Something I’ve noticed after eating plant-based for a while and then having some meat. I absolutely feel like I’ve been food poisoned and have aches. This has happened enough times that it can’t be a coincidence. I feel great eating only plants, but I don’t obsess about being 100%. I want to keep the option to be able to eat anything available. Anyone have an idea about what the mechanism is behind this?

@daniel

Just a guess, but there is a tick-transmitted allergy to red meat (alpha-gal syndrome). Hives, rashes, and breathing trouble are typical, but perhaps other symptoms are possible too.

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@mikejackmin No, it’s nothing like that. The symptoms are temporary and if I eat meat more regularly, they go away. If I stick to once a week or two, I’m fine. Once a month and I’m sick. It’s like my system just forgets how to deal with meat. How bad might it be after 6 months or a year? Don’t really want to find out. Docs preach variety in diet, but I wonder if there’s any benefit to eating the same things and letting the body optimize for them.

@daniel

I can see the difficulty - on the one hand, it makes sense to just eat what your body wants, but on the other you don't want to become intolerant to half the available food.

I guess a test is in order - abstain for two or three months, see how bad it is when you have meat again. The badness might max out quickly, or it might just keep growing. Science.

@mikejackmin I think that’s reasonable. I love how everyone likes to say, “Just listen to your body.” when the truth is that mine will tell me to eat a whole pizza. Every day. 😂 Also diving into a big greasy burger first thing probably wasn’t a good idea.

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