about every 3-6 months. The more you detox the more pure your body becomes, helping to remove the chemical residues from the meat and unhealthy foods that you consume. It also helps you gain much-needed experience with eating raw foods.

After detoxing, you may resume eating animal meat if you choose to do so, but remember to take it one day at a time and think about undoing the harm you have done to yourself by eating meat.

If you can’t avoid eating meat completely, simply eliminate eating the meat of one animal at a time.

Decide how long you will continue to eat the meats of certain animals until you have removed all meat from your diet.

To start off, try giving up meat one day a week. Instead of eating meat for seven days a week, eat meat only six days a week. On the day that you don’t eat meat, try eating vegan and/or raw foods for that particular day. This will help you acclimate to a vegan and raw foods diet and lifestyle.

Once you feel comfortable, try going 2-3 weeks on this diet diet: 6 days meat consumption, 1-day vegan/raw foods consumption.

Pork

Despite advertising pork as “the other white meat,” it’s actually one of the more unhealthier meats. Pork can be detrimental to your health because it can contain parasites and worms, give you headaches, raise your blood pressure, and raise your cholesterol level. Eliminate all pig or pork products first.

Pork products include but are not limited to pork chops, pork ribs, pastrami, pork wieners (hot dogs, frankfurters), bacon, ham, chitterlings, pork skins, pig feet, pig snouts, salt pork, salami, hog head cheese, fat back, pepperoni, bologna, pork sausage, ham hock, Vienna sausage, potted meat, deli ham slices, liver, and Spam.

Next, since you gave up pork, now give up beef. At the same time, give up two days of eating meat. So, instead of eating meat for six days of the week, eat meat only five days of the week. Two days a week, eat vegan and/or raw foods and stay away from meat.

Beef

Beef includes but is not limited to hamburger, barbecued beef ribs, steak (tenderloin, Salisbury), beef wieners, ground beef, beef sausage, pastrami, neck bones, meat loaf, beef stew, liver, and beef jerky.

For each type of meat you give up, also give up a day of eating meat.

For example:

No pork consumption = 1 day of not eating any meat and only eating vegan/raw foods for that one day.

No beef consumption = 2 days of not eating meat and eating vegan/raw foods. This means, two days of eating meat and two days of eating vegan/raw foods.

After you have given up beef, also give up lamb (if you eat lamb). Lamb is a favorite meat for many Muslims those living in the Mediterranean world and culture.

Lamb

Lamb (baby sheep) includes but is not limited to lamb chops, veal, shish kabob, lamb korma, lamb rogan, liver, and lamb keema.

So, instead of eating meat for five days a week, only eat meat four days a week. These three particular days can be back-to-back-to-back or just any three days out of the week that you choose to eat vegan and/or raw foods.

Cutting out pork = 1 meatless day

Cutting out beef = 2 meatless days

Cutting out lamb = 3 meatless days

After you give up lamb, also give up chicken and turkey.

Fowl and Poultry

The next step is eliminating fowl and poultry from your diet.

A fowl (cock or hen) and poultry (chicken, turkey, ducks, and geese) include but are not limited to chicken wings, chicken breasts, chicken thighs, drumsticks, chicken nuggets, ground chicken, turkey bacon, turkey, ground turkey, Rock cornish hen, squab, Peking duck, grilled chicken, deli turkey, chicken and turkey jerky, and chicken slices.

Instead of eating meat for four days a week, now only eat meat three days a week. Take the four meatless days out of the week and eat vegan and/or raw foods. These days can be back-to-back-to-back-to-back or just any four days out of the week that you choose to eat vegan and/or raw foods.

When you get to this point, now you’re eating less meat and your week consists of eating mainly vegan and raw foods. You’re now well on your way to becoming meatless or vegetarian.

After you give up fowl and poultry, give up seafood in the form of crustaceans.

Crustaceans (Shellfish)

Crustaceans includes but is not limited to crabs, lobsters, shrimps, barnacles, clams, and oysters.

Many crustaceans are scavengers in nature and eat dead remain in the ocean. Technically, fish is considered seafood because fish is food that comes out of the sea for humans. Octopus is also technically considered seafood.

So, instead of eating meat for three days a week, only eat meat for two days a week. Take the five meatless days out of your week and eat vegan and/or raw foods. These particular days can be back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back or just any five days out of the week that you choose to eat vegan and/or raw foods.

Fish (Fresh water and salt water)

Lastly, you give up fish, the best meat you could eat if you had to or chose to eat animal meat.

Fish includes, but is not limited to anchovy, sardine, tuna (albacore), salmon, whiting, buffalo, red snapper, catfish (a scavenger); cod, halibut, mackerel, mako (shark); rainbow trout, swordfish, and trout.

Because fish is the very last meat you should give up, it will constitute the last 2 days. Once you give up fish, there won’t be any days scheduled to eat meat in this specific diet.

After giving up fish, you technically be a vegetarian.

Solutions

On your path to becoming a vegetarian, it is important to take certain products to help digest the meat in your intestinal tract and get rid of any left over residue from the meat.

If you need to consume some enzymes while you’re still eating meat, enzymes from a fruit-based source such as pineapple (bromelain) and papaya (Papain) would be best.

These enzymes will help the meat digest in the stomach. Remember that our bodies were not designed to consume raw or cooked animal meat. Humans don’t have the necessary amounts of hydrochloric acid in their bodies to digest animal meat.

Bromelain and Papain help digest animal proteins. Most commercial brands of enzyme supplements are in hardened pill or tablet form, but DHerbs.com vegan or gelatin-free capsules.

If you eat meat, you should also consider consuming Cayenne as well as periodically perform a parasite and worm cleanse.

Meat lacks enzymes, especially cooked meat. It is not going to move in the intestinal tract and thus your colon may become impaired. It is the enzymes in live foods such as sun-cooked organic raw foods that stimulate peristalsis in the bowels.

Peristalsis is the involuntary constriction and relaxation of the muscles in the intestines, creating a wavelike movement that pushes the contents of the canal forwards.

Meat does not stimulate peristalsis because whereas fruits and vegetables are alive, meat, especially cooked meat, is dead.

Fruits and vegetables contain enzymes, meat does not.

The herb ‘Senna’ is so powerful an herb that experiments have been done on the bowels of dead people with this native African plant.

Colon hydrotherapy is another highly recommended regimen. You should perform a series of three colonic sessions in a one-week period, every 3 months if possible.

Enemas are also recommended because meat has a tendency to get stuck in the rectum.

Periodic fasting is also recommended.

In closing, a person who eats meat would really do themselves wonders and justice by eliminating animal products from their diet. There is no comparison in health benefits when comparing a plant-based diet to a meat-based one.

Studies

Consider the following:

Respected nutrition and health researcher, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author of “The China Study” reveals “People who ate the most animal-based foods got the most chronic disease… People who ate the most plant-based foods were the healthiest and tended to avoid chronic disease.

Further, scientific studies have correlated animal-based diets with disease. The authors of the China Study conclude that diets high in protein, particularly animal protein (including casein in cow’s milk are strongly linked to diseases such as heart disease, cancer and Type 2 diabetes.

There is a relationship between the consumption of animal products and illnesses such as cancers of the breast, prostate, kidneys, the colon; diabetes, coronary heart disease, obesity, autoimmune disease, osteoporosis, degenerative brain disease fibroid tumors, kidney stones, high cholesterol, respiratory disorders, menstrual complaints, and macular degeneration.

The authors of The China Study recommend that people eat a whole food, plant-based diet and avoid consuming beef, poultry and milk as a means of minimizing and/or reversing the development of chronic disease.

For meatless recipes to assist in one’s transition to a vegan diet, please visit Dherbs Recipes section for recipes and the Dherbs Directory for a list of vegan and raw food restaurants in major U.S. cities.

For a directory of vegan and raw food restaurants around the globe, visit Happy Cow.net

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