Health Diet - Is eating meat actually helpful ?

[Spyce D]

I am a vegetarian who has been thinking about introducing meat in my diet .

But , I just want to be sure that is it really helpful or is it just a trend or fad cuz thats how I see it here. People just following " modern " trend of meat eating . It's seen as progressive / modern here .

Does being vegetarian really hinder body performance , testosterone ?

Or is it the kind of vegetatrian food you eat has an impact ?


I am asking this question here because I can get a balanced picture .

 

[gameboy]

I have never managed to be fully vegetarian, even though I like vegetarian food very much and I never consume dairy products. I have also had a vegetarian girlfriend for several years and we loved to go to veggie restaurants together. But my body always seems to crave meat after a while so I never really gave it up.

I don't know if meat is helpful or not. I think it probably depends on each individual. But FWIW, I was told by a physiotherapist recently that meat, epecially red meat, is helpful for muscle growth.

 

[Spyce D]

I have never managed to be fully vegetarian, even though I like vegetarian food very much and I never consume dairy products. I have also had a vegetarian girlfriend for several years and we loved to go to veggie restaurants together. But my body always seems to crave meat after a while so I never really gave it up.

Dairy products are great here . We can get them raw from the local dairy itself .

But FWIW, I was told by a physiotherapist recently that meat, epecially red meat, is helpful for muscle growth.

I can eat mutton , lamb , chicken , pork and even I know this but if it's really going to help me improve muscle growth then I should eat it .

 

[ulrich]

Does being vegetarian really hinder body performance , testosterone ?

As far as I know, lack of meat does have a an impact on testosterone production.
Big servings of fatty meat (pork, beef) do create testosterone spikes… I imagine long term consumption leads to long term gains.

Also milk seems to have an anabolic effect. It is easier to build muscle (and a lot of fat) while consuming whole milk.

Or is it the kind of vegetatrian food you eat has an impact ?


I am asking this question here because I can get a balanced picture .

Phytoestrogens are a thing you need to be aware of.
I understand vegetarians tend to consume huge amounts of soy. You may want to find other foods that don’t have a negative impact in your hormone production.

Besides that, I would not be surprised if certain essential amino acids like carnitine cannot be found In substantial amounts in vegetarian foods.
Unfortunately I haven’t really researched it.

 

[Spyce D]

I understand vegetarians tend to consume huge amounts of soy.

I don't eat soy . Pretty rare . Mostly vegetable , pulses , fruits , wheat flour , basically local food .

Also milk seems to have an anabolic effect. It is easier to build muscle (and a lot of fat) while consuming whole milk

Yup , good thing is we can get raw milk straight fr the dairy.

 

[Kvothe]

I really wanted to be vegan for personal reasons, but looking at the evidence makes it hard to argue that humans evolved to be based purely on vegetables. There are a whole lot of factors to take into consideration regarding nutrition, the main one being how it affects your microbiome.

wrt testosterone, eating fats is a huge part there, but you could probably get great ratios eating flax seed, avocado, coconut oil, olive oil, and a variety of nuts. Sourcing matters-extra virgin cold pressed is better, and the less processed the better. However that comes with a cost of your body not digesting the nutrients as easily, as there are more antinutrients in the food.

Meat is much more easily digestible, and apparently has better protein ratios than plan protein. I also find some evidence pretty persuasive that humans are built to be preferential to meat (shorter long intestine, higher stomach acid ph). But we're omnivores. Unless you have a specific autoimmune disorder, full carnivore is probably unnecessary.

One nice thing I recently found out is that you can test Testosterone pretty cheaply for like $50, so if it's something you want to experiment with, you can take a baseline T reading, then try adding meat, and take another reading in a month, and then again in two and three months. If you see a significant change, you'll have your answer for you. Nutrition is highly individual due to the gut microbiome being extremely unique to each person based on a lifetime of eating habits as well as initial seeding from when they were a child.

Regarding meats, make sure they're antibiotic free, pasture raised, and if they're ruminants (grass-eating), that they are grass fed and grass finished. This nearly guarantees optimal omega 3:6 ratios.

All this is to say that it's complicated.

One last unrelated thing is the benefit of adding in fermented foods as well with live and active cultures, much more so than any probiotic pill. Kimchis, sauerkrauts, kefir, yogurt are all great. Great for your body all around.

 

[POB]

- Red meat has iron and a lot of vitamin B
- Dairy has calcium and good fats
- Any kind of animal product who is protein based has a bunch of specific amino acids that you can't find in vegetables
- Fish and seafood have zync and good fats

If you stop eating red meat, you probably have to supplement with Iron and Vitamin B
If you stop eating dairy, you probably have to supplement with calcium
If you stop eating fish and seafood, you probably have to supplement with omega 3 and zinc
If you stop eating fish, red meat, poultry, pork and chicken, you probably have to supplement with creatine
If you don't eat any kind of meat, dairy or eggs, you probably have to supplement with a lot of BCAAs and/or veggie whey

P.S. I didn't pull this stuff out of my ass....besides my main profession, I have a second degree in nutrition

 

[gameboy]

- Red meat has iron and a lot of vitamin B
- Dairy has calcium and good fats
- Any kind of animal product who is protein based has a bunch of specific amino acids that you can't find in vegetables
- Fish and seafood has zync and good fats

If you stop eating red meat, you probably have to supplement with Iron and Vitamin B
If you stop eating dairy, you probably have to supplement with calcium
If you stop eating fish and seafood, you probably have to supplement with omega 3 and zinc
If you stop eating fish, red meat, poultry, pork and chicken, you probably have to supplement with creatine
If you don't eat any kind of meat, dairy or eggs, you probably have to supplement with a lot of BCAAs and/or veggie whey

P.S. I didn't pull this stuff out of my ass....besides my first profession, I have a second degree in nutrition

Makes sense...

My body reacts allergic to cow's milk unfortunately, but recently I reintroduced Goat kefir to my diet which seems to be fine.

I also have above average problems with teeth and bones, so I may actually be short on calcium. Getting a supplement probably makes sense for me.

Thanks for the head's up @POB!

 

[POB]

Makes sense...

My body reacts allergic to cow's milk unfortunately, but recently I reintroduced Goat kefir to my diet which seems to be fine.

I do have dairy allergies too
Can't get near raw milk if it's not zero lactose

I also have above average problems with teeth and bones, so I may actually be short on calcium. Getting a supplement probably makes sense for me.

That's because you are not having enough milk, yogurt and cheese for sure.

Thanks for the head's up @POB!

No problem.
Lemme me know if you need anything else, I'm a nutrition nerd lol

 

[BobTbay]

If you haven't eaten meat for a long time be very careful introducing it back into your diet.

Eat a very tiny amount. like a teaspoon full, it's a shock to the system and otherwise will give you gastric distress like vomiting and diarrhea. I've seen it in two other people.

 

[Marty]

My body reacts allergic to cow's milk unfortunately, but recently I reintroduced Goat kefir to my diet which seems to be fine.

I absolutely love kefir and drink it frequently. Goat kefir sounds delicious, I must try it; thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Surveyor]

I am a vegetarian who has been thinking about introducing meat in my diet .

But , I just want to be sure that is it really helpful or is it just a trend or fad cuz thats how I see it here. People just following " modern " trend of meat eating . It's seen as progressive / modern here .

Does being vegetarian really hinder body performance , testosterone ?

Or is it the kind of vegetatrian food you eat has an impact ?


I am asking this question here because I can get a balanced picture .

Humans, especially men, NEED a certain amount of animal protein in order to be at peak health and energy levels. Hence the need for most vegans to supplement with more pills than an old lady.

That protein doesn’t have to come from meat. But meat is ideally part of the mix.

Contrary to popular belief, real paleo diets are generally only about 30% meat at most. And a lot of that meat is often poultry.

My experience personally is that red meat is amazing for muscle growth.

In terms of digestibility, everyone is different but well-cooked ground beef shouldn’t be a problem for anyone with healthy guts.

 

[Chase]

@Spyce D,

But , I just want to be sure that is it really helpful or is it just a trend or fad cuz thats how I see it here. People just following " modern " trend of meat eating . It's seen as progressive / modern here .

 

[Paulatrides]

@Spyce D,

I'm not sure of other animals, but cows being fed meat has a disastrous effect, giving birth to Mad cow diseases which is very hard to cure, almost impossible.

Mad cows and Englishmen: The globalisation of disease

www.twn.my

The ‘Mad Cow Disease’ Scandal

How the UK Government put millions at risk of a 100% fatal illness

chloewells.medium.com

 

[ulrich]

I'm not sure of other animals, but cows being fed meat has a disastrous effect, giving birth to Mad cow diseases which is very hard to cure, almost impossible.

Mad cows and Englishmen: The globalisation of disease

www.twn.my

The ‘Mad Cow Disease’ Scandal

How the UK Government put millions at risk of a 100% fatal illness

chloewells.medium.com

Indeed. It would definitely be unwise to feed them meat purposefully.

But their closest relatives in the wild occasionally eat carcasses and bones as a way to obtain calcium and other minerals when the soil and the vegetation lack it.
Hence why cows are open to consume it in the first place.

Modern farms supplement cows with a salt lick which covers that need.

But it is indeed a fact that no animal (or at least no big mammal) is truly vegan… all of them can be observed eating meat/insects/eggs in the wild.