We all eat. Generally, several times a day, meals and snacks. In our society of abundance, food is ever present.

Food does more than sustain life. It greases the wheels of social harmony. From morning business breakfasts to evening friends-in barbecues, when two or more are gathered together, food is featured.

For the most part, our food choices are based on habits, culture, what we like, what we are accustomed to eating, and what we expect the food to do or not do, for us or to us.

In the U.S., there is currently a lot of hoopla about the health hazards associated with eating copious quantities of fatty foods. The current popular trend in diet is toward eating more fruits and vegetables. The rationale for this trend is vegetables and fruits provide needed vitamins and minerals without undesirable fat tagging along.

Those in the know have also observed those whose diets are fruit- and vegetable-centered seem to have fewer incidents of cardiovascular disease and other physical maladies than those whose diets are meat-centered or high in fat.

My research has shown the real reason veggie buffs fare better in the health department than the heavy meat eaters goes far beyond the plugged-artery rationale.

Dietary fat and cholesterol in moderation pose little threat to health. Your body needs both, is designed to handle both, and produces both. Your body produces its own cholesterol and, to the chagrin of many, converts excess energy-source glucose into fat. The health threat lies not so much in the fat and cholesterol in the food we eat but in the fat and cholesterol carriers – high protein foods such as meat.

This is quite a departure from traditional thinking.

We have been conditioned to "Get plenty of protein, it builds muscles – you can't get too much protein!" Now, I'll not argue that protein builds muscle, but when you realize how your body must respond to the by-products of protein you'll see why excess dietary protein is the health-inhibiting culprit rather than the cholesterol and fat. Keep in mind I am referring to excess protein according to your body's needs, not according to the USRDA.

The amount of protein recommended for adults 19 to 51 and up ranges from 46 grams to 63 grams daily. The wide range in the recommended amounts reflects the lower protein needs of older females and the higher needs of younger males.

In the government's current effort to make nutrition requirements more user-friendly, the 46 to 53 grams of protein translate to 12-15% of daily calories. I believe no matter how you phrase it, that's too much protein. Half that amount would be more appropriate from your body's point of view.

There are two internal conditions behind disease: excess acid and inappropriate timing. In future columns, I'll be delving into inappropriate timing, however, here I'll stay focused on the "meat" of the toxicity story.

Your body becomes toxic when it is too acid. Too much dietary protein is the foundation of acidotic toxicity. Your body MUST keep its internal environment slightly alkaline.

The problem with high-protein food is it leaves an acid residue – acid ash. These leavings must be eliminated. Unlike the acid produced from exercise, the acid from acid ash-producing foods, such as meat, can't be eliminated through the lungs. It must be neutralized, processed through the kidneys, and eliminated.

The process of neutralizing uses essential alkaline minerals from your store of neutralizing minerals. These are the alkaline reserve. However, as anyone who has dipped into a savings account knows, even a reserve has a limit. When you take out all that's been put in without replacing the withdrawals, the reserve is gone.

High protein foods are long on protein and short on alkalizing minerals. If you eat mostly high-protein foods, you use more neutralizing minerals than you replace. If this pattern continues for long periods, eventually your alkaline reserve will dwindle. If more minerals aren't replaced, ultimately your reserve will be depleted. A slightly alkaline internal environment is essential to life and health.

The goods news is that these minerals can be replaced. Vegetables and fruits replenish the supply of minerals your body needs to process moderate amounts of dietary acid. And, when you eat mostly vegetables and fruits, you get enough neutralizing minerals in your diet to replenish your alkaline reserve. A well-stocked alkaline reserve means a favorable climate inside the body – a favorable internal environment.

How can you help maintain a well-stocked reserve? A gradual change to a diet consisting of 75% vegetables & fruits, and 25% of other foods (meat, poultry, fish, dairy, and grains) is what we recommend at Morter HealthSystem. What we eat is an essential choice we make each day. Learning to make the correct choices is paramount in creating the good health we want for ourselves and for our patients.