Part 1: Plant-Based or Meat-Based? Finding the Best Diet for Your Body

Is a plant-based diet the healthiest way to eat? Or should we be avoiding vegetables and focusing almost entirely on meat? With so many conflicting opinions about nutrition, it can be difficult to know what foods truly support good health.

The truth may be more complicated than either side wants to admit.

No Diet Is Perfect for Everyone

Some people thrive on a plant-based diet, while others experience better results eating more animal protein and fewer carbohydrates. In our own household experience, even extreme approaches like vegan (both my wife and I) and carnivore (my wife tried this) produced disappointing laboratory results. A ketogenic diet that includes both meat and vegetables proved to be a better fit.

The takeaway? Your ideal diet depends on your individual needs, nutrient requirements, food tolerances, and overall health.

But personal preference is only part of the equation. We also need to consider what our food contains and how it was produced.

The Hidden Risks in Plant-Based Foods

Plant foods provide valuable nutrients, but they also contain natural defense compounds, including lectins, oxalates, and phytates. Plant-heavy diets may also increase exposure to pesticide residues, herbicides such as glyphosate, nitrates, and mycotoxins.

That doesn't mean vegetables are inherently unhealthy. Cooking can reduce certain plant compounds, and choosing organic produce may help reduce exposure to some agricultural chemicals.

It's also important to recognize that popular produce guides don't necessarily evaluate every type of agricultural chemical. Understanding what a food contains requires looking beyond a simple healthy-or-unhealthy label.

Meat Quality Matters, Too

Animal foods have their own potential concerns. Depending on the animal's environment and diet, meat and other animal products can contain environmental pollutants, heavy metals, and other contaminants.

Fat can accumulate certain fat-soluble pollutants, while larger predatory fish may contain higher concentrations of mercury because of their position in the marine food chain.

For those who eat meat, it's important to select high-quality sources, such as grass-fed beef, pasture-raised poultry, and responsibly sourced wild-caught fish.

These choices may cost more, but food quality deserves consideration alongside macronutrients and calories — cheap food will catch up to you in the long run!

Look Beyond Diet Labels

Instead of asking whether plants or meat are universally better, ask whether your eating pattern supplies adequate nutrients, supports healthy metabolism, and works for your body.

No single diet guarantees optimal health. The goal is to make informed choices, prioritize minimally processed foods, and pay attention to how your body responds.

The best diet isn't necessarily the most extreme. It's the one that supports your nutritional needs and long-term well-being.

NEXT WEEK: How to maximize your metabolism

Eating more fruits and vegetables is one of the best ways to support your health, but have you considered what else might be on your produce?

Every year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes its Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists to help consumers make more informed decisions about pesticide exposure.

The Dirty Dozen identifies produce with the highest levels of pesticide residues, while the Clean 15 highlights fruits and vegetables that generally have fewer residues. These lists can be especially helpful if buying everything organic isn't practical for your budget.

Which Foods Should You Buy Organic?

The 2025 Dirty Dozen list includes spinach, kale, collard and mustard greens, strawberries, apples, grapes, nectarines, peaches, cherries, blackberries, pears, potatoes, and blueberries. These are the foods to prioritize when shopping for organic produce.

Strawberries deserve particular attention. According to the findings discussed in this episode, nearly 99% of tested strawberry samples contained residues of at least one pesticide, while some contained multiple pesticides. Washing your berries is a good practice, but it may not remove all residues.

Peaches and apples raise additional concerns because certain chemicals used in conventional production and storage may persist beyond simple washing. Blackberries also joined the Dirty Dozen in 2025, making organic options worth seeking out.

If your budget doesn't allow you to buy everything organic, focus on the foods you eat most frequently. Regularly eating spinach and strawberries? Prioritize organic versions of those foods first.

The Important Limitation of These Lists

Here's something many shoppers may not realize: the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 primarily address pesticide residues, but they don't provide a complete picture of chemical exposure.

Herbicides, such as glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup), are not comprehensively accounted for in these rankings. The episode also discusses research suggesting glyphosate exposure may affect the gut microbiome, including beneficial bacteria and the production of short-chain fatty acids that support intestinal barrier function.

This is an important distinction. A food appearing on the Clean 15 doesn't automatically mean it is free of all potentially concerning chemical residues — UNLESS it is USDA Organic certified. In that case, that food is indeed free of chemical residues.

Make Smarter Choices for Your Health

The goal isn't to become afraid of eating fruits and vegetables. It's to become a more informed consumer.

When possible, choose certified organic produce, particularly foods you eat regularly, and especially if they are on the Dirty Dozen list. Consider organic oats, wheat, chickpeas, and lentils as well, since these crops may be treated with herbicides shortly before harvest in an effort to speed up their drying time (this process is called desiccation).

Locally grown produce can be an excellent option, but buying local doesn't automatically mean a crop was grown without pesticides. Ask growers about their farming practices.

Most importantly, remember that what you eat consistently matters. You don't necessarily have to overhaul your entire grocery list overnight. Start with the foods you consume most often and make thoughtful changes as your budget allows.

The Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 are useful starting points, but they are not the final word on food safety. Understanding their limitations can help you make better decisions for yourself and your family.

Leaky Gut, Leaky... Brain?

Your body is protected by a series of incredible barriers designed to keep the right things in and the wrong things out. One of the most important is the intestinal barrier, often referred to as the gut lining. When this barrier becomes damaged, the result is commonly called “leaky gut.”

A healthy gut lining contains tightly connected cells that act like a security system. However, inflammation and other stressors can cause these connections, known as tight junctions, to loosen. When this happens, particles that should remain inside the digestive tract can enter the bloodstream. The immune system may recognize these substances as threats and respond with inflammation, contributing to food sensitivities, immune reactions, and other health concerns.

But the concept of “leaky” barriers extends far beyond the gut. Researchers have explored how similar problems can affect the blood vessels, lungs, kidneys, liver, skin, and even the blood-brain barrier. This broader pattern has been described as a loss of barrier integrity throughout the body.

The brain is especially sensitive to inflammation. When the blood-brain barrier becomes compromised, inflammatory signals may contribute to problems such as brain fog, headaches, and cognitive challenges. Likewise, weakened vascular barriers can affect circulation, while damaged kidney filtration barriers may contribute to declining kidney function.

One of the major themes behind these issues is that the body is interconnected. Nutrient deficiencies, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and chronic inflammation can all influence the body’s ability to repair and maintain healthy barriers.

Supporting these protective systems starts with reducing unnecessary stress on the body. This includes minimizing processed foods, refined sugars, and unhealthy oils while focusing on nutrient-dense foods. Antioxidants, adequate vitamin D, vitamin C, and other nutrients play important roles in maintaining cellular health and repair mechanisms.

The wisdom found in caring for the body is timeless. Our health is not determined by one isolated system, but by the balance and communication between all parts of us — sounds oddly biblical, doesn't it?

Strengthening the body’s natural defenses begins with addressing the foundations: nutrition, lifestyle, and reducing the sources of chronic stress that weaken our internal barriers.

The Hidden Battle Inside Your Body: Viruses, Immunity, and Your Health

For years, scientists have studied the connection between viruses, the immune system, and chronic disease. While not every virus causes serious illness, research has shown that certain viruses can contribute to the development of cancer when they persist in the body and the immune system is unable to keep them under control.

Some of these viruses are known as oncogenic viruses because they have been associated with changes in cells that may contribute to cancer development. Examples include human papillomavirus (HPV), which has been linked to cervical cancer and other cancers; Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which has been associated with certain lymphomas and other cancers; hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses, which can contribute to liver cancer; and human herpesvirus infections that have been studied in connection with specific cancers.

Many viruses can remain in the body for years in a dormant state. These latent infections may never create noticeable problems, especially when the immune system is functioning well. But when the body’s defenses become weakened by poor nutrition, chronic stress, toxins, lack of sleep, or other factors, these hidden infections may become more active and create inflammation or cellular stress.

This is why supporting the immune system is such an important part of maintaining health. The body has incredible built-in defenses designed to identify and manage threats. A strong immune response helps keep many challenges under control before they become larger problems.

Researchers have also explored natural compounds that may support immune function and help regulate viral activity. Nutrients and plant compounds such as curcumin, quercetin, and lysine have been studied for their potential roles in supporting the body’s defenses and maintaining healthy inflammatory responses.

Diet also plays a significant role. Choosing fresh, whole foods while reducing excessive refined sugars and highly processed foods can help create a healthier internal environment. Some researchers have explored how compounds found in processed foods may influence inflammation and cellular behavior.

YeHoVaH created your body with remarkable protective systems. By nourishing it properly, reducing harmful influences, and strengthening immune function, we can support the natural defenses that help protect our health every day.

The goal is not fear — it is awareness. Understanding how the body works empowers us to make better choices and support the health we were designed to have.

Could Vitamin D3 Transform Your Health?

For years, vitamin D has often been treated as a simple “bone health” nutrient. But emerging research and clinical observations suggest vitamin D3 plays a much broader role in the body — influencing immunity, inflammation, metabolism, and overall wellness.

One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding vitamin D is that the standard recommendations are always enough. Many guidelines suggest relatively small daily amounts (800 IU), but those levels were originally designed around preventing severe deficiency conditions like rickets, not necessarily optimizing health. Realistic daily amounts for optimal health are typically 5,000 IU to 10,000 IU every day!

Vitamin D3 functions differently than many other vitamins. It acts more like a hormone, helping regulate important systems throughout the body. Higher vitamin D levels (70-100 is ideal, instead of mainstream "normals" as low as 30) have been associated with reduced risks related to several major health concerns, including respiratory illness, cardiovascular events, certain cancers, cognitive decline, and metabolic issues such as type 2 diabetes.

A major challenge today is that modern lifestyles have changed dramatically. Many people spend less time outdoors, work indoors, avoid sun exposure, and live in environments filled with factors that can place additional stress on the body. While sunlight remains an important natural source of vitamin D, geography, seasons, and lifestyle can significantly affect how much the body produces.

Vitamin D levels also vary based on individual needs. Factors such as body size, age, sun exposure, and overall health can influence how much someone requires. Taller or heavier people need more than shorter or slight individuals.

Some studies suggest that maintaining healthy blood levels — rather than simply meeting a minimum daily intake — may be the more meaningful goal.

However, more is not always better. Vitamin D follows a balance curve, meaning both deficiency and excessive levels can create problems; a level of 20 is just as unprotective as 120 (again, maintaining 70-100 is ideal). The goal is not unlimited supplementation, but achieving an appropriate range that supports the body.

Vitamin D also works alongside other nutrients. For example, because vitamin D3 increases the body's absorption of calcium, vitamin K2 is needed to help direct calcium where it belongs — toward bones and teeth rather than allowing excess calcium to accumulate in soft tissues (which can lead to pain, stiffness, calcified arteries, and kidney stones). Magnesium also plays a key role in calcium regulation and muscle function.

The takeaway is simple: vitamin D3 is not just about preventing deficiency. It is about supporting the body’s ability to function properly in a modern world where many people may not be getting enough of what they need naturally.

Understanding your own vitamin D status and supporting healthy levels may be one of the most important steps you can take toward long-term wellness.

Surgery, whether emergency or planned, can be a necessary and even life-changing experience — but it places tremendous stress on the body. Yet the amazing truth is that YeHoVaH created the human body with an incredible ability to heal.

Scripture reminds us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). Our bodies are not random machines; they are carefully designed systems that respond to injury by cleaning, rebuilding, and restoring. After surgery, the body immediately goes into repair mode, requiring extra energy, nutrients, and support.

One of the keys to recovery is understanding that healing requires the right building blocks:

• Protein, collagen, vitamins, and minerals all play important roles in rebuilding tissue.

• Vitamin C helps the body produce collagen — the framework needed for repairing skin, blood vessels, bones, and connective tissue.

• Vitamin D, magnesium, and vitamin K also support the body’s ability to rebuild and maintain healthy bones and immune function.
  
  But healing is not only physical. YeHoVaH designed us as whole beings — body, mind, and spirit.
  
  Stress, fear, and poor nutrition can hinder recovery, while peace, gratitude, and trust in Him strengthen us during difficult seasons. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A merry heart does good like medicine.”
  
  Preparing the body before surgery can make a difference. When possible, improving nutrition, reducing processed foods and excess sugar, supporting healthy blood flow, and ensuring adequate nutrients can help create a stronger foundation for recovery.
  
  After surgery, patience is essential. Healing takes time, and the body needs proper rest, nourishment, and care. Rather than fighting against the way YeHoVaH designed us, we can support His workmanship by making wise choices.
  
  Your body is a gift from the Creator. As you recover, remember that every cell working to repair, every breath you take, and every step toward strength reflects the incredible wisdom of YeHoVaH’s design.