Proper role of of Meat, Fruit and Vegetables in a healthy omnivore diet? How to learn values and risks of food groups, and avoid inflammatory foods, while also avoiding both veganism and harm of avoiding meat?

A better thing is to ensure that your meat and animal sources are top notch. Grain/corn/soy fed meat is less nutritious and is packed with omega 6 acids, non pastured eggs are less nutritious and less tasty, raw dairy has much more healthy bacteria and nourishment, etc. Non ruminant animals are especially affected by a processed diet. Grass fed, grass finished is the way to go.

Pesticide free heirloom plants that you eat are the best as well; modern fruit and vegetables often have far less nutritional value than they did decades ago. The big one is vitamin C intake; pick fruits and veggies that you like which are rich in it. Capsicums, apples and citrus are the best sources I know of.

In terms of avoiding inflammatory foods and other problems, here's what I do off the top of my head:

  • Don't eat too much liver. It's one of those good things you can get too much of.

  • Avoid eating too many oxalates. They're found in high concentrations in leafy greens and statfruit. Boiling them will only eradicate about 50% of it, while also wiping some of the beneficial nutrients.

  • Avoid seed and vegetable oils like the plague. They are highly inflammatory and packed to the brim with omega 6s. It's a shame since all nuts and legumes contain a lot of them.

  • To expound upon the previous point, research the numerous cooking oils for when you have a fried meal. Extra virgin olive oil (make sure it isn't cut with other substances like seed oils) is the worst of the best for frying due to its smoking point and nutritional value. Tallow, butter and animal fats are what you want to be using. I think coconut milk actually has the highest smoking point of them all, and is the healthiest plant based frying liquid.

  • Saturated fats are your friend. If someone wants to have a sook at you for eating a slow roasted pig lathered in lard, ignore them.

  • Dietary cholesterol is healthy unless you have a rare disorder that makes you sensitive to it. You need cholesterol to have healthy hormonal production and vitamin D absorption.

  • Leavened breads like sourdough are the healthiest types. They have small amounts of vitamins and minerals, aren't ad inflammatory as other breads, and their carbs are not as potent according to some studies.

  • Avoid refined sugars. It's ok to indulge every now and again, but almost everything you buy that's sugary will be packed full of soy, corn syrup and chemical ingredients. I go for raw honey and fruit when I want to pig out on something sweet.

/r/exvegans Thread