Pescetarian, not Presbyterian.
Once upon a time, I was sitting in a youth class at church. Something said by the dear sweet teacher, Sister Holm, struck my ten-year-old brain hard, for some reason: "When I was a girl like you, I decided I'll live to be 100, and I'm sticking to it." Huh, I thought. Well, if she can make up her mind to live that long, then so can I! Except I decided, on account of my age, that I would live to be one hundred and ten. And I didn't wanna live that long just to die old and stuck in a chair-- I wanted to keep my body moving for as long as possible! And it is possible to run a marathon as an old folk, according to Fauja Singh. So I began my quest to keep my word, and attain cenetariansim. This post is about one of the ways I've calculated might help me keep that self-promise.
Okay, so I'm finally coming up with a reason for being pescetarian. People always ask, and my standard answer has been, "uh, I dunno, I just like fish." Well, that's not gonna cut it anymore. I've taken advantage of the expansive database that my university has provided me with, and I found some articles that explain the benefits of giving up delicious meats like beef and bacon, and sticking to sushi.
Lots of scientists have observed that including fish in our diets leads to a healthy life (Thalheimer, 2015). As a pescetarian, I avoid red meat laden with saturated fat, I am prompted to eat a plethora of fruits and veggies, and I get a heart-healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids from my fishy friends and lots of minerals from my shellfish. The American Heart Association journal purports that if we eat fish 1-2 times weekly, we can reduce heart problems by up to 50 percent! Additionally, studies show that vegetarians/pescetarians actually have lower BMIs, lower risk of type 2 diabetes, and longer life span (Thalheimer,
2015).
Some pescetarians choose the seafood life because of their love of fluffy animals. I myself am an animal lover, and believe they should be treated humanely. However, I also believe God put beasts on the earth for the benefit of mankind. The Word of Wisdom actually recommends the consumption of "beasts and of the fowls of the air," but it also mentions that these things should be "used sparingly." So, my choice of being a pescetarian is not to look beyond the mark of living the Word of Wisdom-- I understand that meatlovers will be blessed with healthy lives, so long as they balance out the beast with some grains and veg.
Some guy wrote his entire dissertation on the practice of pescetarianism, and he provided a great analysis on the peer-reviewed literature concerning the topic. This man found that "one of the most expansive epidemiological studies on health and diet to date" concluded that eating steak, hamburger, chicken, turkey, etc. is "associated with cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and several types of cancer-- and should thus be... avoided, with a single exception: fish..." (Lai, 2010).
If you want to go green, pescetariansim apparently helps with that too! (This, I didn't know). We've all heard of global warming, but did you know that by not eating red meat reduces greenhouse-gases? Do you wanna know why? Because cows are flatulent beasts, and their release of methane accounts for about 50% more than transportation (Lai, 201; Levitt & Dubner, 2009: 167). Ha! That one's just for fun.
So, we should all live off fish, right? Well, I'll admit I did find evidences that there are "chemical dangers-- including dioxins, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyles" which appear mostly in fish caught from rivers and lakes (Lai, 2010). Unfortunately, the U.S. has pretty low standards of safety when it comes to protecting the public against these things. Also, one Harvard study actually challenges whether or not omega-3 fatty acids are good for you or not, citing a possible increase in the risk of breast cancer (Lai, 2010; Campbell &Campbell II, 2006:282). Despite this, the overwhelming research consensus is that omega-3's benefit us because they are linked to lower levels of blood fat, anti-inflammation that helps with arthritis and asthma, a decrease in symptoms of depression and ADHD, improvement in babies' visual and neurological development, and protection against dementia (WebMD, Omega-3). All these things sound pretty important to me-- particularly regarding the dementia, because my grandparents have suffered from that. It's scary, and I prefer to prevent the possibility of having my kids watch me deteriorate in such a way.
Overall, researching the weird diet that I picked up in high school has actually been very eye-opening. I've realized there are both pros and cons to this lifestyle, and I think the research is interesting. I've been a pescetarian for an accumulative two years, and it wasn't until writing this blog post that I actually stopped to think why the heck I started! Maybe one day I will stop. But for now, I'll keep on living life, pesce-style.
It all comes down to this. I believe in a God, who is my Creator. He's also my loving Heavenly Father, and I love Him back. I know He wants me to take care of this body of mine while I still can. I want to be healthy now so that in 88 years, when I am closing my eyes for the last time, I can leave feeling satisfied by the full and healthy life I've lived.
Thalheimer, J. C. (2015). Pescetarian Diet: Swimming in Benefits. Environmental Nutrition, 38(1), 6.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids Facts, n.d. In WebMD. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/omega-3-fatty-acids-fact-sheet?page=2
Okay, so I'm finally coming up with a reason for being pescetarian. People always ask, and my standard answer has been, "uh, I dunno, I just like fish." Well, that's not gonna cut it anymore. I've taken advantage of the expansive database that my university has provided me with, and I found some articles that explain the benefits of giving up delicious meats like beef and bacon, and sticking to sushi.
Lots of scientists have observed that including fish in our diets leads to a healthy life (Thalheimer, 2015). As a pescetarian, I avoid red meat laden with saturated fat, I am prompted to eat a plethora of fruits and veggies, and I get a heart-healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids from my fishy friends and lots of minerals from my shellfish. The American Heart Association journal purports that if we eat fish 1-2 times weekly, we can reduce heart problems by up to 50 percent! Additionally, studies show that vegetarians/pescetarians actually have lower BMIs, lower risk of type 2 diabetes, and longer life span (Thalheimer,2015).
Some pescetarians choose the seafood life because of their love of fluffy animals. I myself am an animal lover, and believe they should be treated humanely. However, I also believe God put beasts on the earth for the benefit of mankind. The Word of Wisdom actually recommends the consumption of "beasts and of the fowls of the air," but it also mentions that these things should be "used sparingly." So, my choice of being a pescetarian is not to look beyond the mark of living the Word of Wisdom-- I understand that meatlovers will be blessed with healthy lives, so long as they balance out the beast with some grains and veg.
Some guy wrote his entire dissertation on the practice of pescetarianism, and he provided a great analysis on the peer-reviewed literature concerning the topic. This man found that "one of the most expansive epidemiological studies on health and diet to date" concluded that eating steak, hamburger, chicken, turkey, etc. is "associated with cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and several types of cancer-- and should thus be... avoided, with a single exception: fish..." (Lai, 2010).
If you want to go green, pescetariansim apparently helps with that too! (This, I didn't know). We've all heard of global warming, but did you know that by not eating red meat reduces greenhouse-gases? Do you wanna know why? Because cows are flatulent beasts, and their release of methane accounts for about 50% more than transportation (Lai, 201; Levitt & Dubner, 2009: 167). Ha! That one's just for fun.
So, we should all live off fish, right? Well, I'll admit I did find evidences that there are "chemical dangers-- including dioxins, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyles" which appear mostly in fish caught from rivers and lakes (Lai, 2010). Unfortunately, the U.S. has pretty low standards of safety when it comes to protecting the public against these things. Also, one Harvard study actually challenges whether or not omega-3 fatty acids are good for you or not, citing a possible increase in the risk of breast cancer (Lai, 2010; Campbell &Campbell II, 2006:282). Despite this, the overwhelming research consensus is that omega-3's benefit us because they are linked to lower levels of blood fat, anti-inflammation that helps with arthritis and asthma, a decrease in symptoms of depression and ADHD, improvement in babies' visual and neurological development, and protection against dementia (WebMD, Omega-3). All these things sound pretty important to me-- particularly regarding the dementia, because my grandparents have suffered from that. It's scary, and I prefer to prevent the possibility of having my kids watch me deteriorate in such a way. Overall, researching the weird diet that I picked up in high school has actually been very eye-opening. I've realized there are both pros and cons to this lifestyle, and I think the research is interesting. I've been a pescetarian for an accumulative two years, and it wasn't until writing this blog post that I actually stopped to think why the heck I started! Maybe one day I will stop. But for now, I'll keep on living life, pesce-style.
It all comes down to this. I believe in a God, who is my Creator. He's also my loving Heavenly Father, and I love Him back. I know He wants me to take care of this body of mine while I still can. I want to be healthy now so that in 88 years, when I am closing my eyes for the last time, I can leave feeling satisfied by the full and healthy life I've lived.
References (In case ya don't believe me)
Lai, E. (2010). Pescetarianism: The choices, experiences, and trajectories of seafood0inclusive dietary lifestyles (Order No. 3412215). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global; Social Science Premium Collection. (737583374). Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/737583374?accountid-4488Thalheimer, J. C. (2015). Pescetarian Diet: Swimming in Benefits. Environmental Nutrition, 38(1), 6.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids Facts, n.d. In WebMD. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/omega-3-fatty-acids-fact-sheet?page=2
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