WHAT IF YOU DON’T TOLERATE MEAT WELL?

If you seem to have a harder time digesting meat or feel that it’s not working quite right for your body, then this article is for you!

First of all it’s important to realize that meat is not the problem! Rather this is merely a symptom of poor digestion, inadequate stomach acid, leaky gut, or a reaction to something in the meat.

As I’ve talked about many times, humans need meat to thrive! There are many nutrients that we either can’t get or can’t get enough of from plants. Also eating too many plants can be very hard on our gut due to their plant toxins, while meat is much easier on our digestion. Humans are omnivores and have been eating meat for 100s of 1,000s of years. Meat is not the problem!

So let’s look at some things that could be:

1) Poor Digestion:

Digestion begins before we even take our first bite. The smell and sight of food increase saliva production, causes your stomach to pour out starter acid, and your pancreas gears up to release enzymes. Once you taste your food, signals are sent to further down your GI tract to let your body know what enzymes will be needed to digest the foods you’re eating. In the case of protein that means, protease, hydrochloric acid, pepsin, and trypsin.

I mention these details to emphasize the importance of eating relaxed and mindfully for proper digestion! When you are in a stressed state or eat to quickly your body rushes through these first steps and often doesn’t prepare for digestion properly.

2) Inadequate Stomach Acid:

To piggy back off the last reason, adequate stomach acid is also crucial for the release of protein digesting enzymes. Without adequate stomach acid, undigested proteins may enter the small intestine and cause undesired symptoms like gas and bloating.

To improve stomach acid try drinking a little apple cider vinegar in water before meals; avoiding water and other non-acidic beverages around meal time; getting plenty of zinc, magnesium, and sodium; ditching the antacids; and eating mindfully and relaxed.

3) Leaky Gut:

If proteins are not being fully digested and you have leaky gut, then protein particles can seep into your bloodstream, be identified as a foreign object, and cause an immune reaction. If this happens too often, your body may develop a food sensitivity to some of the meats you eat. If this is the case it’s really important to work on healing and sealing your gut!

4) Reaction To Something In The Meat

All meat is not created equal! And if your meat is coming from grain and soy fed animals that receive hormones and antibiotics and live in poor conditions, you may be reacting to the grains and soy, the pesticides those foods were sprayed with, the hormones, or the antibiotics.

Ammonia is also often added to a filler ingredient in ground beef known as pink slime and preservatives, nitrates, and chemicals are often added to processed meats all of these additives can cause undesired symptoms.

So make sure you’re getting high quality animal products and if you’re having trouble tolerating meat, try working on digestive health, stomach acid production, and healing any intestinal permeability!

* If you want more info on exactly how to overcome your gut and digestive issues step by step (whether that’s bloating and gas, constipation, diarrhea, digestive cramps and pain, food intolerance/sensitivities, low appetite, skin issues, hormonal issues, or other symptoms) then click here to book a free discovery call with me! Helping people heal their gut and optimize their health is something I’m very passionate about since my own 10 year struggle with chronic constipation and IBS is what got me into the health and nutrition realm in the first place. I was able to fully overcame my gut issues and I’ve helped dozens of other too as well so I know you can too!