Can Too Much Meat be Bad for You?
The Subconscious Fat of eating too much or too little meat
I’m excited about a scientific study that came out recently.
Mr. Skeptical raises his hands, “But hold on. Let’s answer the question of whether too much meat is bad for you.”
I give him an irritated look. “Fine. Like everything, too much of anything can be bad in certain circumstances. Drinking too much water is bad. Drinking too much all at once is called drowning, and that’s not recommended.”
Mr. Skeptical stays quiet. One eyebrow raised, giving me the most sarcastic look one could imagine.
Subconscious Fat at 30,000 feet
As mentioned in a previous post of mine found here, the answer to everything is always that it depends. If a person has only eaten fruits and vegetables their whole life and is suddenly fed lots of meat, there’s a good chance they’ll react poorly to it. In that case, one could argue that meat is terrible for them. Yet, if they continue to eat meat, their body will adjust to it without a problem.
There are always exceptions. Suppose one has been starved, like Holocaust survivors, or after Napoleon’s starved army marched into Russia and found lots of food. Napoleon’s troops started overeating on the newfound food, and some suddenly dropped dead.
In those extreme cases, the innate intelligence of the body has adapted too intensely to not eating, so that if one is fed too much too quickly, they may die. There’s a medical term for this, and it’s called refeeding syndrome.
Mr. Skeptical’s squints at me. “You’re talking about food in general. Let’s talk about meat.”
“There are studies that show that eating red meat is linked to cancer. However, these studies are flawed because a lot of meat eaters historically drink more alcohol, own guns, smoke, and drive faster, leading to more deaths.
For years, many have thought vegetarianism is healthier, so those who ate more vegetables tended to smoke less and were more involved in a healthy lifestyle. This led to incorrect studies on red meat, causing death. This is called healthy-use bias.
Another factor is processed meat. Obviously, if meat has sugar and soy and is cooked in vegetable oils, it will be much less healthy. See the video below for a good explanation.”
Subconscious Fat at 10,000 feet
I believe most people can’t overeat meat. In my last post, I posted everything I ate on Xmas day. I ate all the meat and avoided (for the most part) all the sugar and carbs of desserts. I felt fine afterward.”
“Well, people should eat of each food group in moderation.”
“I think that’s bullshit. I get a stomachache if I eat in moderation for each food group. For years, food combining was critical for me to avoid gut issues. If one eats protein, the stomach produces acidic gastric juices, yet if one eats starchy carbohydrates, the gastric juices are alkaline. So, if you eat moderate amounts of each, many get stomachaches.”
“Well, not everyone does because some people eat meatballs and spaghetti without an issue.”
“Yes. This is why we’re all different, and we also need to listen to our innate intelligence or intuition when it comes to proper eating.”
Subconscious Fat at Eye-Level
The study I’m excited about I found in Physiologically Speaking. It talks about how there’s no upper limit to digesting protein. For years, I’ve always heard that spreading your protein intake throughout the day is ideal for better absorption. If you take in more than 30 grams of protein, your body won’t use the rest, so it’d be wasted.”
Mr. Skeptical adds, “Well, that makes sense. Too much protein will likely be bad for you or at least make wasted protein.”
“It seems to make sense, but it never did for me.”
“Why not?”
“Because plenty of carnivores eat only one meal a day (OMAD). Plenty of people do well with that way of eating.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to eat only once a day.”
“I’m not telling you too, only that some people do. However, looking at eating from an evolutionary point of view, we must conclude that humans went for long periods without eating.”
“Why, how?”
“If you need to catch and kill your food, you will pass through stages of not eating for a while. We adapted to this. Humans also adapted to eating a ton of fatty meat all at once, like I did on Xmas day.”
“Well, I don’t like to get so stuffed.”
“You probably feel worse not because of the amount of food but because you mixed proteins and carbs and created a chemical and gastric mess. The point of the study was to show that we don’t need to spread the protein intake throughout the day. We can digest it all at once.”
Practical Suggestions and Conclusions
Listen to your body. Realize that you have an innate intelligence governing your body. Eat till you feel full. The fattier meat you eat, the more your body will run on fat and burn it for fuel, helping you burn off the pounds.
Many ask me if I have a cheat day. I don’t. I allow for exceptions, but what’s better than a juicy steak? Not much, especially when I add in how I feel afterward.
Listen to your intuition on what to eat, yet realize that if you want to eat healthier, there may be an adaptive process to go through, so you may want coaching or guidance.
Be aware.
PS Full disclosure: Chat GPT was used to research and enhance this post.
PSS I want to welcome those from the farmers market at Legions Park and a special thanks to Simon from Cleaverandhog.com. For those in the Miami area, I have two Meet-up events coming up. One is a Carnivore Event, and the other is Resistance Band Training; see links for more details here and here.