Is this a novice pseudo-vegetarian problem?
In the beginning of the summer we had a family meeting and decided to go Bittman--and try and eat less meat (BigMan is environmental science teacher and loves that aspect of it). It's all great and I am thinner and the people are actually eating more food than usual. We still eat chicken and pork every few days.
Till last night when I was hankering for a big filet mignon with bearnaise and a side of cream spinach. I ate the whole giant hunk of meat. Lovely restaurant, wonderful company, good times. It was all fine till three in the morning when I became violently ill. A friend ate the same meal and was fine. I feel tired and not hungry this morning but wondering??? Was it that I have not had a big chunk of beef since May??
Inquiring minds would like to know.
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21 Comments:
Two guesses.
One- It was something you ate (food poisoning). It has happened to me too. Friends had the same meal I did in a restaurant and I was the only one who became violently ill. It's never happened in someone's home with freshly prepared food, but it has happened a couple of times with restaurant food. If you're still feeling yukky (tired, headachey, etc.), it could be food poisoning. Or maybe the swiners in your household
gotcha.
Two- You body is not used to digesting large quantities of meat. (Just how big was that filet?) Even though we're regular carnivores, we have reduced our meat intake as well. Last time I indulged in a big, juicy, grilled rib eye, I felt uncomfortable and had trouble sleeping due to the digestive discomfort. No more Flinstone sized steaks for me.
Either way- hope you feel better soon.
I'm interested in hearing feed back from vegetarians and more Bittman-ites too.
CJ McD at 12:01PM on 10/31/09
I was a vegetarian for many years, and the first several times I ate meat afterward, I felt very sick. But since you eat meat every few days, I would sort of doubt that it was the cause. Also, filet mignons are not exactly what I'd call a huge chunk of beef. It was most likely that your meal wasn't handled properly.
eeels at 12:13PM on 10/31/09
I doubt it's food poisoning. It sounds like you just ate more animal fat than you're used to - lots of meat, plus bearnaise, plus creamed spinach.
marzipanda at 1:50PM on 10/31/09
first of all, i'm sorry but you cannot be pseudo-vegetarian...either you are or you arent. if you eat things with eyeball or parents, you dont qualify. this also goes for all those who say they eat "vegetarian" most of the time and just sometimes eat meat or fish...that still makes you an omnivore. and yes i think one can get sick eating meat (especially a lot of it) after not eating it for a while as your body might not be used to processing it anymore. but i think one would have to have been a vegetarian for much longer than just a few months for such an effect to occur.
gypsykid at 2:59PM on 10/31/09
Ok-instead of pseudo-vegetarian how about lessmeatarian? I knew there was something better to call it. Feeling better but not up to cooking or eating much. Has saved me from eating all the Halloween candy so that is a bonus!
@cj Mcd....all the swiners have left-we had to cancel Parent's weekend!! We sent over 80 kids home this week. No swine for me!!
PoorOldMama at 3:46PM on 10/31/09
I'm a vegetarian and I absolutely hate all of these hair-splitting definitions about what a vegetarian is--as long as people eat less meat, and eat ethically-raised meat when they do eat meat, I think they are making the world a better place. So even though I don't personally eat meat, Mark Bittman gets a warm swishy veggie hug and kiss from me, as do you @PoorOldMama.
You said you had creamed spinach and meat together--that is an awful lot of fat (I love fat, but just speakin' digestion) in one meal. Actually, I've gotten sick from creamed spinach before, not because it is rancid but when I eat it made by someone else, it's often made with several cups of heavy cream, sometimes parmesan cheese for good measure. If it was that, plus the meat, I can see why you might be queasy.
HeartofGlass at 4:59PM on 10/31/09
POM - I spent a summer once eating 10% fat ala Dean Ornish. Felt terrific, lost 2 pounds a week. My first week back to school we had a communal meal and I ate lasagna. Could not believe how logy I felt and just oooorg-ish. A real eye-opener. I adjusted pretty quickly to eating fat again, but I really felt my body was letting me know what if felt about all that (mostly animal) fat.
If you're eating a fair amount of cheese along with the chicken and pork then maybe that's not it. But if you've been leaning more toward rice and beans then your body might have rebelled.
(I currently think sour cream is a whole separate food group, so the days of 10% fat are dim memories, and I don't even think it's the healthiest way to eat. But your body sure can get used to it.)
lemonfair at 5:22PM on 10/31/09
"-instead of pseudo-vegetarian how about lessmeatarian?"
I agree with Heartof Glass about hairsplitting. How cow, I mean holy tofu.
How about "flexitarian"?
CJ McD at 7:42PM on 10/31/09
yes i totally agree about hairsplitting and all these "-atarians". its quite simple, actually, if you just say that if you eat meat (even occasionally) in addition to other things, you're an omnivore. if you dont, youre a vegetarian. i've been vegetarian for 18 years and it annoys me when ppl say "oh i'm vegetarian but sometimes i eat fish and chicken and turkey.." um, no, then you're not vegetarian. there is no pseudo- or part time vegetarian. its either or
gypsykid at 8:38PM on 10/31/09
your body was not used to breaking down the complex fibers of meat and you shocked it. so it revolted. bingeing is never a good thing. (either minimal meat so the body is accustomed or no meat so it doesnt experience the shock.)
and for some replyers, define your terms for yourself. leave other people to define themselves.
blizcheetah at 8:53PM on 10/31/09
Been there...not fun. Intestinal intolerance hits me in much the same you describe. You state you had the Bearnaise sauce and the Cream Spinach. If it's been a long time since I've eaten rich foods such as these, my system would react the same way yours did.
RossS at 8:56PM on 10/31/09
@Heartofglass---Mwah right back at you. Thanks for not being a Serious Hater!!
PoorOldMama at 10:27PM on 10/31/09
I stopped eating beef for a year, and found out quickly that I can't digest it anymore either - no matter the amount (even broth). Same thing with lamb, but pork, chix, fish and other proteins are fine. I just thought that my body stopped producing the enzymes to digest red meat. Honestly, with E. coli contamination in the news almost weekly - I can happily live without the beef.
finewinendine at 10:36PM on 10/31/09
From my experience, this sounds more like food poisoning, than your body being unaccustomed to meat consumption.
While I never called myself a vegetarian, I was pescetarian for many years and I was very strict about it. There was no, "oh well, there happens to be beef stock in this", or " I'll just look the other way if this chowder was made with bacon". I ate a full-on, ovo-lacto vegetarian diet, plus the occasional piece of fish that I would cook myself.
Whenever I accidentally ate meat or meat fat - for example homefries with brunch, my digestive tract was sent completely into a spin. I had to stop eating eggs or anything that came from a griddle because that's where the burgers/bacon/sausage are cooked too.
It's more of a stomach cramp/large intestine/dash-to-the-restroom type of feeling, than a "violently ill" scenario.
yayfood at 10:39PM on 10/31/09
I don't have any personal dietary restrictions (aside from what I consider to be standards of what constitutes good food!), but I have full-on shared every part of a meal with others both in restaurants and home-cooking and had experiences where I became *violently* ill while no one else had as much as an upset stomach. I have no idea how, but these things apparently happen.
joyyy at 10:44PM on 10/31/09
I should have specified - I stopped eating eggs or anything that came from the griddle in restaurants because of the whole animal fat thing.
BTW, if you go veg, you can go back to eating meat again - you body is not forever incapable of digesting animal fats. I started eating meat again gradually with just one bite one day and then moved beyond that.
yayfood at 11:03PM on 10/31/09
I think you body stops producing as many of the particular digestive enzymes needed to break down a food if you consume less of it. That's why a lot of people will develop lactose intolerance if they stop eating dairy for awhile. Or find themselves sensitive to wheat if they reduce their wheat intake, even if they do not have celiac. But yayfood is right in saying that it won't last forever.
And POM - can I just say that I think it's awesome your family has gone flexitarian/lessmeatatarian? :-)
KarynMC at 7:16AM on 11/01/09
POM - I'm wondering what other things you ate that those who didn't get sick didn't eat? The timing is suspiciously like food poisoning, which usually takes at least 6 hours to show up. The bearnaise would be a more likely culprit than the beef, I would think.
And yes, I'm all for meatless mondays, flexitarianism, and anything else that gets us to lower our carbon foodprint.
lemonfair at 8:36AM on 11/01/09
Meat takes 1-3 days to be completely digested and eliminated from the body. Some people find that it takes a lot of energy. Your system's likely no longer used to it.
CanadianFoodieGirl at 9:44AM on 11/01/09
All this discussion about vegetarian definitions yet you are all missing the dead rat on the table.
Bearnaise! Lets just say that semi raw egg yolks that are held at room temp for any length of time are going to make a weak stomach turn.
climbhighak at 5:05PM on 11/01/09
the same happened to me when I ate red meat after a long period of not eating it. Your body just got used to a more natural, less difficult way of digesting food. red meat is very tough for your body to digest... and you only find out about it when your body takes a break from it.
my reco... delete red meat from your diet alltogether now. your body evidently does not need it and does not agrees with it anymore.
MadelynRodriguez at 10:14AM on 11/07/09