Someone recently told me, “Jesus ate fish, and since He is our example, we should eat fish too.” Although there are many examples in the Scriptures where flesh foods were consumed, is this what God wanted us to have as food? Are there nutrients in flesh foods which cannot be found in a plant-based diet?

Lets take a look at some of the key nutrients found in salmon and in carrots. These nutrient measurements are based on a one-cup serving. 

As we can see, the nutrients found in salmon are also available in carrots. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of available nutrients from either source, but is given for the purpose of illustration.

As I researched all the various nutrients found in meat, I was able to find all of the same nutrients, and even more, in plant sources. This proved to me that I do not have to eat flesh foods to be healthy, as I can get all of my nutrition from plant sources without the diseases and cholesterol that I would get from flesh foods. Are you concerned about not getting all the protein you think you should from a plant based diet? Let’s consider how the body gets its protein.

As we eat foods that contain protein, our body breaks the protein down into amino acids. These amino acids are then re-structured to form the proteins which are necessary for use within our body. The body needs 23 amino acids, eight of which are essential. From these eight essential amino acids, the body can build all 23 amino acids.

Alfalfa sprouts are an excellent source of all eight essential amino acids. A combination of carrots, cabbage, and avocados will provide all 23 amino acids that your body needs to synthesize protein for repair and growth.

Sometimes, flesh foods seem to contain a lot more of some nutrients than plants do. The nutrients contained in animal flesh did not arrive there all at once but were accumulated through many feedings while the animal grew. A cow, for instance, never eats just one blade of grass but needs many blades of grass to get the quantity of nutrients that it needs. So it is with us, we eat quantities and varieties of foods to get all the nutrients we need but as my research shows, we do not need to eat flesh foods to get these nutrients. It then becomes a matter of choice as to which kind of food you want to eat. It also shows that God did not make a mistake when He gave Adam his food in the beginning.

Plants do not use nutrients, but rather store them. Animals, on the other hand, use or burn nutrients. When plants are eaten in their raw forms, or juiced fresh, they do not die. They become part of the living tissue of whatever creature eats them. The body has the miraculous power to break them down and transform them into living tissue. Living plants give their energy to the body causing easier digestion and absorption. But for an animal to be eaten it has to suffer and die. So if we eat animal flesh, we do so at great expense to the system both in energy and health.

Much of the nutritional value of food is lost when we cook it. However, since most of us are addicted to cooked foods, you will be happy to know that you can live a long and healthy life with an 80% raw and 20% cooked food diet. Just remember to eat a large portion of raw foods first and then consume your cooked foods.

On a more spiritual plane, we can choose what kinds of food we feed our mind with. We can feed our spiritual nature (reason and choice) or we can choose to feed our carnal nature (the five senses). There is some happiness in both sources, but, like the salmon, the nutrients derived from foods that feed the carnal nature are not life-giving nutrients (even though they may give you a good feeling for a while). They may fill your carnal tummy but will not give life in the end.

Happiness can be found with foods from both the world and from God, but the food God gives provides health and life to the soul. Flesh foods may please the taste buds for a while, but in the end they will debilitate the system and stimulate the animal propensities, hastening disease and death. So it is with the things of this world; all of them may please the carnal taste buds but in the end they will produce spiritual disease and death.

The things this world has to offer (riches, fame, and fortune) cannot be broken down properly by our spiritual nature, for we were not intended to find spiritual refreshment from things which stimulate the carnal nature. “Man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3 NKJV).

What God gave us for food in the beginning is perfect for our use as we seek to regain health of body and mind. So also, it is best to get our happiness from God’s intended source for happiness, Jesus Christ. Feeding on His word gives us a wellspring of life now and also in the world to come.