Should I start eating meat again? Will it make me more healthy?
JollyHodgers87
Posts: 165 Member
I am a pescetarian. I eat seafood as much as possible. I also have always taken multi vitamins and eaten as much greens etc that I can. I also use some homeopathic teas and such.
I found out I was anemic at the beginning of the year, so I take iron as well.
I try to be healthy but I keep getting sick.
My husband keeps telling me to eat meat. He says if I eat red meat, or meat in general I won't get sick so much as he never gets sick.
Is he correct?
I've been on the pescetarian diet for 18 years. Part of me thinks he just wants to win our debate. However I am tired of being ill with sinus infections and bronchits. Part of this I can blame my town on. I live in an old railroad town with lots of factories which doesn't help breathing conditions here. But still.. I get sick more than others who live here.
Thanks.
I found out I was anemic at the beginning of the year, so I take iron as well.
I try to be healthy but I keep getting sick.
My husband keeps telling me to eat meat. He says if I eat red meat, or meat in general I won't get sick so much as he never gets sick.
Is he correct?
I've been on the pescetarian diet for 18 years. Part of me thinks he just wants to win our debate. However I am tired of being ill with sinus infections and bronchits. Part of this I can blame my town on. I live in an old railroad town with lots of factories which doesn't help breathing conditions here. But still.. I get sick more than others who live here.
Thanks.
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Replies
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Also, please no one try to sale me anything lol.0
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Red meat doesn't prevent illness. Good hygiene, reducing exposure to viruses and bacteria, and an overall healthy lifestyle and immune system help fight off illness. Red meat is part of that for people who like it, sure, but it's not a requirement.5
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What does your husband think you will get from red meat that you aren't currently getting?
Not meeting your nutritional needs can make you more prone to illness. But not having red meat in your diet doesn't mean you aren't meeting your needs. What specific nutrients is he concerned about?1 -
Red meat is an excellent source of heme iron, which can help with the anemia. It's also a great source of vitamin b12 but if you eat a lot of fish you're probably not deficient. There are some good seafood sources of heme iron too - clams and oysters in particular. Most fish, however, are going to have less heme iron than red meat, and red meat is a very common and palatable source of iron. (Think about how much red meat your husband eats per month compared to how many shellfish you consume).
Really it comes down to knowing what, if anything, you are deficient in. There are vitamins whose deficiency can weaken the immune system but you need information before you can create a plan.5 -
Talk to your doctor. Iron can help increase red blood cells (carry more oxygen, feel better at high altitude, run harder, not pass out). Iron does not help increase white blood cells, which fight infection.3
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wstephens87 wrote: »I am a pescetarian. I eat seafood as much as possible. I also have always taken multi vitamins and eaten as much greens etc that I can. I also use some homeopathic teas and such.
I found out I was anemic at the beginning of the year, so I take iron as well.
I try to be healthy but I keep getting sick.
My husband keeps telling me to eat meat. He says if I eat red meat, or meat in general I won't get sick so much as he never gets sick.
Is he correct?
I've been on the pescetarian diet for 18 years. Part of me thinks he just wants to win our debate. However I am tired of being ill with sinus infections and bronchits. Part of this I can blame my town on. I live in an old railroad town with lots of factories which doesn't help breathing conditions here. But still.. I get sick more than others who live here.
Thanks.
You are different people. You should probably be talking to your doctor about whether a change in diet could improve your health. Have you done allergy testing at all?
If you have mainly respiratory problems I would think changing your environment would help more than changing diet unless you are allergic to a food you currently eat.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/62395773 -
Did your doctor test you for any other deficiencies other than iron?1
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The only thing that could cause increased illness that you've noted is anemia. If you anemia is treated, then meat or no meat does not matter. As long as you don't have any other nutritional deficiencies and have the anemia corrected, then this is not the problem.0
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wstephens87 wrote: »I am a pescetarian. I eat seafood as much as possible. I also have always taken multi vitamins and eaten as much greens etc that I can. I also use some homeopathic teas and such.
I found out I was anemic at the beginning of the year, so I take iron as well.
I try to be healthy but I keep getting sick.
My husband keeps telling me to eat meat. He says if I eat red meat, or meat in general I won't get sick so much as he never gets sick.
Is he correct?
I've been on the pescetarian diet for 18 years. Part of me thinks he just wants to win our debate. However I am tired of being ill with sinus infections and bronchits. Part of this I can blame my town on. I live in an old railroad town with lots of factories which doesn't help breathing conditions here. But still.. I get sick more than others who live here.
Thanks.
You are different people. You should probably be talking to your doctor about whether a change in diet could improve your health. Have you done allergy testing at all?
If you have mainly respiratory problems I would think changing your environment would help more than changing diet unless you are allergic to a food you currently eat.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6239577
Yea I've thought about doing that as well. I went to an ENT and he has suggested surgery. But he didn't even look into my ears or do an allergy test to rule that out. So I'm thinking of having a second opinion before going under the needle. Thanks.
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TavistockToad wrote: »Did your doctor test you for any other deficiencies other than iron?
Nope.0 -
My husband keeps telling me to eat meat. He says if I eat red meat, or meat in general I won't get sick so much as he never gets sick.
Are you in a mixed-gender marriage? I ask because using your husband's logic, one could argue you should start taking testosterone and get sex-change surgery. Because he's male and "never gets sick." So if you were male, you would never get sick.3 -
Your husband is wrong!2
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wstephens87 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Did your doctor test you for any other deficiencies other than iron?
Nope.
Have you discussed that you always get ill?0 -
No meat does not have any special exclusive vitamins necessary for survival. I grew up often pushing meat to the side of my plate because I didn't like it. I didn't like fish so I rarely ate it and I've never had any iron issues. I do eat lentils alot so maybe that's why? I would say take a step back and look at your diet maybe you can make changes to improve your iron and overall health. And of course see your doctor for a full blood work up if you can. Vitamin D could be an issue as it is for alot of people (even meat eaters) as we don't go outside alot unless we work outside. You can also ask about allergy medications...I have to take one daily because I'm allergic to grass and trees...can't really avoid that...but the daily meds help me not get sinus infections as well as using a netipot every 2-4 weeks.1
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TavistockToad wrote: »wstephens87 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Did your doctor test you for any other deficiencies other than iron?
Nope.
Have you discussed that you always get ill?
YEa our doctors suck here lol. You pretty much have to research yoru own conditions and treatment and such before you even go in and see them lol.
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I ended up becoming anaemic before going vegan, and it actually improved afterwards (although I am taking supplements). Just goes to show that even meat filled diets can result in anaemia in some people.
Firstly, make sure you take a vitamin C tablet when you take your iron tablet, as it helps the iron be absorbed. Also don't drink tea or coffee for around an hour each way of taking the supplements, as they can block iron absorption.
Shellfish can be a really good source of iron in a pescatarian diet!
You don't need to go back to meat for iron issues, there are plenty of other alternatives
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VeganRaptor wrote: »I ended up becoming anaemic before going vegan, and it actually improved afterwards (although I am taking supplements). Just goes to show that even meat filled diets can result in anaemia in some people.
Firstly, make sure you take a vitamin C tablet when you take your iron tablet, as it helps the iron be absorbed. Also don't drink tea or coffee for around an hour each way of taking the supplements, as they can block iron absorption.
Shellfish can be a really good source of iron in a pescatarian diet!
You don't need to go back to meat for iron issues, there are plenty of other alternatives
Thank you. This is helpful. I will try vitamin c with it.
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wstephens87 wrote: »VeganRaptor wrote: »I ended up becoming anaemic before going vegan, and it actually improved afterwards (although I am taking supplements). Just goes to show that even meat filled diets can result in anaemia in some people.
Firstly, make sure you take a vitamin C tablet when you take your iron tablet, as it helps the iron be absorbed. Also don't drink tea or coffee for around an hour each way of taking the supplements, as they can block iron absorption.
Shellfish can be a really good source of iron in a pescatarian diet!
You don't need to go back to meat for iron issues, there are plenty of other alternatives
Thank you. This is helpful. I will try vitamin c with it.
Do that for a while and then get retested. Anemia does not always respond to iron supplementation and if yours doesn't, you want to know about it so you can address it.1 -
I've been vegan 4 years and not had a single cold in that time plus had loads of other health benefits from it!! Occasionally take a B12 supp (aka when I remember to take it). Plus a balanced diet and loads of green veg0
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If you have been pescatarian for 18 years you cannot just start eating meat. You will get sick as your stomach will have a hard time to digest it and meat is hard to digest anyway.
My suggestion would be to take a complete range of b vitamins a Whole Foods multi. On top of that if you are deficient in other vitamins a iron, zinc, folate, and folic acid. For your immune system I'd take echinacea zinc astragalus.
It may be you have a compromised immune system and need to build that up0 -
angelexperiment wrote: »If you have been pescatarian for 18 years you cannot just start eating meat. You will get sick as your stomach will have a hard time to digest it and meat is hard to digest anyway.
My suggestion would be to take a complete range of b vitamins a Whole Foods multi. On top of that if you are deficient in other vitamins a iron, zinc, folate, and folic acid. For your immune system I'd take echinacea zinc astragalus.
It may be you have a compromised immune system and need to build that up
You don't get from eating meat after not eating it awhile that's a myth.
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littlechiaseed wrote: »angelexperiment wrote: »If you have been pescatarian for 18 years you cannot just start eating meat. You will get sick as your stomach will have a hard time to digest it and meat is hard to digest anyway.
My suggestion would be to take a complete range of b vitamins a Whole Foods multi. On top of that if you are deficient in other vitamins a iron, zinc, folate, and folic acid. For your immune system I'd take echinacea zinc astragalus.
It may be you have a compromised immune system and need to build that up
You don't get from eating meat after not eating it awhile that's a myth.
I have 2 relatives who went vegetarian for over 5 years, both decided to eat meat again and got some severe stomach issues for the first few attempts at eating it. This is obviously not scientific but I have heard the same from others.1 -
trigden1991 wrote: »littlechiaseed wrote: »angelexperiment wrote: »If you have been pescatarian for 18 years you cannot just start eating meat. You will get sick as your stomach will have a hard time to digest it and meat is hard to digest anyway.
My suggestion would be to take a complete range of b vitamins a Whole Foods multi. On top of that if you are deficient in other vitamins a iron, zinc, folate, and folic acid. For your immune system I'd take echinacea zinc astragalus.
It may be you have a compromised immune system and need to build that up
You don't get from eating meat after not eating it awhile that's a myth.
I have 2 relatives who went vegetarian for over 5 years, both decided to eat meat again and got some severe stomach issues for the first few attempts at eating it. This is obviously not scientific but I have heard the same from others.
The human body doesn't forget how to digest food, maybe it's mental.0 -
trigden1991 wrote: »littlechiaseed wrote: »angelexperiment wrote: »If you have been pescatarian for 18 years you cannot just start eating meat. You will get sick as your stomach will have a hard time to digest it and meat is hard to digest anyway.
My suggestion would be to take a complete range of b vitamins a Whole Foods multi. On top of that if you are deficient in other vitamins a iron, zinc, folate, and folic acid. For your immune system I'd take echinacea zinc astragalus.
It may be you have a compromised immune system and need to build that up
You don't get from eating meat after not eating it awhile that's a myth.
I have 2 relatives who went vegetarian for over 5 years, both decided to eat meat again and got some severe stomach issues for the first few attempts at eating it. This is obviously not scientific but I have heard the same from others.
My friend is lifelong vegetarian and tried to taste meat few times. Got sick every time.0 -
wstephens87 wrote: »wstephens87 wrote: »I am a pescetarian. I eat seafood as much as possible. I also have always taken multi vitamins and eaten as much greens etc that I can. I also use some homeopathic teas and such.
I found out I was anemic at the beginning of the year, so I take iron as well.
I try to be healthy but I keep getting sick.
My husband keeps telling me to eat meat. He says if I eat red meat, or meat in general I won't get sick so much as he never gets sick.
Is he correct?
I've been on the pescetarian diet for 18 years. Part of me thinks he just wants to win our debate. However I am tired of being ill with sinus infections and bronchits. Part of this I can blame my town on. I live in an old railroad town with lots of factories which doesn't help breathing conditions here. But still.. I get sick more than others who live here.
Thanks.
You are different people. You should probably be talking to your doctor about whether a change in diet could improve your health. Have you done allergy testing at all?
If you have mainly respiratory problems I would think changing your environment would help more than changing diet unless you are allergic to a food you currently eat.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6239577
Yea I've thought about doing that as well. I went to an ENT and he has suggested surgery. But he didn't even look into my ears or do an allergy test to rule that out. So I'm thinking of having a second opinion before going under the needle. Thanks.
We had always labeled my daughter 'sickly' because she was having constant ear and sinus infections, along with other issues (speech problems etc). We thought it was allergies and started at an allergist who ended up referring us to an ENT. After several CT scans we discovered her entire sinus cavity area wasn't formed correctly. It took two surgeries to reconstruct her sinus area plus ear tubes, and she's totally fine now-not one sinus or ear infection since Also an ENT does not do allergy testing, you have to go to an allergist for that. An ENT focuses on ear, throat and sinus issues. 0 -
littlechiaseed wrote: »trigden1991 wrote: »littlechiaseed wrote: »angelexperiment wrote: »If you have been pescatarian for 18 years you cannot just start eating meat. You will get sick as your stomach will have a hard time to digest it and meat is hard to digest anyway.
My suggestion would be to take a complete range of b vitamins a Whole Foods multi. On top of that if you are deficient in other vitamins a iron, zinc, folate, and folic acid. For your immune system I'd take echinacea zinc astragalus.
It may be you have a compromised immune system and need to build that up
You don't get from eating meat after not eating it awhile that's a myth.
I have 2 relatives who went vegetarian for over 5 years, both decided to eat meat again and got some severe stomach issues for the first few attempts at eating it. This is obviously not scientific but I have heard the same from others.
The human body doesn't forget how to digest food, maybe it's mental.
I am not arguing if it is physical or mental, I stated an anecdote to support a theory that others had suggested.0 -
littlechiaseed wrote: »trigden1991 wrote: »littlechiaseed wrote: »angelexperiment wrote: »If you have been pescatarian for 18 years you cannot just start eating meat. You will get sick as your stomach will have a hard time to digest it and meat is hard to digest anyway.
My suggestion would be to take a complete range of b vitamins a Whole Foods multi. On top of that if you are deficient in other vitamins a iron, zinc, folate, and folic acid. For your immune system I'd take echinacea zinc astragalus.
It may be you have a compromised immune system and need to build that up
You don't get from eating meat after not eating it awhile that's a myth.
I have 2 relatives who went vegetarian for over 5 years, both decided to eat meat again and got some severe stomach issues for the first few attempts at eating it. This is obviously not scientific but I have heard the same from others.
The human body doesn't forget how to digest food, maybe it's mental.
No, it doesn't, but when people add meat back in, they may also reduce fiber or increase fats. Either can cause digestive upset.
I was put on a very low fat, high protein diet (for performance, not weight loss). My meals were almost exclusively grilled chicken, fish, steamed vegetables, fruit, bread, oatmeal. No butter, minimal oil, etc. When I was done with competition, I tried to add things like steak and hamburger back in. Butter on my bread, etc. I had horrible digestive issues. Took a couple of weeks for most things to get back to normal, but it was nearly a year before I managed to eat a McDonald's single hamburger (i.e. small) without repercussions, and even longer for a 1/4 lb hamburger.
ETA: It just occurred to me. This is the first issue I've come across IRL where the intestinal microbiome changing would actually make sense as a causal effect.
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I agree that it can be different things. First, try to focus on non meat sources of iron... fish, beans, lentils. Find a cereal with iron maybe (cheerios? I seem to remember a thread about that...).
Also (stealing from Wedmd) 'To absorb the most iron from the foods you eat, avoid drinking coffee or tea or consuming calcium-rich foods or drinks with meals containing iron-rich foods. To improve your absorption of iron, eat it along with a good source of vitamin C -- such as orange juice, broccoli, or strawberries -- or eat nonheme iron foods with a food from the meat, fish, and poultry group.'
For the sickness part, what are your symptoms when you are sick? Why did the ENT suggest surgery? I had septoplasty for a deviated septum and it's the best thing I've done (and I was crazy to wait so long to do it), I wasn't getting sick much though, just having my nose clogged pretty much non stop in Winter. I have allergies too so it made it worse.. but yes you'll have to find a specialist to have those diagnosed (and in my experience, you can use over the counter stuff but it doesn't always make the symptoms go away).0 -
Nope. You can get all the vitamins and nutrients you need from many different sources. How you get them is up to you.0
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