Pescetarianism. No, it’s not a new religion or my new club membership. In plain’ ol’ English, pescetarianism simply means a vegetarian person who will consume the animals that once swam the salty blue seas.
I am a pescetarian. Which, coincidentally, is where I get off writing this article.
Almost a year ago, my diet consisted of a bowl of high fructose corn syrup flakes for breakfast, a handful sour cream & cheddar saturated fats for lunch, a bag of gelatin with real fruit flavor at snack time, and when the kids weren’t looking, a dozen peanuts surrounded by granulated sugar and cocoa powder covered in a hard shell candy. For dinner, I consumed whatever my nuggets left on their plates convinced that if I ate standing up, it was even better for me. I was Little Miss Health Nutty Bar.
It was probably no surprise that I was underweight. Add in the 52 oz. of morning java and I was doing more diuretics in one day than the average person could do one week.
Thanks to anothers awareness for nutrition and then being force fed things from the local produce department, I slowly noticed that I was more aware of what I was consuming and before you know it, I had made a change in my diet – God forbid, I actually ate something that wasn’t bagged, processed, or thawed. Before I wouldn’t have even considered eating a bell pepper… now? Well, they’re definitely an acquired taste, but I’ve gotten the hang of it.
Months ago, while looking for veggie friendly restaurants in town, I read a quote from the president of America’s poultry farms and he, due to first hand experience and witnessing, refuses to consume chicken. I’m not exactly a rocket scientist, but I figure if the guy who is making millions off the chickens won’t eat the chickens, then I probably shouldn’t be eating the chickens either.
Over the last almost-year, I’ve done just enough research to know that I do not want to consume what I have seen. Because of my train-wreck research, I have sworn off meat, except our swimming friends, forever. I honestly, with images I cannot unsee stuck in my tiny head, don’t think I could eat another bite of something that once walked. I am now wondering why I haven’t contracted Mad Cow disease with the amount of beef I have consumed over the last 28 years.
Hmmmm… Interesting.
Did you know that meat doesn’t contain anything that plants don’t contain naturally? You can get all the essential nutrients by just eating produce. It’s true! All of the vitamins and minerals we consume from meat are actually second hand nutrients. Think about it – do humans naturally contain vitamins and minerals? Neither do cows.
Now, I understand that not all humans are animal rights activists, I certainly am not. I understand that animal cruelty is going to happen – always – it’s just a fact unless the entire world converts to only consuming soybeans and I’m okay with all of this, so long as I’m not eating it.
Pescetarianism, as defined by the New Webster’s Dictionary, is a vegetarian who will eat fish. Fish proteins digest similarly to vegetables, while mammal animal enzymes are hard on your pancreas. And for me, due to a family history of coronary heart disease, varicose veins, circulation problems, high blood pressure, and stroke – all things the omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of – I decided I need to keep consuming the chicken of the sea. Besides, I don’t think I could really give up clam chowder or salmon that easily.
Over the last almost-year, without consciously putting in an effort to maintaining my diet – I mean, how hard do you think this is?! I’ve noticed that I look healthier; even happier! I’ve gained enough weight to have been forced to remove the safety pins from every waistband hanging in my closet and I’m proud to announce that I’m a real size 0! (I know, I know…) What better benefit than that!?
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