Any Vegetarians Who Became Meat Eaters After Diagnosis?

[foodiegurl]

I have been a "pescatarian" (a vegetarian who eats fish) for a few years now. And now that I can't have gluten, and have to cut out so many things, part of me is craving meat. Honestly, I have been craving pot roast for years now!! Maybe because I am low in iron? lol.

I have pretty strong convictions about why I don't eat meat, yet I find myself craving a sandwich (on gluten-free bread of course) of roast beef and cheddar! I crave Italian beef, pot roast, bacon, cuban steak. Argh. Poultry, I will never go back to that, it will eternally ick me out - lol.

My husband has been a vegetarian for 20 years, so I know he won't switch over. We have a 4-year old, who loves to eat meat when she gets it, and we don't hold her back at all. Part of me, want just make a pot roast in our crock pot and chow down!

One thing that worries me is that last summer, I cheated big time, and had a few bites of a friend's Italian Beef sandwich...and had the worst tummy ache for days. I think my body had no clue what to do with the beef. The other thing that worries me, is the original reasons why I don't eat meat (well, except fish, but I only eat wild caught).

I am just wondering if others have gone through this same dilemma? It would sure make eating out easier, to have more options!

[psawyer]

Anne, if you have been off meat for a prolonged period, the probiotics ("good" bacteria) needed to digest them may have died off. You should be able to find a supplement containing appropriate probiotics at a health food store. I am no expert in this field, so I don't know which bacteria in particular you might be missing. Perhaps someone knowledgeable will post here.

[foodiegurl]

Anne, if you have been off meat for a prolonged period, the probiotics ("good" bacteria) needed to digest them may have died off. You should be able to find a supplement containing appropriate probiotics at a health food store. I am no expert in this field, so I don't know which bacteria in particular you might be missing. Perhaps someone knowledgeable will post here.

Thanks. i know other people have told me I am probably now missing the appropriate enzyme or whatever it is needed to digest meat. Since I do eat fish, do I still have it, or is that digested by something different?

The other week, I did have a few bites of bacon i my salad with no problem, and boy, was it yummy!!

[foodiegurl]

I am really curious to know mentally how people went from being veggie to carnivores too!

[Jestgar]

I've never liked meat, and never ate very much. As my iron levels dropped I found myself eating more and more. Now that my iron levels are back up, I don't care for it very much. I eat more than I used to, just for the variety, and because it's easy.

Anyway, I say, if your body needs it, eat it. Your convictions are still your convictions, so try to stay as true to them as you can, without compromising your health (free range, maybe). Hopefully you'll find, as I did, that once you've weathered the storm, your body will once again let your brain choose your meals.

[princesskill]

i was vegetarian for 8 years, 3 years of that i was vegan. about 3 years ago i decided to start eating meat again. after 4 years of taking a degree in envrionmental studies in university i decided that eating fresh, locally produced food was most important to me, and that sustainable farms contain animals and meat production. (of course celiac threw a bit of a wrench in the local eating...hello rice!)

when i first started eating meat again i was living with my mom and couldnt afford to buy the type of meat i wanted to, but my boyfriend and i are now sourcing locally produced beef, chicken and pork. next fall we hope to get a quarter cow, half a pig and a bunch of chickens. ive spent a lot of time working on small scale organic farms and i feel really good about eating this sort of meat. i suggest going to farms and really seeing how the animals are raised and taken care of. for me, anyway the main concerns were animal cruelty and environmental effects, but on sustainably run farms animals are left free to eat pasture and their waste is composted as fertilizer. its a closed loop system. when i was working on farms i had no problem eating animals that i knew by name, took care of and played with. its almost that the famaliarity made it easier for me to eat meat, than the celophane wraped lump of flesh you get in the grocery store thats so disconnected.

i also felt AWFUL the whole time i was a vegetarian. turns out it was because i was severly anemic from celiac and not eating meat (i have to get iron injections) and i was eating so much bread and other gluten based products to feel full because i wasnt getting satiated from beans/tofu etc (probably because i was eating gluten with it and it was all going right through me). as soon as i started eating meat i felt a million times better.

i suggest you read "the omnivore's delima" by michael pollan. its just an interesting read but he really illustrates a lot of the things im talking about here.

[princesskill]

also, if you're going to start eating meat again just start slowly. have a bite here and there, then maybe a sandwich with one slice of roast beef etc. having a salad before with a vinegary dressing will help your digestive enzymes going too. and you know what, if you decide it isnt right for you, you can go back to being a vegetarian!

i still dont eat much meat. i'll order the smallest steak possible and its usually too big. if im at home i'll have half and slice the other half thinly in a salad for lunch, or something. good luck.

[foodiegurl]

Thank you for your advice, it is really helpful. I am actually on page10 of Omnivore's Dilemma!

[climbmtwhitney]

Hi Foodiegurl,

Yes, I was a vegetarian for 15 years! I had to give it up because I needed protein. I'm GFCFSF as well as legume free. It was (still is) VERY hard. When I first became a vegetarian I went cold turkey (excuse the pun!). My last meaty meal was at a friends wedding. Somewhere during the gazillion courses of the meal, a bird was served. And, by "bird" I mean the WHOLE bird. I literally had a sparrow on my plate--feathers, eyes, beak--yep, the whole thing. That did it for me. Went veg then next morning and never once cheated.

Then, after diagnosis, my dietician hammered it into me that I was going to have to eat meat. Nuts alone wasn't going to do the job for protein. It was so hard in the beginning. I remember being in Whole Foods in the freezer section looking for a gluten-free heat-up with some meat. I had talked myself into trying meat that day. I bought one and brought it home & heated it up. Then before even taking it out of the microwave, I proceeded to unload the groceries, clean up, etc. etc. Totally procrastinating! An hour later, I worked up the courage to try it feeling SO guilty. I took one bite (not of the meat part either), convinced myself I didn't like the sauce and chucked it in the trash. Several days later I made chilli (before I was legume free) and put some ground beef in it. Then before dinner when the kids were playing I sat at the table by myself and had a small bowl. I just wanted to get it over with without everyone staring. It had gotten so bad that my mom was calling every day asking if I ate meat yet. Geez.

Fast forward 7 months and I can eat/cook boneless/skinless chicken, ground beef, boneless/skinless turkey, roast beef, stew beef, and turkey bacon. I won't ever eat fish (sorry!). I have had steak 2x at relative's homes and struggled to eat it both times. I avoid it except when I'm cornered. I still have to distract my thoughts and distance myself. I still bothers me. But, as my mom says, I have to be healthy not just for me, but for my kids. My diet is so selective that unfortunately I need meat.

When I first started eating it I had no problems digestive-wise, but I did take digestive enzymes with all my meat. I don't know if they helped or not. The nutritionist wanted me to take them because my amino acids were tested and I completely bombed the test. Completely. She told me that in her experience that her "sickest patients are her vegetarians". However, I don't agree with that one as long as their eating a balanced diet.

Anyway, good luck with this. If you are craving and liking the taste of meat, then go with your instincts. Don't be afraid of people looking at you in shock (and commenting) because you're eating meat now. They'll get over it! Ha! Ha! BTW, I do feel fuller longer than I used to. My diet is now very high in protein and it's working for me. And, it does make eating out so much easier. You can get a grilled chicken breast over romaine at any nice restaurant. Sure beats a bowl of plain lettuce with a few carrots and tomatoes.

Jillian

[Juliebove]

I don't have celiac, but I do have food allergies. I was a vegetarian for many years, then went vegan when I learned of my egg and dairy allergy. I kept getting anemia so learned that I must eat meat at least a couple of times a week.

Mainly I eat Ian's chicken nuggets. I never really liked chicken nuggets before and from what I have read about them, they are not so popular among people who do like regular nuggets. For some reason they don't seem to bother me and they don't upset my stomach.

Ground beef is another meat I can eat. I can tolerate it mixed in a pasta sauce or casserole. When I am dining out, I often get chili or a hamburger patty or chopped sirloin. I find it is often hard for me to get a suitable meal when I dine out. I am also diabetic so must watch my carbs. Otherwise I'd love to eat beans and rice.

What I can't do at all ever is eat meat that has bones in it. I even have trouble preparing such meats, although my husband and daughter like some of them.

Mentally, I just try not to think about it. I was never a total vegan because I do wear/use some leather.

[mysecretcurse]

Hello. I used to be a vegetarian, for three years. I also began craving meat at some point after going gluten free. I started having this inner instinct that for whatever reason, my body needed meat again. I tried to ignore it and be in denial for a long time.. my health was still suffering and I was having difficulties getting all the gluten out of my diet on top of that (being a beginner and not knowing everything it was in).

After awhile I decided to give in to the instinct I was feeling and added meat back into my diet. I started eating a lot of meat again.

It helped SOOOO much! I continued getting all the gluten out of my diet and the extra protien and nutrients from the meat seemed to be just what I needed. It aided healing me somehow.. maybe the amino acids helped heal up my gut, Im not sure.. but after eating meat again since november, my skin has healed entirely (gluten caused terrible DH and cystic acne my whole life) and my gut and digestion feels so much better.

It sucks because I do love animals, but overall, I just feel the whole vegetarian thing isn't my particular battle anymore. I enjoy buying free range and organic products when I can to support the overall demand for such products and I do what I can to support animal rights organizations because I feel if we are going to kill animals for food we should at the very least be civilized enough to try and live in BALANCE with nature and other species and treat them with respect and compassion. I really wish I could be vegetarian, but it just seems I need the meat for some reason. (and yes, I was a very educated vegetarian and I made sure to get plenty of veggie protein in all the right combinations and what not, and it still didn't compare to meat).

Maybe it's a blood type thing. Not sure. I don't know my blood type so there is no way to tell, lol.

Anyway, hope that helps. All I can say is live your life with compassion and care, but put your health first, because if you get sick and die there's one less good person on the earth to make a difference.

[Takala]

I'm a lapsed vegetarian.

When I started going to a grainless diet initially I had to add it back in or starve. It turned out that I still had the ability to digest meat as long as I didn't eat grain at the same time. I was eating a lot of fruit, nuts, vegetables, olive oil... you get very hungry on this with no meat. I could not do dairy initially, either.

I didn't have much of an ethical dilemma because in the past we have raised a lot of meat ourselves, and in that period I knew the animals had a pretty good life and I also knew that in nature, there are excess animals that end up getting eaten by something else. From raising mixed lot baby chicks I knew that most roosters are meaner than **** so I quickly got over that hangup, especially after seeing them attack dogs and cats. Eat more chicken.

And those cute little baby boy lambs can turn into something that looks like Mad Max Meets Your Pasture in the fall. Good grief. I was lucky I had several sweetheart adult rams but I had this one that was a psychopath that this neighbor pawned off on me. They can kill you just like any other unneutered animal.

EAT MORE LAMB. And everybody will tell you that hamburger comes from cows, which is very sad. So eat more steak that comes from pasture fed steers.

A lot of newly converted vegetarians try the guilt trip thing with meat takes more water and resources to raise and if everybody ate vege there would be no more hunger. Alas this argument is 50 years old. I tried for many years and didn't make a dent in world hunger in the least bit.... Now I tell them that if there is not something eating the grass and brush the entire planet is going to go up in flames, and that this is a way to convert grass and sunshine into an edible product.

I'm much healthier as a meat eater. So much for that theory that going vegetarian was going to make me healthier.

[TrillumHunter]

Highly recommend the Michael Pollen books. We've been buying meat from two farms that follow excellent sustainable farming for a while now. It is very pricey but think about it, cheap meat? How do they get it so cheap? The animals and the farmers raising them are getting shafted.

I was a vegetarian for about three years in my 20's. I got too sick to keep at it.

[samcarter]

Yep, I was a vegetarian from age 14 until I was 25, when I became a vegan. Had three kids, the third was born with a severe carnitine deficiency, which was mirrored in my body. Carnitine is a substance that is in meat and one or two vegetables (like avocadoes), but the highest levels are in red meats. You can synthesize it from lysine, which is in chicken and eggs. Your body needs carnitine in order to metabolize energy from fats; without it, you can get muscle damage and weakness. in babies a carnitine deficiency can lead to death.

I started eating meat again, at the advice of my doctor. I had raised my kids vegetarian, but we started introducing meat into their diets. My carnitine levels came back to normal, and my energy level rose.

Now, having given up gluten and most dairy, my husband has pointed out that because I've cut so many things out of my diet, I need to keep meat in. This Lent I tried to go meatless for Lent, but felt so weak and out of it.

[princesskill]

Now I tell them that if there is not something eating the grass and brush the entire planet is going to go up in flames, and that this is a way to convert grass and sunshine into an edible product.

EXACTLY! if animals are raised on land that is otherwise inhospitable to vegetable production, and are eating pasture instead of grain, it is INCREASING the food supply and turning something unedible (grass, festue etc) into a higly dense, higly nutritious energy source!

[psipsina]

I'm a former veg of 10 years. Before realizing that I needed to be gluten-free I had started eating seafood again because my body was craving it soooo intensely. I really didn't eat well before my diagnosis. My staples were cheese and wheat products (both of which I am highly sensitive to). So I'm sure my body was trying to tell me it wasn't getting the nutrients it needed with those cravings. When I got my diagnosis, which also included an egg and legume sensitivities I realized there was NO WAY for me to get enough protein without supplementing my diet with more meat. I only buy ethically raised meat since my primary objections are how the animals are treated when they are alive, not the actual killing to eat part. And I try to do as many vegetarian and seafood dishes per week as possible. But I have no clue how I could do this diet without some animal protein.

[foodiegurl]

You guys have all given me such great things to think about!!

I have been getting "Food & Wine" magazine for over 10 years, and I LOVE to cook, but obviously, I have ignored the meat dishes for about 4 years now...but a part of me is excited to go back, and now make all the meat dishes that looked yummy! But it also feels so wrong to me at the same time. Like I am going to do something really naughty.

One reason I stopped eating meat is that I am just grossed out by the fact that I am eating "rotting, diseased flesh". As in, I am eating whatever the animal had..such an an illness, parasite, etc... And that, plus how animals get treated was enough to turn me off. I have been off and on meat since college, but these past 4 years has been my longest stint.

I do eat fish, which when I think about it, I know is no better and some cases worse. Especially, when I eat out, and don't know where the fish came from, if it is farm-raised, wild-caught, etc...

Where are some of the places you buy your meat? I know Trader Joe's has some organic meat, has anyone tried this? Do, I need to find a local sustainable farmer? And...proscuitto...mmm....I would love to eat that again!

I guess I have to think with such strong meat cravings I have had in the last year and the fact that I have low iron have to mean something, right?

Of course, then my husband is a veggie for over 20 years and won't eat meat again, ever. And now that i have made wheat illegal in our house, I would feel a bit bad, cooking meat when I know he will hate the smell But, I guess him not eating meat is not for health reasons.

[psipsina]

You guys have all given me such great things to think about!!

I have been getting "Food & Wine" magazine for over 10 years, and I LOVE to cook, but obviously, I have ignored the meat dishes for about 4 years now...but a part of me is excited to go back, and now make all the meat dishes that looked yummy! But it also feels so wrong to me at the same time. Like I am going to do something really naughty.

One reason I stopped eating meat is that I am just grossed out by the fact that I am eating "rotting, diseased flesh". As in, I am eating whatever the animal had..such an an illness, parasite, etc... And that, plus how animals get treated was enough to turn me off. I have been off and on meat since college, but these past 4 years has been my longest stint.

I do eat fish, which when I think about it, I know is no better and some cases worse. Especially, when I eat out, and don't know where the fish came from, if it is farm-raised, wild-caught, etc...

Where are some of the places you buy your meat? I know Trader Joe's has some organic meat, has anyone tried this? Do, I need to find a local sustainable farmer? And...proscuitto...mmm....I would love to eat that again!

I guess I have to think with such strong meat cravings I have had in the last year and the fact that I have low iron have to mean something, right?

Of course, then my husband is a veggie for over 20 years and won't eat meat again, ever. And now that i have made wheat illegal in our house, I would feel a bit bad, cooking meat when I know he will hate the smell But, I guess him not eating meat is not for health reasons.

I usually shop at wholefoods. It is ridiculous expensive but I don't do meat with every meal so it balances out for me. I get my seafood locally since I live in New Orleans.

[Nancym]

I think it was Michael Pollan that pointed out that beef turns water and sunshine (aka grass) into protein. Unfortunately our current animal husbandry practices are kind of awful. But our agricultural practices aren't so hot either. All that grain requires a lot of fertilizer, which runs off into the water and eventually the ocean and that causes over blooms of algae which depletes the oxygen from the water and kills off animal and plant life in the oceans. Not to mention all the pesticides and processing that goes on of those so-called "healthy grains". Did I mention how trees are chopped down and small burrowing animals killed during soil preparation?

[TrillumHunter]

eat wild dot com is a great resource for local farmers in your state who raise pastured or grass fed animals on sustainable farms. If your issue is how the animals are raised versus the killing of them for food, this is the way to go. The farms I buy from are small. The people selling me the meat are the same ones who were up at 5:00 mucking the animal's stall. Word of mouth is what keeps them alive so they are very responsive to their customers. There is no one for them to pass the buck to if things go wrong.

Not to pick but I wouldn't pay the extra for organic meat at Trader Joe's. Their suppliers practices are very questionable.

[RiceGuy]

Ironically, I stopped eating meat before going gluten-free, mostly because it made me feel fatigued, caused dark circles under my eyes, and I just felt sorta blah all over. These are typically what people report feeling before they start eating meat again. I figure my body just couldn't deal with it, because of leaky gut and/or malabsorption.

Around the same time, the quality of the meat in the local stores was really hitting a low point. I mean it smelled bad, and tasted bad. Eventually, the turkey meats began to do the same. That's when I decided I'd had enough with it. It made my skin literally stink for three days. Though I sometimes wonder if it was something going on with my sense of smell/taste, I guess it didn't matter because it was just too icky to eat.

So far, I've no cravings for meat whatsoever. I regularly eat whole grains (gluten-free of course), legumes, nuts, seeds, etc. I don't feel that I need more protein at all.

samcarter: That's interesting about the carnitine and lysine. I was looking up something just the other day, and noticed lysine was in something I eat regularly (don't recall what it was ATM). Looking up some of the things I eat, it appears I'm getting plenty of lysine. In fact, gram for gram, the lentils I eat have twice the lysine of eggs. Carnitine isn't listed as a nutrient in the USDA database for any food, apparently because it's not regarded as essential. See the following article for more: Open Original Shared Link

But I think the bottom line is, if your body tells you to eat meat, then I think it's probably right. I totally agree with the suggestions of organic/free-range, locally raised, and all that.

[pele]

I confess. I was also a long-time vegetarian, and although never a vegan, ate mostly vegan. Shortly after going gluten-free, I began to crave meat. I started slowly with a little tuna, then added turkey. The first time I ate turkey I had terrible diarhhea, but only the one time. Then I added chicken. I only ate 2-3 ounces at a time and stuck with low-fat versions at first. I have tried to eat bacon twice and both times it gave me severe intestinal distress. I won't try it again anytime soon. Nor will I eat deli meats.

When I started the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (no grain, no sugar, no potatoes, no corn, no soy) and figured out that I am casein intolerant, I got pretty hungry on low fat turkey and chicken breast meat. So now I eat grass-fed beef, grass-fed buffalo, whole chicken legs as well as salmon and turkey. I feel much, much better than I have in many years, and I dream about meat often.

If you are going to eat meat, maybe use a good digestive enzyme and probiotic at first. There is also a theory that if you have been on a low fat diet your gall bladder may not have been doing much and a high fat meal may cause some gunk to enter your digestive tract. Take it slow. Check out your local meat markets for grass-fed products, although beware. There is a meat market in the city near me that routinely tells people their beef is grass-fed, then they mumble something about feeding the cattle wheat for the last three months.

[MySuicidalTurtle]

Eh, since you have no feelings about not eating meat then it shouldn't matter if you do or don't. I won't ever go back to eating animals due to ethical reasons and I have never once craved them. Good luck on your gluten-free diet.

[foodiegurl]

Eh, since you have no feelings about not eating meat then it shouldn't matter if you do or don't. I won't ever go back to eating animals due to ethical reasons and I have never once craved them. Good luck on your gluten-free diet.

Oh, trust me, I do have feeling about not eating meat. Yes, I have craved it....but then 5 minutes later, I realize why I don't want to eat it. It is a difficult decision, and I am not sure what to do. I go through many emotions over this. I wish it would be so easy to decide, but unfortunately, it is not

[mysecretcurse]

Oh, trust me, I do have feeling about not eating meat. Yes, I have craved it....but then 5 minutes later, I realize why I don't want to eat it. It is a difficult decision, and I am not sure what to do. I go through many emotions over this. I wish it would be so easy to decide, but unfortunately, it is not

I went back and forth over this for a long time. Your body craving it means something. You should listen to your body, IMO.