“The chosen one that has turned a new leaf
I got gold teeth, and they don’t chew beef
No pork on my fork, strictly fish on my dish
The Kane fallin victim? Sucker, you wish.”
- Big Daddy Kane, “Young, Gifted & Black”
Now I’ve eaten meat my entire life. I love me a good steak, I’m a sucker for a good bacon cheeseburger and I’m black so fried chicken is always a good idea. Somewhere around the turn of 2010 when my metabolism slowed down and my stomach went from barely not there to life of the party, a good friend of mine who is a vegan suggested I do a 21 day seafood and greens diet.
I’m always down for a good challenge, so I did it. Twenty-one days, no meat, no chicken, no fun. Or so I thought. The results were impressive if anything, I dropped a few notches in size and I felt great inside. The challenge became something I tried to do once a year. Twenty-one days no meat whatsoever. I looked forward to that time for some odd reason, it was like me purifying all of my dietary sins committed during the rest of the year. Beyond the physical implications of the diet, it took me a while to see the long term health benefits.
I used to joke that vegans were worse than Jehovah’s Witnesses. I actually still use the joke to this day. They are though, there is no worse feeling in the world than having a meal with a vegan. They will ruin your concept of food to the point where you don’t even have an appetite anymore. Now I will probably never go as far as being a vegan, but I understand their philosophy a bit better in my old age. Follow me…
Countless studies have proven the damaging, life-long health effects that meat has on your body. In fact, the International Agency for Research of Cancer has done the most comprehensive study that I’ve seen, linking processed meat to cancer causing agents. From diabetes to heart diseases, meat is linked to so many health scares that when you start looking at this research, you’d be a fool to not considering a life change.
My life change came recently. I’ve completely cut out the consumption of all meat and chicken in my diet. It’s been about three months and I can tell you I’ve seen the changes. I lost a little weight without trying, I feel more energetic, my sleeping pattern has actually reversed for the better. This was my first step into a healthy lifestyle. I’ve yet to shake breads and french fries and sugars fully, but I’m getting there. Baby steps. To be honest, I don’t even miss meat, I don’t even crave it anymore. I’ve grown to really love and embrace seafood.
“No pork on my fork, strictly fish on my dish,” are now the words I live by. Big Daddy Kane was really on to something.
