Experts Share What Goes On Inside Our Bodies Once Red Meat Is Cut Out Of Our Diet

Make no mistake, though – that’ll be easier said than done for some people. After all, red meat can play a prevalent role in a weekly diet. In case you didn’t know, dishes such as pork and lamb come under the umbrella, as well as the more obvious candidates like beef. How can you just ditch them? On top of that, it’ll make restaurant trips a little trickier too.

Yes, steakhouses will be off-limits for obvious reasons, as will burger bars and other meaty fast-food joints. Plus, BBQ season is here: resisting the delicious smell of red meat sizzling on the grill might seem like a step too far! But if you have the iron will to ignore those temptations, some amazing things could happen.

Now don’t get us wrong – while red meat has a somewhat negative reputation at the moment, things haven’t always been that way. Why? Well, you only need to look at the nutrients found in those cuts. Quite simply, they’re jam-packed! Here’s a quick run-down of what’s hiding beneath the meaty surface.

Using a cut of raw beef that tipped the scales at 3.5 ounces as an example, the Healthline website offered up a nutritional breakdown. Apparently, it housed a sizable amount of selenium and zinc. If you want specifics, we’re talking roughly a quarter and a third of your recommended daily intake, respectively.

Sticking with that same metric for now, the beef also harbored large quantities of vitamin B12 and B3. Healthline stated the amounts stood at just over a third and precisely one quarter, respectively. Vitamin B6 was well represented too, with the proportion comprising roughly one fifth of your recommended daily intake. Hey, we did say it was packed in there!

Alongside all those nutrients, one more was flagged up on the health website. Yes, the beef contained about an eighth of your recommended daily intake of iron too. So for people looking to avoid ailments such as anemia, red meat might seem like an ideal food to add to their diets, not remove.

Yet even though you can’t argue with the nutritional benefits provided by red meat, consider our previous point. Your body has the opportunity to experience more positive changes by dropping those foods. That could be a little hard to believe given what we’ve discussed so far, but trust us. There’s a big gap.

Anyway, that’s got us wondering about something else. Why is red meat referred to as… well, red meat? It’s pretty interesting actually. According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s website, a molecule called myoglobin is the key factor in deciding whether a cut of meat falls under the umbrella.

You see, when animal muscle receives oxygen, it’s kept in place by myoglobin. As a result of that, the shade of their flesh will be affected. To put it simply, if the molecule has a higher presence in certain creatures, you get red meat. Neither fish nor chicken can compete with the likes of beef and lamb in that respect.

Mind you, as interesting as that is, we also need to discuss another aspect of red meat. Namely, all the negativity surrounding it. Why does it have such a bad rep today? Well, some serious health issues are constantly tied to the food items, with research papers making the connections.

As a result, the sheer amount of red meat that gets eaten in the United States is a big cause for concern. For instance, back in 2017 the Department of Agriculture reported that the “average American” ate over 71 pounds of the stuff every 12 months. That’s a lot of pork and beef!

So how can those numbers be realistically cut down to a healthier figure? Simple really – people need to know the benefits that come from ditching red meat. And certain bodies have gone out of their way to provide that information through painstaking analysis down the years. Let’s use the Harvard School of Public Health as an example.

Over a period of close to 30 years, the college conducted two separate experiments, before sharing its findings in the Archives of Internal Medicine journal. In total, roughly 38,000 guys and 84,000 ladies took part, with scientists looking at the difference in health outcomes between those who consumed lots of red meat and those who ate little or none.

The results were eye-opening to say the least. But the analysts at the college aren’t the only ones to share what transpires if you drop red meat from your diet. In fact, a few other experts have come forward online to offer their thoughts on the subject as well. So it’s about time we dived into it, wouldn’t you say?

To kick things off, let’s start with one of the more obvious benefits that comes from tossing red meat to the curb – reducing your weight. Yep, you just might be able to slip on that tight pair of jeans if you leave pork and beef behind. To go into more detail on that front, a “traditional naturopath” spoke to website The Healthy.

Her name is Sally Warren, and she operated out of the Metro Integrative Pharmacy in New York. She said, “Most portions of meat are more than the actual protein requirement. A three-ounce serving of beef can be around 170 calories. But a portion of beans can be around 100 calories and tofu around 70 calories.”

On the face of it, there isn’t a huge gap there. Yet the numbers will accumulate over the days and weeks, so the lower-calorie options are generally better for most people, whose regular daily calorie intake will typically be higher than nutritionists recommend. Anyway, sticking with the stomach for now, let’s move on to a benefit which ties into a problem most of us have likely experienced… bloating.

Why does red meat in particular cause our stomachs to feel blown out? It’s horrible! You essentially have to kiss goodbye to any plans you might’ve had for the rest of the evening. A registered dietitian looked to answer the question when she spoke to the Bustle website in February 2017.

Food expert Monica Auslander explained, “Meat requires a lot of digestive enzymes and work. Your body often feels quite full afterward since it has to do a lot.” There’s no quick turnaround here. So if you replace red meat with something else at dinner time, you shouldn’t be as stuffed when you’re done.

Plus, with less digestive “work” to do, Bustle claimed that your body could also receive a surprising energy boost. Talk about a stark contrast. But for that to happen, you need to choose your replacement dishes carefully. You see, another impact of ditching red meat is that your internal batteries might drain faster than before.

As dietitian Tiffany DeWitt told Bustle, “Cutting a significant source of fat out of your diet may leave you feeling hungry and less energized. It’s important to plan ahead before you make the change. Make sure you’re getting plenty of high-quality fats and proteins from foods such as avocado, eggs, fish and dairy.”

Sure, it’s a bit of a balancing act regarding how much you’re taking in, but ultimately those items are healthier than red meat. There’s something else to consider if you’re still on the fence as well. It relates to a particular ailment that’s been strongly linked with foods under the meaty mantle.

Yep, red meat has been labeled as “a possible carcinogen” by the World Health Organization for the last few years now. Essentially, it poses a cancer risk. And as Dr. Adrienne Youdim informed The Healthy, the disease has a tendency to attack the colon when the aforementioned meats are prevalent in a diet.

If that wasn’t enough, one of your other vital organs could be at increased risk too. Brigitte Zeitlin, who works as a registered dietitian, told Bustle, “Red meat has been linked to increased blood pressure and cholesterol, which contributes to heart disease and diabetes.” Yikes! The results from the Harvard School of Public Health’s research papers also lined up with that.

By the end, close to 24,000 subjects had passed away due to cancer or heart trouble. Utilizing the data they had available to them, the experts behind the project concluded that two portions of red meat each day boosted “risk of mortality.” And how much more danger were the regular red-meat-eaters in? The figure was calculated at 13 percent.

To go into more detail, Harvard’s Dr. Walter Willett painted a straightforward picture on the college’s website. He said, “If someone is age 60 and has a 50 percent chance of dying in the next 25 years, adding one serving [of red meat] a day would increase his risk of dying in that time to about 57 percent.”

Dr. Willett then added, “And if he had two servings a day, this would be about a 63 percent risk of dying.” Fascinating stuff, wouldn’t you agree? But that’s got us thinking. Is it really just as simple as cutting out red meat to reduce our chances of contracting ailments like cancer and heart disease? In a word – yes!

You only need to go back to the papers from Harvard. According to the researchers’ analysis, the subjects’ portions were calculated at three ounces each. Yet if they were cut down in size by 50 percent to around 1.5 ounces, some of those who passed away might’ve survived. That proportion was roughly 10 percent.

And if we take a closer look at things, it all makes sense. For instance, when it comes to heart health, red meat has the potential to block your arteries a lot quicker thanks to a molecule called carnitine. So by ditching the beef and pork, you’re stopping it from entering your system.

As for the cancer, Zeitlin listed off another reason why dumping red meat will improve your chances of swerving the disease. She told Bustle, “Unless you’re eating organic grass-fed red meat, a lot of red meat on the market today has hormones and antibiotics. By eating less you’ll naturally be ingesting less of these substances.”

But the benefits don’t end there. As it turns out, a lack of red meat in your diet can also aid your body’s calcium intake. How? Well, dietitian Auslander provided an explanation on Bustle. She said, “Iron, found in red meat, isn’t absorbed well in the presence of calcium. They cancel each other out. Without red meat, you may absorb calcium better.”

In turn, that’ll give your bones a boost as well. You see, the molecules in red meat are capable of draining them of their calcium. Due to that, they could lose their solidity and strength over time. Who knew that lamb and beef had the potential to cause those kinds of problems?

Anyway, speaking of surprises, that brings us on to the next benefit. Trust us, you’d never be able to guess it. According to a paper in the journal Chemical Senses, your smell will improve without red meat. No, not the strength of your nose – we’re talking about your body’s actual scent.

As per the report in that publication, individuals that avoid red meat are said to have an “attractive” and “pleasant” scent. On top of that, it’s “less intense” when compared to guys and girls who consume the aforementioned food. So if you’re looking to make a positive impression on someone, keep that in mind!

Incredibly, though, improved body odor isn’t the most unexpected change to come from dropping red meat. Making this change to your diet will see your internal inflammation go down dramatically too. The journal Nutrition reported that vegetarians boast really low levels in that department. So what does that mean? Simply put, it’s claimed that your brain stands to benefit.

To shed a bit more light on that, a food expert named Tiffany Newenhouse spoke to Bustle. She said, “When you opt for less bad fats, your inflammatory profile and cognitive function will improve drastically. This means a healthier heart, more focus, better decision-making, etc.” And that’s not all.

Touching on the positives of forging a new dietary regimen, Zeitlin raised an interesting point. She told Bustle, “Often giving up a food you were used to eating lets you really get creative with your meals and more involved with the meal-planning. This sense of empowerment of your food and health can result in a big boost in our feel-good hormones and self-esteem.”

So not only might your brain function improve, but your overall mood should get a lift as well. How cool is that? Surely ditching red meat is a price worth paying to enjoy all these health benefits? Should you be worried about creating a new diet around it, though, fear not. There are plenty of regimens already devised for you.

Of course, it goes without saying that vegan and vegetarian diets would fit the bill. Yet if you don’t want to give up all types of meat, then the “pollotarian” regime could be just the ticket. As the name suggests, chicken and some other birds can be eaten, while red meat is off-limits. Sounds like a good place to start!