Less meat and more fiber from whole grains, raw fruit, and veggies may mean extra time on the toilet. Fiber makes it easier to poop by pulling water into your colon. This makes your stools softer.
"If meat is simply removed and not substituted, the consumer is at risk of iron or B12 deficiency, anemia, and muscle wasting," Levy-Wollins explains.
If you avoid eating meat for a month, you should notice a decrease in your overall inflammatory markers. This happens due to the anti-inflammatory properties of plant-based foods that you consume instead of meat (5). They are rich in fiber and antioxidants and low in toxins and saturated fats.
Initial Three-Week Period. There has been some serious, mainstream research into the possibility of meat addiction but in truth people can become addicted to just about anything. In the book, Breaking the Food Seduction, Dr. Neal Barnard argues that it takes three weeks to stop craving foods like meat or cheese.
The bottom line: Eggs are not meat, but they do have a similar level of protein.
Vegetarian diets high in fiber-rich plant-foods have been associated with a higher frequency of bowel movements and softer stools. Thus, vegetarians appear to suffer less frequently from constipation and other bowel disorders.
Vitamin Deficiencies
However, iodine, zinc, and vitamin B12 are hard to come by when you leave meat, seafood, and dairy products out of your meals. Without these nutrients, you can suffer from goiters, fatigue, diarrhea, loss of taste and smell, and even neurological damage.
Lower body mass index (BMI) Lower cholesterol levels. Reduced risk of heart disease. Lower risk of cancer overall (but a higher risk of colon cancer)
The research, which reviewed previous studies and was published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, showed particpants who cut meat out of their diets lost around 10lbs on average without monitoring their calorie intake or increasing the amount they exercised.
Your Skin Will Start to Glow
The benefits of going meat-free can be external too. According to holistic nutritionist Susan Tucker MD, the founder of Green Beat Life, the higher amounts of minerals, antioxidants, and fiber included in plant-based diets help detoxify and lead to clearer skin.
If you decide to stop eating meat for one month, you might notice that your digestion is better and you have lots of energy. Or, you might feel more sluggish than usual. As Erica Ingraham, MS, RDN, a registered dietician nutritionist, tells Bustle, everyone responds to food differently.
It requires sticking to a diet over a period of time. Pay close attention to what foods you are eating and how they make you feel. With any diet, you need to wait at least two to four weeks to see how your new overall eating pattern is affecting you.
Meat is a rich source of several essential nutrients such as protein, vitamin B12 and iron, while dairy products are a rich source of protein and calcium. Vegans, who exclude all meat and dairy products from their diet, need to obtain these nutrients from other sources.
If a perishable food (such as meat or poultry) has been left out at room temperature overnight (more than two hours) it may not be safe. Discard it, even though it may look and smell good. Never taste a food to see if it is spoiled. Use a food thermometer to verify temperatures.
For this reason, vegetarians have an increased risk of vitamin B12 deficiency ( 9 ). Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause fatigue, memory problems and numbness. It can also lead to megaloblastic anemia, a condition caused by having a lower-than-normal amount of red blood cells ( 10 ).
Eating Plant-Based and Ditching Meat and Dairy Reduces Your risk of Heart Disease. There are so many studies to support the fact that a plant-based diet is beneficial for your heart.
Simply, vegan face is a name for a slack, wasted look that is caused by an absence of protein in your diet. The skin is dry, sallow and flaky. Protein literally props up the face: it makes it look plump (in a good way) and fresh-faced and wakeful.
Many plant-based foods can worsen IBS symptoms, causing bloating, constipation, or diarrhea. Vegan diets that avoid triggering foods could leave out essential vitamins and minerals, such as protein, iron, and calcium.
Vegetarian and vegan diets rely heavily on plants and dairy products for protein. Foods like beans and legumes, yogurt and cheese, even broccoli and asparagus. All these foods are high in fermentable carbohydrates (FODMAPs) that are the leading culprit of IBS symptoms.
Because fish are cold-blooded, they would not be regarded as meat under this definition.
Eggs can also be a stellar way to get some of the protein and nutrients meat would provide. For just 140 calories, two large eggs give you 8 percent of the daily value for zinc, iron and B6, plus choline, vitamin D and many other nutrients.
Milk comes from animals, usually from cows, but it is not the flesh of the animal, therefore it is not meat.
Common Meat Withdrawal Symptoms
Some signs of mild vitamin B-12 deficiency are a burning sensation in your tongue or feet, cognitive impairment, constipation and issues with balance. Low iron levels can also occur when you first start a vegetarian or vegan diet.