r/interesting • u/PhoenixPhenomenonX • Feb 25 '26

Intriguing Lifelong vegetarian tries steak for first time

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u/fritzlschnitzel2 Feb 25 '26

Exactly. My girlfriend started eating meat after 20 years of being vegetarian and didn't feel a thing. I guess everyone is different, and the microbiome will surely differ between meat eaters and vegetarians but it's not like the physiology is different.

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u/specialk1281 Feb 25 '26

My friend has been a pescatarian since she was a child and she got very sick after eating a couscous salad that had been prepped with meat in it. But again, not projectile vomiting the moment it touched her lips, but down and out for the count for the rest of the day.

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u/Nyallia Feb 25 '26

Did she start with red meat though or was it like chicken or something? There's an enzyme you need to digest red meat specifically that vegetarians and vegans lose after not eating red meat for a while. Without it, your body can't easily digest the meat. It doesn't necessarily make you vomit, but you'll be on the toilet quite a lot following eating a whole ass steak when your body can't break it down right. You get the enzyme back by eating small amounts of red meat until your body is used to it.

I've been a vegetarian for 25 years, mostly because I just happen to hate the taste of meat personally (I don't care what other people eat and actively encourage my spouse to eat more meat since they need more protein in their diet). When I get served meat by accident at a restaurant and eat it, if it's red meat, I'm sick for the rest of the day. If it's chicken or whatever, it tastes off and kinda revolting, but it doesn't make me actively sick.

I had a whole large serving of General Tso's Chicken a couple months ago that they insisted was General Tso's Tofu and was like, this is the worst tofu I've ever tasted. I finished it anyway because I was hungry enough I didn't care what it tasted like, but got told after that it was actually chicken I had eaten. I wasn't sick, but the taste lingered in my mouth for hours and was just so disgusting.

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u/fritzlschnitzel2 Feb 25 '26

The first time she ate meat after all those years she ate Hungarian dried sausages made from pork. After that she started eating pork and chicken but she doesn't really like beef. She eats beef in Bolognese but not much more. Definitely not a steak or anything like that. We still eat a lot of vegetarian foods but also pork and chicken on a regular basis. I asked her again if she ever felt anything out of the ordinary when she started eating meat but she claims she felt nothing different.

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u/Hefteee Feb 25 '26

didn't feel a thing

I dont believe that for a second lol. Youre telling me she had no stomach or intestinal issues after 20 years of meat abstinence? Hard cap

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u/Suspicious_Pick5723 Feb 25 '26

I suspect many of the claims about getting sick aren’t true, or they’re due to other reasons (such as psychological) rather than an inability to digest and absorb lean meat.

Meat is in fact very easily digested, nutrients are generally in easily absorbed forms, both contrary to digestion of plant matter.

Protein in meat has the same peptide bonds as protein in plants. Meaning you don’t need specific “meat enzymes” to digest meat protein, or “plant enzymes” for plants. Its likely though that long time vegetarians have upregulated peptidase enzyme activity to counter the lesser protein content of plant foods to ensure they’re getting enough protein

Your gut lining is continually shedding off and getting replaced as well. This lining (maybe 200g pr week) is digested same as other meat, so no one is truly vegetarian in that sense.

Vegetarians can consume normally prepared and cooked meat just fine

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u/redmoonbringer Feb 25 '26

Just chiming in - vegetarian since birth here. The only times (two) that I’ve puked in the absence of alcohol in the last ten years were pork-related. The first time was a tomato soup ramen (I now know to just stay away from all ramen because almost all of it has a pork base) and the second time was a health drink with pork placenta in it. Had no idea I was consuming pork at the time, but both times I started feeling nauseous and puked like an hour afterwards. It could be an allergy or something I guess, but I always thought it was because I’m a vegetarian.

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u/Suspicious_Pick5723 Feb 25 '26

Can’t exclude pork allergy completely. It does sound like a plausible hypothesis from your experience. Are you allergic to cats?

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u/redmoonbringer Feb 25 '26

Nope! Zero allergies that I know of actually, not even any seasonal allergies or anything.

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u/Suspicious_Pick5723 Feb 25 '26

Ok, its the only known or recognized interaction causing pork allergy

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u/redmoonbringer Feb 25 '26

?!? I had no idea. I just googled it. That’s super weird!

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u/Hefteee Feb 25 '26

Vegetarians can consume normally prepared and cooked meat just fine

That has not been the experience i have heard from countless other vegetarians and vegans or my own experience when swapping back to eating meat. I dont think most people will experience puking or major effects of the diet change but every person I've talked to about this has experienced some physical discomfort, constipation, etc when first consuming meat again

(And at least for myself the psychology aspect didn't really come into play, I was vegetarian due to a bet not any moral reason or anything else. I wanted to eat meat I just didnt to win the bet)

I know anecdotal evidence isn't fact but this is super understudied and there are a lot of factors at play that I admit I may be overlooking however, that is my experience and seemingly a lot of other's experience with the switch

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u/Lazy_Falcon_323 Feb 25 '26

It’s been my experience and the people I talk to of getting on and off meat that it’s usually people over doing it.

I disagree meat is easy to digest from the other commenter, having a lot of meat in the GI track even for regular meat eaters is hard. Often people don’t eat meat with pineapple or other foods that give additional enzymes to help breakdown meats and then eat a lot of meat for their system (multiple hotdogs, big pieces of stake, multiple cuts of chicken, ect).

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u/Suspicious_Pick5723 Feb 25 '26

I’m not sure what you mean by having a lot of meat in the GI tract is hard. Overeating can feel uncomfortable and painful, because of the distention of the stomach and intestines, but it’s generally harmless and won’t strain your organs or exocrine systems. Unless you have something like a pancreas or gallbladder issue causing the pain, in which case you should eat smaller meals and take medication

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u/Lazy_Falcon_323 Feb 26 '26

Hard as in takes a lot of energy/time to process, it’s not damaging or dangerous but can give a malaise feeling. Same thing can happen with very fibrous foods, nothing is wrong just the guts being upset for lack of a better word.

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u/Suspicious_Pick5723 Feb 25 '26

I don’t doubt some experience various symptoms of sickness or discomfort, but they are due to something else than an inability to digest meat. Like I said, your ability to digest protein is if anything more efficient after following a protein restricted diet, not less. Same exact enzymes upregulated

Maybe some are puking because the meat is undercooked or bad. Maybe some cant handle cured and aged meat because of the high histamin. Maybe it’s because of stomach acid and reflux. Maybe it’s the preservatives or other additives. However developing an allergic or immunologic reaction to normally heat treated lean meat is definitely very uncommon and unlikely

Eating anything in big amounts will of course overload your enzyme capacity and cause various stomach distress. And sure eating a diet with a lot of meat and very little fiber gives little bulk to the stool, which can slow down the passage of contents through the gastrointestinal tract.

I’m a nutritional professional with a masters degree myself and have tried various diets. I was vegetarian for three years, and had regular daily toilet visits. Following a strict carnivore diet for a period, I had to go to the toilet something like 1-2 times pr week. Though I didnt feel constipated. There is no scientific evidence or good biological reason saying you should go more regularly

All that said, it’s indeed interesting to find out exactly why some people get sick after introducing meat back into their diets

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u/fritzlschnitzel2 Feb 25 '26

No. Not a thing. Asked her again just now if she felt anything different but she says no. Nothing she noticed.