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[Tripon]

“Our bodies have developed this close working relationship with the bacteria in our gut, and that bacteria can influence what we crave,” says Michael Schmidt, PhD, professor and vice chair of the department of microbiology and immunology at the Medical University of South Carolina. He cites a recent study published in the journal BioEssays that found bacteria in our gut will signal to our brain that we need chocolate in order to proliferate, and theorizes that the same could be true for meat. (He says that we’ll likely see research on that hypothesis soon.) For example, if your body is low in iron and the dominant bacteria in your gut need it to survive, you may experience a craving for red meat.

Schmidt stresses that it’s possible to be healthy on a cellular level on a vegetarian or vegan diet. “The human body and the bacteria in us have been optimized to eat whatever we feed it,” he tells Yahoo Health. However, he notes that many vegetarians and vegans who feel unhealthy or experience meat cravings may not be getting the proper nutrients they need, and can even become malnourished.

New York-based nutritionist Beth Warren, RD, agrees. Vegetarians and vegans are particularly at risk of deficiencies in vitamin B12 (which are mostly available in animal proteins) and protein if their diet isn’t balanced, she tells Yahoo Health. B12 is especially crucial because a deficiency can impact the immune system’s function and even lead to pernicious anemia, a decrease in red blood cells that provide oxygen to the body’s tissues. Warren also points out that fatigue and an overall feeling of weakness can occur for vegans and vegetarians if they don’t get enough iron in their diets.

https://www.yahoo.com/health/why-some-vegetarians-start-craving-meat-117526618072.html

 

[Plinko]

I've been vegetarian for 12 years now and haven't craved meat once, so I guess that's a good sign I'm getting the nutrients I need.

 

[RockTurtle]

they start doing fecal flora transplants, eventually they will have an echo chamber of vegie bacteria in their stomachs and it will all be fixed!

 

[Funky Papa]

they start doing fecal flora transplants, eventually they will have an echo chamber of vegie bacteria in their stomachs and it will all be fixed!

Getting other people's shit pushed in as a remedy for venganism's limits?

No thx.

 

[daviyoung]

Getting other people's shit pushed in as a remedy for venganism's limits?

No thx.

well the cravings are there for a reason, and getting some yes-men poo in there isn't going to sort out the actual problem

 

[Fink]

I've been able to quench my cravings with substitutes. I only haven't found a good replacement for beef jerky.

Interesting study, because before I went vegan I got indigestion regularly. Now it's rare for me. Don't know why I'd crave more of what made me feel ill.

 

[Mango The Magician]

Honestly, I don't get meat cravings, I just get like soy cravings or whatever, along with cravings of everything else I eat, because I love eating. To be fair though, I've been Vegan for like going on either 4 or 5 years now, so I feel that it'd be pretty weird to have cravings this far in.

I've been able to quench my cravings with substitutes. I only haven't found a good replacement for beef jerky.

Interesting study, because before I went vegan I got indigestion regularly. Now it's rare for me. Don't know why I'd crave more of what made me feel ill.

The only beef jerky I've found is that Primal stuff, which apparently was designed by someone who's never ate beef jerky before, because it ain't suppose to be soft and squishy.

 

[Damaniel]

We have cravings for meat because we're meant to eat meat. Sure, lots of us eat far more of it than we should, but vegetarianism is not the standard behavior for humans.

 

[Funky Papa]

There IS some soft and skishy jerky.

It's generally of the teriyaki kind and it sucks leper balls.

 

[Dennis]

Man is a natural born meat eater. Deal with it.

 

[John Kowalski]

Man is a natural born meat eater. Deal with it.

they are dealing with it, they're trying to not eat it and finding ways to make meat unnecessary

 

[Mango The Magician]

There IS some soft and skishy jerky.

It's generally of the teriyaki kind and it sucks leper balls.

But what's the point though? Jerky is suppose to be a challenge.

 

[AstroNut325]

I don't have much of a choice because I like to dine out on the weekends. Vegetarian options at most places includes salads, and... more salads. And even then many places don't even offer a vegetarian salad.

 

[Espada]

Wow, that type of relationship with the bacteria in our bowels is a lot more developed than I understood it to be. I knew about a lot o vegetarians/vegans returning to be omnivores, but because bacteria are subtly influencing what we crave? Damn.

 

[God Dayumm]

Man is a natural born meat eater. Deal with it.

No, the body is a wild godless beast that enjoys getting fat for survival. Don't listen to it and stick to your diets.

 

[Principate]

Man is a natural born meat eater. Deal with it.

No we aren't, I'm not even sure how someone comes to that conclusion. We can't even eat meat unless we cook it (no other animal does that). We're omnivores meaning our natural diet is plants and bugs.

Everything else we eat comes from our ingenuity in comparison to the rest of the animal kingdom.

 

[scotcheggz]

Been a vegetarian for shit, about 17 years now, can't say I've ever craved meat once. In fact, it's quite the opposite. One of the most interesting things I noticed was the subtle change of the way you look at meat. When I'm in the market or pass a butchers now, I don't even see the meat aisle as food, I just see it for what it is, which is quite a gross place full of packaged flesh. It's very strange. I don't mean it in a PETA kinda way, I'm not gonna start beating on people for eating it or anything, it's just that for me personally I can't see it as something which is food anymore and it all gets a little surreal.

So yeah, no cravings here.

 

[Dennis]

No we aren't, I'm not even sure how someone comes to that conclusion, we can't even eat meat unless we cook it (no other animal does that), we're omnivores meaning our natural diet is plants and bugs.

Everything else we eat comes from our ingenuity in comparison to the rest of the animal kingdom.

Last Saturday I ate 16 oz of raw oysters. Was delicious.

Eating any kind of meat we could get our hands on have been part of human evolution for a very long time. This is not really disputed in the paleontology field at all. The term omnivorous most definitely includes eating meats.

 

[Mango The Magician]

Been a vegetarian for shit, about 17 years now, can't say I've ever craved meat once. In fact, it's quite the opposite. One of the most interesting things I noticed was the subtle change of the way you look at meat. When I'm in the market or pass a butchers now, I don't even see the meat aisle as food, I just see it for what it is, which is quite a gross place full of packaged flesh. It's very strange. I don't mean it in a PETA kinda way, I'm not gonna start beating on people for eating it or anything, it's just that for me personally I can't see it as something which is food anymore and it all gets a little surreal.

So yeah, no cravings here.

Yeah, I sorta feel the same way. In fact, the smell of meat cooking doesn't even smell good to me anymore, it just kinda smells sickly, which is weird.

 

[Nether!]

Ah, a vegetarian thread - I await all of the posters who become expert biologists specifically around this issue and are gracious enough to offer their opinion on why someone else's lifestyle is wrong.

peepals ment 2 eet meet

 

[Shuggananas]

Man is a natural born meat eater. Deal with it.

Mhm

 

[Principate]

Last Saturday I ate 16 oz of raw oysters. Was delicious.

Eating any kind of meat we could get our hands on have been part of human evolution for a very long time. This is not really disputed in the paleontology field at all. The term omnivorous most definitely includes eating meats.

Yes that's entirely because of humans, the race that's also by far the most intelligent species. For every other species it means a very different thing.

I love meat, but I can't pretend we're natural born meat eaters when we can't even naturally digest most of it without becoming extremely ill. Natural born that ain't.

 

[Somnid]

Digestive bacteria research is really interesting because of how it's starting to reframe a lot of the narrative around food. I always found it odd that internal handicaps are treated like an identity, nobody says "I'm lactose intolerant" with hesitation and the solution to which is not digesting lactose. But if you lost a limb, you probably wouldn't advertise it and you probably wouldn't think "Well, I'll just stop running" but try to overcome it. I think now that we have some understanding of what causes things like intestinal distress we can actually say "you're not optimal but you don't have to own it, we can fix that" and we can prescribe bacterial changes to improve the situation.

In this case it would seem that instead of trying to bend our bodies to our idealistic wills that perhaps we should listen to it and not second guess what it needs. Although I wonder how bacterial cravings can be differentiated from cravings in general which we know the body uses to signal deficiencies, sometimes in odd ways (chewing ice or chalk for example).

 

[deadlast]

Why does my bacteria have to crave chocolate, sugar, and ice cream?

 

[Dennis]

Why does my bacteria have to crave chocolate, sugar, and ice cream?

I guess your diet is deficient in fat and sugar. I think you know what to do!

 

[Principate]

Why does my bacteria have to crave chocolate, sugar, and ice cream?

Who doesn't love sugar bro.

 

[OldAsUrSock]

Everyone caves in to bacon sooner or later. Those that say they haven't are lying or just have yet to cave.

 

[deadlast]

I guess your diet is deficient in fat and sugar. I think you know what to do!

I'm on it. Donuts and lake of sadness.

 

[Tesseract]

one of biology's cornerstones is that life eats life. besides that, studies show that the smell of bacon is the best way to attract humans to meat.

but yeah, most people don't know that we actually have two brains. very weird.

 

[Walter White Walker]

Apparently I'm lacking in chocolate proliferating bacteria. I can take it or leave it and it's something I rarely eat.

 

[AbsolutBro]

I love meat, but I can't pretend we're natural born meat eaters when we can't even naturally digest most of it without becoming extremely ill. Natural born that ain't.

I've never heard of this before. Tar tar isn't really cooked at all, and aren't sushi/sashimi raw? I mean, I realized it's cleaned and all that. Now, I wouldn't eat a bunch of ground beef raw, but that's more down to preparation than actual content.

Why does my bacteria have to crave chocolate, sugar, and ice cream?

Doesn't the brain get hooked on sugar like a(ny other) drug?

 

[Alchemy]

This doesn't explain why I crave Doritos.

 

[geardo]

Wow, that type of relationship with the bacteria in our bowels is a lot more developed than I understood it to be. I knew about a lot o vegetarians/vegans returning to be omnivores, but because bacteria are subtly influencing what we crave? Damn.

It's very much a mutualistic relationship. Our microbiota assist our nutrition, digestion, and immunity; and in return, we supply them with nutrients and a optimal environment for growth. Bacterial cells in your body actually outnumber your own cells by 10 to 1. Cool and crazy at the same time.

 

[Raven Prime]

I figured this would be about the gut microbiota. Every now and then I come across people that claim they couldn't thrive on a vegan diet, I'm really starting to wonder if their enterotype might be the main reason. The overall microbiome is far more influential in human health, physical and mental, than we used to think.

Also for those that think that humans are well adapted to eating meat and other animal products, there are actually many arguments that would suggest the opposite. One of those arguments would be our mutated CMAH gene and the way in which that influences our bodily response to Neu5Gc.

 

[Tesseract]

Yes that's entirely because of humans, the race that's also by far the most intelligent species. For every other species it means a very different thing.

I love meat, but I can't pretend we're natural born meat eaters when we can't even naturally digest most of it without becoming extremely ill. Natural born that ain't.

that's why we breastfeed for 6 months

 

[Nokterian]

 

[Lucky Forward]

So "Friends" was right!

Yesterday I just watched the one where Phoebe is pregnant and even though she was a long-time vegetarian, she began having powerful cravings for meat. I wonder what other deep scientific truths "Friends" hides between the laughs?

 

[shoplifter]

I love meat, but I can't pretend we're natural born meat eaters when we can't even naturally digest most of it without becoming extremely ill. Natural born that ain't.

Your body absolutely can. If you get sick it's probably because the meat wasn't safe to consume.

 

[cyberheater]

they are dealing with it, they're trying to not eat it and finding ways to make meat unnecessary

Well said.

 

[BamfMeat]

My doctor told me about this about 6 months ago - I'd read things here and there about how this could possibly be, but then he told me it was confirmed.

Certain foods make gut flora (and fauna, if you're into that) proliferate and they can starve if you don't feed them whatever it is they want - however certain ones we can never get rid of so like, sugar we have to have because there's sugar in almost everything we eat (both naturally occurring and otherwise). But you can try to control them to a certain degree, which is always a good thing.

 

[lem0n]

I can only laugh at vegetarians, as I bite into my juicy sirloin burger with bacon on top.

 

[entremet]

Why does my bacteria have to crave chocolate, sugar, and ice cream?

You could be under eating.

 

[Snkfanatic]

I can only laugh at vegetarians, as I bite into my juicy sirloin burger with bacon on top.

Ok?

 

[Goldrush]

Not a vegetarian, but does this mean that we could use our craving to determines if we need to load up on certain vitamins? My occasional craving for a steak doesn't really feel any different from my craving for fruits, sweets, greens, and breads. Wonder if a chart is possible that maps different cravings to certain deficiency in diet.

 

[Raven Prime]

I can only laugh at vegetarians, as I bite into my juicy sirloin burger with bacon on top.

While you laugh at vegetarians, I feel pity for the innocents that suffer for your pleasures.

 

[Onemic]

I feel like if you actually crave meat as a vegetarian, you're not a real vegetarian.

 

[Ryuukan]

I can only laugh at vegetarians, as I bite into my juicy sirloin burger with bacon on top.

meat eaters stop embarrassing me

 

[lem0n]

While you laugh at vegetarians, I feel pity for the innocents that suffer for your pleasures.

They tasted extra good.

bestfriendsforever.jpg

 

[NCR Redslayer]

Not a vegetarian, but does this mean that we could use our craving to determines if we need to load up on certain vitamins? My occasional craving for a steak doesn't really feel any different from my craving for fruits, sweets, greens, and breads. Wonder if a chart is possible that maps cravings to deficiency in diet.

Maybe its the protein and Iron.

 

[entremet]

If you're vegetarian, making sure you're getting adequate supplementation is essential.

So many people become vegan/vegetarian without looking into the nutritional deficiencies beforehand.

That said, many omnivores don't give a shit either.

FWIW, the longest lived people in the US are vegans--Seven Days Adventist in California.

http://www.bluezones.com/2014/03/loma-linda-exploration-lessons/

But they do also do other things that promote health, not just diet.