I recently sat down with Courtney Swan of Realfoodology, and we had the most frank and open conversation around health and what we put in our bodies.

Seriously, it was refreshing as f*ck, and an absolute 180° from the careful (and often dishonest) conversations we’re now so used to seeing online and in our society as a whole.

One buzzworthy topic we talked about: eating meat vs. eating plant-based. So, trigger warning to all the vegans reading: you probably won’t like this, but you probably need to hear it.

The following is an excerpt from ep. 317 of the Feminine as F*ck podcast:

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Courtney Swan: There is no such thing as a bloodless diet. People that are eating a vegetarian diet are still contributing to the killing of millions of animals a year — all of the reindeer, the snakes, the gophers, the insects, the bees that are getting killed just because of our mass farming in the United States. 

So unfortunately, none of us are getting away with animals not being killed, you know? And unfortunately, this is where I get a little spiritual with this, we have to make peace with the fact that life on this planet also means death.

Monica Yates: There is a fucking life cycle for a reason — God, the universe, whatever you believe in. How is it that we'll watch David Attenborough and we are okay with that life cycle? But we don't realize — it’s like we've become so entitled as humans — that we've forgotten that we are an animal. Like we have to eat and we are meant to eat other animals.

Courtney Swan: Yes, yes! And again, like I said earlier, there are some people that really do well and they thrive really well on a vegetarian diet and I don't want to discount that. And this is by no means meant to shame anyone. 

Like I said, I was vegetarian for five years, and when I saw a nutritionist and was basically dead sitting there in her office crying because I was so sick, she looked me dead in the eyes and she goes, “you have to start eating meat.” And the whole drive home I was like, “that bitch, how dare she, like I will never eat meat.”

But it took me getting so incredibly sick, so inflamed, so bloated, to realize it was the truth. I had cystic acne all over my chin. And guess what? All of it went away when I started eating meat because my body was literally starving for it. 

Because unfortunately, meat is the only food that gives every bioavailable nutrient the body needs. Grass fed is what I really am a huge proponent for, and grass fed beef specifically — if you were to eat a cow nose to tail, you would get every single bioavailable nutrient that the human body needs. And you cannot say that about any other food on the planet. It is incredibly nourishing for our bodies. 

And especially with women, I think because we are more empathetic, we are more empathetic to the killing of animals, we eat less meat because of that. But I would encourage women for your fertility, for your overall health, for your vitality, to eat meat.

I look at photos of myself when I was vegetarian, and I looked dead. My skin was dull. I was inflamed, I was puffy, and I didn't have vitality in my skin. I lost all my vitality. 

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We touch on SO many more topics in the full episode:

• Ingredients that are terrible for you that you might not even realize
• Why they want you addicted to sh*t foods
• The truth about chronic dis-ease today and how much power you DO have over your health
• Glyphosate and other pesticides - and how they’re harming our health
• Do you really NEED to eat organic!?
• Choosing how you eat is a form of self-respect OR self-hatred
• The scary truth about our tap water, especially in the US
• HOW to find out what’s really in your tap water
• How your makeup & skincare affects your fertility, and what brands to choose
• 3 things everyone needs to be doing for optimal physical health (beyond the basics)
• How grass-fed beef is THE superfood of all superfoods
• Thinking critically and making educated choices for yourself

So be sure to listen here: 

Ep. 317: They’re Putting Profit Over People’s Health: The Real Deal on Everything You Need To Know (and what you maybe haven’t heard before) In Order To Make EDUCATED Choices When It Comes To Your Food, Water, and What You’re Putting On Your Body with Courtney Swan

xx Monica