Reflection: "Details of Being Human"

 To eat more meat or more vegetables, has been a ceaseless debate between the vegetarians and the meat eaters. This article provides deeper insights and a new perspective to this topic. 
  Based on the article, I think people should decrease the  intake of red meat and also eat more vegetables. Humans lack a type of sialic acid, Neu5Gc, which is present in animal. The human immune antibodies will attack the acid if it is present in human body. It is evident from the reactions of Dr. Varki's patient after being injected horse serum. Dr. Varki and his colleagues found out that the antibodies will attack the acid when a person consumes much red meat, which is rich in Neu5Gc, such as lamb and beef.  And this leads to many human-specific diseases that are associated with chronic inflammation, including heart disease and cancer. On the other hand, white meat, which is not high in Neu5Gc and also rich in protein, seems very ideal for human. Therefore, humans should eat more white meat and less red meat. Additionally, protein is vital for humans and cannot be gained by only eating vegetables. 
  Eating more vegetables is essential to one's wellness. Eating vegetables can prevent constipation; constipation can cause the accumulation of toxins in our body. Plant cells contain cell walls, which are primarily composed of cellulose. Cellulose cannot be digested because humans lack the enzyme that breaks the beta-glycosidic bonds in it, so it has to be excreted from the body. The cellulose stimulates the corresponding receptors on the rectum, and cause the egestion of the feces. Also vegetables are low in calories and cholesterol and they will the decrease the risks of getting heart diseases. Furthermore, vegetables provide vital vitamins and minerals for human body.  
Vegetables might provide some amino acids, but not all 20. It is true that the essential amino acids can be replenished by artificially synthesized tablet. However, this method is fairly new, and no documented long-term risks or side-effects is available. Therefore, humans still need to eat meat. 
  In conclusion, humans should eat more meat than vegetables and more white meat than red meat. 
  The loss of Neu5Gc should be considered beneficial overall, despite some of the side effects.  The loss of Neu5Gc makes us more susceptible to some diseases such as, rheumatoid arthritis, bronchial asthma.  Additionally our hearing abilities and healing rate is decreased. However, back to million years ago, the loss of the sialic acid made us thrive, speciate and differ from other mammals. Because the presence of Neu5Gc will cause the susceptibilities to chimpanzee malaria disease. After this long time, we have become highly intelligent specialized mammal that is at the top of food chain. That must have a great connection with the loss of Neu5Gc, although we have not found out why. 
  The three million dollars used by CARTA was not wasted because it made a lot of great discoveries possible, despite the fact that it has not found the ancestors of humans. Because of CARTA, we now know the probable reason for humans to speciate, being immune to some chimpanzee malaria disease P. reichenowi that is why we lack Neu5Gc and have Neu5Ac. This finding can lead to research related to the unique physiological changes that Neu5Ac can bring.