Podcast Interview: The Christian Health Club Podcast

I really enjoyed chatting with Chelsea. She asked great questions and this podcast covered a lot. One of my favourite parts was our discussion about the symbiotic relationship that ruminant animals have with plants. Not only does ruminat saliva contain enzymes that help grass grow back quicker folllowing a grazing event than it does when cut by machinery, all that chomping also stimulates plant growth.

Animals are part of the natural carbon cycle. They are belching out methane as part of their natural digestion process (turning plant matter we can’t digest into nutrient dense food!), but that methane is broken down in the atmosphere over about a ten year window. To put this in some prespective, the carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuels is said to take over 1000 years to break down. The methane that cattle and other ruminants belch is converted into carbon dioxide and water over time and these are taken back up by the plants, which can then be grazed by the anikmals in a continuous loop, as long as there is proper vegetative ground cover.

Bare soil is one of the real problems with agriculture, both for crop and vegetable production and also for raising animals. It all comes down to beneficial land management. With roots in the soil, plants release nutrients for the soil biology and those soil microbes and mycorrhizal fungi then release nutrients that the plants need.

Good farming can be defined in many ways but it all keeps coming back to soil health. Healthy soil produces healthy food.

Chelsea and I talk a lot about healthy food too! She asked about my transition from vegetarian to meat eater and how my plant-based diet had affected my health. Other than feeling bloated, my main health concerns during my teens and twenties related to my mental health. Some of this was because I was vegetarian, but even when I went back to eating meat, I was still following a low-fat diet and eating a lot of processed food. I struggled with depression and anxiety and was completey preoccupied with food and dieting. I felt a nagging hungry much of the time because I wasn’t properly fueling my body and my brain. I also struggled with acne and a few stubborn pounds. I wasn’t overweight so I tread lightly on this topic, as I don’t want to suggest that fitting into shorty-shorts is the ultimate goat. But since focusing on nutrient density and eating plenty of animal-based foods, my relationship with food has been radically tranformed and I also happen to fit into my favourite shorts. Most importantly, I have lots of energy and I no longer feel obsessed with food. Food has become enjoyable fuel.

Chelsea and I talk about farming in cold weather, milking a cow and so much more. We prayed before the session and she asked me my favourite meal and my favourite Bible verse. I am not a church-going person but I believe in the kindness and compassion expressed through the teachings of Jesus.

I hope you enjoy listening to this podcast and let me know what you think.