By David Julian, Natural Vitality Advocate

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I’ve been asked this question more times than I can count: “Do I have to give up meat entirely to heal?”

It’s one of the first questions people ask when they start exploring a whole-food, plant-forward healing path — and I understand why. Meat is deeply woven into most people’s diets, their family traditions, their sense of what a meal even looks like. Telling someone to walk away from it entirely feels like a big ask, especially early on.

My honest answer after years of managing epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, post-concussion syndrome, and chronic illness through nutrition: the question isn’t really yes or no on meat. The question is which proteins support your healing, and which ones quietly work against it.

I still eat sardines. Occasionally. They’ve been part of my protocol for years — particularly on days following strength training with weights and resistance bands, when my body is doing active muscular repair. But I’ve largely moved away from other animal proteins, not because of ideology, but because of how my body responds. Less nerve pain. Fewer post-seizure recovery days. More mental clarity. The results have been real enough that I keep coming back to this framework.

This post is what I’ve learned — about which meats are the cleanest choices, why certain ones burden healing rather than support it, how to source and prepare what you do eat, and how I think about all of this through the lens of Biblical stewardship. Take what’s useful. Leave what isn’t. Every healing path is personal.

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Why Meat Choice Matters on a Healing Path

The core issue isn’t protein itself — it’s what comes with the protein and what it does inside a body that’s already under stress.

When the liver is burdened — and most people dealing with chronic illness, neurological conditions, or long-term medication use have a burdened liver — its ability to process dense animal fats and proteins is already compromised. Adding more of what’s hard to process slows everything down: detox, immune response, inflammation clearance, nerve repair.

There’s also the question of what travels with the meat. Hormones, antibiotics, heavy metals concentrated up the food chain, and what practitioners in the root-cause health space describe as adrenaline residue from the stress of slaughter — all of these land in your body alongside the protein. For someone managing epilepsy and neurological sensitivity, none of that is neutral.

That doesn’t mean all meat is the same. There’s a real hierarchy, and understanding it lets you make informed choices rather than all-or-nothing decisions.

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The Animal Protein Hierarchy: Most to Least Healing-Compatible

Here’s how common animal proteins rank based on what I’ve studied and experienced personally — from most to least compatible with a healing, detox-focused protocol:

Animal Protein	Healing Compatibility	Key Notes
Sardines	✅ Best choice	Wild-caught in water only. Low mercury, omega-3 rich, light on the liver, does not meaningfully feed pathogens.
Wild Salmon	⚠️ Occasional use	Wild-caught only — sockeye preferred. Never farmed, never smoked. Higher mercury than sardines; use sparingly.
Pasture-Raised Chicken	⚠️ Transition use	Pasture-raised, organic only. Best as a bridge while moving toward more plant-forward eating. Always pair with raw greens.
Grass-Fed Lamb	⚠️ Very rarely	Heavy on the liver. Not ideal during active healing phases. Reserve for occasional use if strongly preferred.
Beef (any variety)	❌ Not recommended	Even grass-fed, organic beef is dense with protein and fat that burdens the liver and may fuel viral activity. High adrenaline load.
Pork	❌ Avoid	Among the most problematic for healing. Feeds pathogens aggressively. Avoided entirely on my protocol.
Shellfish	❌ Avoid	High toxin concentration, heavy metal accumulation. Not part of a healing protocol.

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Sardines: Why This Is the One I Keep Coming Back To

I buy sardines from Costco or Amazon — wild-caught, packed in water, no additives. It’s not glamorous, but it’s consistent, affordable, and fits my protocol without compromise.

Here’s why sardines work where other animal proteins struggle:

• Low on the food chain. Sardines eat plankton and small organisms. They don’t accumulate mercury and heavy metals the way larger predatory fish do. This is one of the most important distinctions in any fish choice.
• Rich in omega-3 fatty acids. EPA and DHA from sardines support brain cell membrane integrity, reduce neurological inflammation, and support cardiovascular health — all directly relevant for epilepsy and post-concussion recovery.
• High in selenium. Selenium is a trace mineral that supports thyroid function and immune defense, and may help offset heavy metal toxicity.
• Relatively light on the liver. Compared to red meat and even chicken, sardines are processed by the liver with far less effort — meaning more of your liver’s capacity stays available for detox work.
• Complete protein without the burden. They provide all essential amino acids in a clean, bioavailable form without the dense fat load of beef or pork.

How I Eat Them

I typically eat sardines at my main meal — usually lunch — paired with a large salad or mixed vegetables, lentils, fresh sprouts, and lemon juice. The raw greens alongside the animal protein help offset the burden on the liver and keep digestion moving efficiently. I don’t cook them further; they come ready to eat and I prefer not to add any additional oils or heavy dressings.

What I look for on the label: wild-caught sardines in water. That’s it. No sunflower oil, no tomato sauce, no added salt beyond what’s naturally present. The cleaner the ingredient list, the better.

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Wild Salmon: A Legitimate Second Option

Wild salmon — especially sockeye — is a reasonable occasional choice. It’s higher in omega-3s than almost any other food, supports brain and nerve health, and is generally well-tolerated on a healing protocol.

The key distinctions:

• Wild-caught only. Farmed salmon is fed processed pellets, contains higher levels of PCBs and dioxins, and lacks the omega-3 profile of wild fish. It’s not a substitute.
• Never smoked. Smoked fish contains compounds that are hard on the liver and digestive tract. This includes lox, Nova, and any cold-smoked variety.
• Sockeye over Atlantic. Sockeye is almost always wild-caught (Atlantic salmon is almost always farmed). The deep red color indicates high astaxanthin content — a powerful antioxidant.
• Frequency matters. Even wild salmon is higher in mercury than sardines. I treat it as a once or twice a month option, not a daily staple.

Sourcing Tips

For fresh salmon, look for “Wild-Caught Alaskan Sockeye” at Trader Joe’s, Costco, or your local natural grocery. Canned wild sockeye salmon is also excellent and more affordable — Vital Choice and Wild Planet are two brands with clean sourcing.

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Pasture-Raised Chicken: A Bridge, Not a Foundation

If you’re early in your transition toward a more plant-forward diet and chicken is a regular part of your meals, I’m not going to tell you to stop cold turkey (no pun intended). What I will say is that the type of chicken and how you eat it matters enormously.

What to look for:

• Pasture-raised and organic — not just “free range,” which is a largely meaningless marketing term
• No antibiotics, no hormones
• Air-chilled rather than water-chilled (water-chilled absorbs chlorinated water during processing)

How to eat it on a healing protocol:

The critical step is pairing. Whenever I eat chicken, I make sure the majority of the meal is raw leafy greens — spinach, romaine, arugula — along with cucumber, fresh herbs like cilantro or parsley, sprouts, and lemon. The raw plant matter helps the liver process the animal protein more efficiently and keeps digestion from becoming sluggish.

Preparation matters too. Steamed, baked, or poached is far preferable to fried, grilled over high heat (which creates carcinogenic compounds), or cooked in heavy oils. Keep it simple. Keep it clean.

Think of pasture-raised chicken as a transitional protein — something you reach for less and less as your healing deepens and your body adapts to the cleaner fuel sources that fruits, vegetables, and whole foods provide.

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The Hidden Problem: Adrenaline in Meat

This is one of the most overlooked — and for me, most personally relevant — aspects of animal protein consumption on a healing path.

Animals experience significant fear and stress during the slaughter process. That fear triggers a massive release of adrenaline — the same stress hormone that prepares any animal (including humans) to fight or flee. That adrenaline doesn’t simply evaporate when the animal dies. It remains in the tissue. And when we eat that tissue, we absorb it.

For someone managing epilepsy and working to maintain a calm, regulated nervous system, that absorbed adrenaline load is not abstract. I notice it. When I’ve eaten conventionally-raised beef — even once, even in small amounts — there’s a subtle but real uptick in nervous system irritability in the hours that follow. Heightened anxiety. Increased sensitivity to light and sound. A sense of agitation that I associate with my nervous system being pushed.

Sardines, by contrast, are harvested in ways that involve far less individual animal stress and are so small that the adrenaline concern is minimal. This is one more reason they sit at the top of the hierarchy.

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Why I No Longer Eat Beef — Even Grass-Fed

“But what about grass-fed, organic beef? Isn’t that different?”

I understand the logic. It sounds cleaner. And in some ways it is — less antibiotic residue, better omega-3 profile, no synthetic hormones. But from everything I’ve studied and experienced personally, the fundamental issues with beef remain regardless of how the animal was raised:

• Dense protein and saturated fat that significantly burdens the liver — the same liver that’s supposed to be doing your detox work
• High adrenaline load from the slaughter process regardless of how the animal was raised prior to that point
• No nutrient in beef that can’t be obtained from cleaner sources — iron from spinach and lentils, zinc from pumpkin seeds, B12 from supplementation or sardines
• Inflammation-promoting compounds that, for those of us with neurological conditions, add to an already elevated inflammatory burden

I made this shift gradually. I didn’t wake up one day and throw away everything. But over time, as I replaced beef with cleaner plant-based and targeted animal protein sources, the improvements in my recovery, mental clarity, and seizure frequency were real enough to keep me on this path.

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A Biblical Stewardship Perspective

My faith shapes how I think about food. Not in a legalistic way — the New Testament is clear that dietary laws are not a matter of righteousness (Romans 14:3, 1 Timothy 4:3-5). But Biblical stewardship of the body is a real principle, and it extends to what we put into it.

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?” (1 Corinthians 6:19, NASB). That verse has always struck me as more than just a warning against obvious vices. It’s an invitation to treat this body — the one God gave me, the one I’ve asked Him to help heal — with the same intentionality and care I’d bring to anything sacred.

When I think about the adrenaline in conventionally-raised meat, about the suffering those animals experience before slaughter, and about what that does inside a body I’m asking God to help restore — choosing the cleanest, most carefully sourced proteins feels like an act of stewardship. Not perfection. Not legalism. Just intentionality.

Genesis 1:29 records God’s original provision — fruits, seeds, plants. The dietary landscape shifted after the flood (Genesis 9:3), and the Mosaic law added specific structure around clean and unclean animals. Jesus’s arrival freed believers from those ceremonial distinctions. But within that freedom, wisdom still applies. “Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial” (1 Corinthians 10:23, NASB).

For me, choosing sardines over a ribeye isn’t about earning favor with God. It’s about honoring the body He’s sustaining — and giving my healing every advantage I can.

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What I Eat in a Day: Putting It All Together

For context, here’s a representative day in my eating protocol — so you can see how animal protein fits (or doesn’t) into the larger picture:

• Morning (fasting window): 16–32 oz celery juice on an empty stomach. Lemon water with a pinch of sea salt. Supplements. Bible reading, prayer, morning faith routine.
• Mid-morning: Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie — wild blueberries, banana, cilantro, spirulina, barley grass juice powder, Atlantic dulse, orange juice.
• Lunch (main meal): A variety of mixed vegetables, lentils (a few times a week), fresh sprouts and herbs with lemon juice. Wild sardines in water alongside, 2-3 times per week. On non-sardine days, a sweet potato or mixed steamed vegetables with avocado.
• Afternoon: Usually some nuts, figs and dates or whatever is seasonal. Herbal tea (lemon balm, tulsi, peppermint, hibiscus or passionflower).
• Evening: I try to have nothing. I keep evenings intentionally light to support overnight detox and deep sleep.

Animal protein appears in this picture 2-3 times per week at most — not at every meal, and not as the centerpiece of nutrition. The foundation is always fruits, vegetables, herbs, and targeted plant-based foods. The sardines are a small, specific addition with a clear purpose.

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Practical Sourcing Guide

Knowing what to buy is only useful if you know where to find it. Here’s where I source the animal proteins I do eat:

• Sardines: Costco (wild-caught in water, 12-pack — best value). Also available at Trader Joe’s and most grocery stores. Brands: Wild Planet, King Oscar (in water only).
• Wild Salmon (canned): Wild Planet Wild Sockeye Salmon, Vital Choice, Costco Kirkland wild-caught Alaskan pink salmon. Always check “wild-caught Alaskan” on the label.
• Wild Salmon (fresh/frozen): Costco (fresh or frozen sockeye), Trader Joe’s (frozen wild-caught portions), Whole Foods (wild-caught section).
• Pasture-Raised Chicken: Vital Farms (widely available), Mary’s Organic Chicken (California-based, excellent sourcing), Whole Foods 365 pasture-raised line. Always look for “Certified Humane” or “Animal Welfare Approved” on the label — not just “free range.”

A general rule: if it’s cheap, it’s probably not clean. The pricing difference between conventional and quality animal protein is real. But you’re also eating far less of it on a healing protocol — so the cost per week often evens out.

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If You’re Not Ready to Give Up Meat Entirely — That’s Okay

I want to close this with something important: this is not a moral judgment. Dietary choices are personal, healing paths are individual, and nobody has all the answers — including me.

What I know from my own experience is that gradual, consistent movement toward cleaner proteins and a more plant-forward foundation has produced real, measurable improvements in my neurological health, my energy, and my quality of life. I’m not asking you to do what I do. I’m sharing what has worked for me and why — so you have more information to make your own informed decisions.

If you’re not ready to give up beef, start by swapping it for pasture-raised chicken twice a week. If you’re not ready to give up chicken, add sardines and see how your body responds. Small, sustainable steps compound over months and years into real change. That’s how my own healing has unfolded — not in dramatic overnight shifts, but in steady, faithful daily choices.

You don’t have to be perfect to be healing. You just have to keep moving in the right direction.

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Related Posts

• Understanding Protein and Essential Amino Acids for Healing
• Carnivore Diet vs. Whole-Food Healing: My Honest Take
• Healing Through Nutrition and Faith
• My Daily Supplement Routine
• Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie

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Disclaimer

The content on this site, including blog posts, shared material, and external links, is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your health regimen, including medications, diet, exercise, or supplementation. David Julian, Natural Vitality Advocate, is not a licensed medical professional. The views expressed in this blog are personal and based on lived experience — they do not guarantee accuracy, completeness, or specific outcomes. David Julian is not affiliated with Natural Vitality or NaturalVitality.com. He does not promote, sell, or take a position for or against them.