Red meat

andreadee83
andreadee83 Posts: 13 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Has anyone given up red meat? Going to give it a try to see if it makes me feel any better. Curious about benefits
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Replies

  • mghb0501
    mghb0501 Posts: 3 Member
    What kind of outcome or affect are you looking for?
    andreadee83 wrote: »
    Going to give it a try to see if it makes me feel any better.
    Does this mean red meat may be causing problems for you?
    I've had waves of consistent and absent red meat consumption mostly for the purpose of variety. I've found myself to get some form of discomfort if I rely too much on a specific meat

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    What kind of benefits are you looking for? I didn't eat red meat for about 3-4 months years ago when I was experimenting with vegetarian (a few years after I lost my weight). I didn't notice a difference in anything in regards to how I felt. The only time I've ever noticed a substantial difference in how I felt was when I first started trying to lose weight and one of the big changes in my diet was to get in more fruits and vegetables as they were not a big part of my diet previously. That and regular exercise.
  • IAmTheGlue
    IAmTheGlue Posts: 701 Member
    I don’t eat red meat due to some health issues . Meat makes me physically ill along with a bunch of other foods my stomach refuses.

    Anyway, I think there are some benefits to avoiding or limiting red meat in regards to your cholesterol, but I could be wrong. A Mediterranean diet is healthy.

    I do keep a close eye on my protein intake/macros as I’m here for my health.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,234 Member
    I haven't eaten any meat at all - at least not knowingly/intentionally - since 1974. I can't say that not eating it made me feel any different physically. It makes getting good nutrition a little bit harder, but it's manageable.

    I'd assume some of the same issues would apply to reducing red meat, just not as strongly as in full vegetarianism or fully plant-based diets: Stuff like B12, the better absorption of heme iron, stuff like that. If you still eat other meats and fish, protein shouldn't be any more challenging. (Protein's slightly more challenging for a vegetarian or fully plant-based eater, but again, not prohibitively so.)
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,944 Member
    I hardly eat red meat. Not because I think it causes any health problems but because I don't eat a lot of meat to start with, and chicken fits my style of cooking better. What kind of issues do you think you have related to red meat?
  • gpanda103
    gpanda103 Posts: 189 Member
    Red meat is very important when it comes to getting in iron and B vitamins. Yes, some stuff is fortified with it, but it’s not nearly as bioavailable as it is in red meat. If you’re scared of red meat because you see all the headlines that say it is bad.. you have to remember the difference between correlation and causation
  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
    gpanda103 wrote: »
    Red meat is very important when it comes to getting in iron and B vitamins. Yes, some stuff is fortified with it, but it’s not nearly as bioavailable as it is in red meat. If you’re scared of red meat because you see all the headlines that say it is bad.. you have to remember the difference between correlation and causation

    As far as iron goes you absolutely do not need to eat red meat! That’s an old fashioned idea which holds no water.

    I’ve been vegetarian for a very long time and I admit I don’t pay special attention to micronutrients since I eat an extremely varied diet outside of the whole meat and fish thing. So I’m not looking at iron as a priority but it seems I get plenty anyway!

    I give blood, so regularly have my iron level assessed - I’ve never had any issues.
  • Thewonderofitall
    Thewonderofitall Posts: 98 Member
    Most weeks I eat red meat (beef) twice a week. On Wednesday I have a 4oz. Roast Beef sandwich for lunch. On Sunday nights I have a 4oz. Cheeseburger. Once in a while I'll swap the burger for a small steak!
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,610 Member
    I eat red meat regularly as I’m one of those people who didn’t thrive on a vegetarian diet. I do have a varied diet and I love my veggies but I personally absorb iron from red meat easier than other sources. It’s a personal choice and I do try to eat local beef from good farmers that I know for animal welfare reasons. It’s not cheap so I will eat less but better quality meat over cheaper mass-farmed animals. Again, it’s a personal choice, but I know I most definitely feel better with red meat in my diet (I was veggie for 14 years).
  • LazyBlondeChef
    LazyBlondeChef Posts: 2,809 Member
    I eat quality meat, poultry and seafood (grass fed, organic, locally pastured, wild caught, etc). My preference is to eat something different each day for the variety. I have tried to do the occasional vegetarian meal but I don't like most legumes or tofu which makes it difficult to get sufficient protein. I feel best on lower carb so limit grains to small portions.

    In the past I ate less meat and a lot of pasta and grains with vegetables. I always had stomach problems and was anemic. When I increased the amount of meat and minimized pasta and grains my problems disappeared and I haven't been anemic in years.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    edited May 2022
    I eat red meat multiple times a week, it's very nutrient dense. but good luck. if you're interested, you should check out sustainable dish, run by a RD who educates about how red meat is good for us and is not bad for the environment like a lot of people say it is.
  • VegjoyP
    VegjoyP Posts: 2,772 Member
    I gave up meat in 2008. I was competing, ripped and low body fat. However cholesterol, digestion, gallbladder were a mess. Liver a mess. I was pescatarian for years and now vegan. I can not even imagine eating meat ever. It is the BEST thing I have EVER done for my health
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,222 Member
    I'm as close to carnivore as you can get I suppose and never felt better. I've been on a low carb diet for years and generally consume whole foods, so basically now eating less plant food and keep dairy to a minimum as well.
  • Xellercin
    Xellercin Posts: 924 Member
    I used to eat a lot of beef and then suddenly lost my ability to digest it and didn't eat it for years. Now I eat it very rarely and very cautiously and sometimes I'm fine.

    Like any food, if it doesn't make you feel good, don't eat it.
  • SuzanneC1l9zz
    SuzanneC1l9zz Posts: 456 Member
    Not given up, but I've reduced it to maybe 2-3 meals a week. I find eating it too often makes me feel more sluggish for some reason. I still eat some form of animal protein at least two meals most days, but mostly poultry and fish.
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    We became pescatarian about 25 years ago. We generally eat fish once or twice a week and vegetarian the rest of the time. For my spouse, their elevated triglycerides and cholesterol improved to healthy levels. They also lost some weight, just from the change (no attempt to diet). I don't think my weight changed but I was normal BMI at the time. My already good lipid profile improved very slightly. (Note: I have a "healthy" lipid profile at any weight, normal to obese.). We definitely increased our vegetable intake and decreased our restaurant eating (vegetarian options at restaurants being more limited 25 years ago), so those changes probably also had numerous benefits for our health.

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