“So I am living without fats, without meat, without fish, but am feeling quite well this way. It always seems to me that man was not born to be a carnivore.”
(Letter dated 1950 by Albert Einstein, quoted in H. Eves, Mathematical Circles Adieu, 1977)
Looking deeper into Albert’s thoughts, he was right. According to Leitzmann (2012), the anatomical and physiological characteristics of a human being differ significantly from those of the carnivores.
Starting with teeth and jaws, continuing through the saliva to the digestive tract, the stomach, small intestine and large intestine have proportions and sizes suggesting a mixed but predominantly plant based diet. The human digestive tract has a different anatomical nature than the digestive organs of carnivores, such as dogs and cats. While the human intestine has numerous branches and curves, the gut of a carnivore is smooth and straight. The digestive tract of carnivores is designed in a way where ingested food is excreted quickly. Thus, poisonous metabolic products are not a problem for the digestive organs of a carnivorous animal, because all food remain only for a short time in the intestine.
In the human denture, molars predominate, while fangs are only marked and not complete like the ones of carnivores. Furthermore, the swallowing mechanism and the presence of a starch-degrading enzyme in the saliva are typical features of herbivores.
These clues and other insights show that a plant-based diet can dominate and be preferred (Leitzmann & Keller, 2010; Leitzmann, 2012; Robbins, 1995).
The question that arises is, if it is a health risk factor when a human being goes on a clean and complete plant based diet. This topic will get another post, so please prick up your ears and wait for it.
Also, please feel free to leave your thoughts in a comment below or ask questions and contact our Golden Future Team. We will be happy to give answers and support YOU!
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Much mahalo for your attention!
Leitzmann, C & Keller, M. (2010): Vegetarische Ernährung. Stuttgart: Eugen Ulmer Verlag.
Leitzmann, C. (2010). Vegetarismus. Grundlagen, Vorteile, Risiken. München: C.H.Beck Verlag.
Robbins, J. (1995). Ernährung für ein neues Jahrtausend. Aus dem Amerikanischen von Eric Kearney. Emmendingen: Hans-Nietsch-Verlag).
