In the past few years, vegetarian and vegan lifestyles have become synonymous with being ‘healthy’.   Vegetarians are often found virtuously grilling their Portobello mushrooms and summer squash, glowing with health and smugness whilst meat-eaters guiltily huddle together in a corner chewing on their ribs and steaks.

But is eating meat really bad for you? There are many reasons to consider choosing meat and other animal proteins into your diet for optimum health.

The Case For Animal Protein

Recent food documentaries like Food Inc, Forks over Knives and Vegucated promote the benefits of a vegetarian or vegan diet, and decry the hidden dangers of eating meat.  Meat, you might have heard, is associated with obesity, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and a host of cancers.  One only has to spend about 5 minutes on social media or reading health magazines to be bombarded with offers of vegan meal delivery, raw recipes, and articles promoting the virtues of vegetarianism.  For people who care about their health, it can be easy to internalize these messages and begin viewing meat consumption as an unnecessary and harmful vice.

Before you throw out your steak knives, consider the case for eating meat for optimum health and longevity.

Humans Evolved Eating Animals

Humans have been eating meat for at least one or two million years.  If you divide the human diet diet into two eras, the Paleolithic (Stone Age, a couple of million years ago) and the Neolithic (Farming Era, around the 10,000-year mark), then anything you can hunt, fish or gather  (meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, berries, insects) is a traditional part of the diet.  Dairy foods probably fall somewhere before farming (a couple of hundred thousand years ago), as many experts believe humans began herding stock before agriculture.

Humans evolved as the most successful species on the planet, with the most complex brains, on an omnivore diet.  The fertility and pregnancy foods in all traditional societies were (and are) of animal origin – including milk for the Maasai in Kenya, grass-fed butter for the Swiss, and fish eggs sought by Peruvian tribes. Anthropologists have yet to identify a human society that has survived living on plant foods alone, even vegan groups have been found to seek out and feed animal products to their women before marriage or during pregnancy.

Animal Proteins Are Nutritional Powerhouses

Meat, eggs, dairy, and fish are nutritional powerhouses.  They are the best (or only) sources of numerous macro and micronutrients essential for optimum health.  

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is a notably essential nutrient, and this is because it is only available from animal foods. This vitamin also has a wealth of benefits that include healthy red blood cell production, supporting the cardiovascular system, protecting against anemia, skin improvements, positive mood, better sleep, and neural regeneration.

It’s important to realize that insufficient vitamin B12 may also increase the risk of depression and mental health issues.

B12 is also necessary for DNA production, the brain, and nervous system health.  Plants cannot create and do not contain vitamin B12 (except for certain mushrooms and fermented foods which can both contain microorganisms).  Strict vegetarians are recommended to take a B12 supplement to ward off illness caused by deficiencies.  The best food sources of vitamin B12 are: sardines, salmon, tuna, lamb, beef and full fat dairy.   

Iron

Iron, in conjunction with vitamin B12, carries oxygen from the lungs to every cell in the body and also helps to make blood and is involved in energy production.  Although several plant foods contain iron (greens, lentils, and beans for example), the iron in plant foods (called ‘non-heme’) is poorly absorbed compared to the iron in meat (called ‘heme’ iron).  Supplements and fortified foods contain inorganic versions of iron which are poorly absorbed (and can cause constipation!).  

Iron deficiency anemia is a growing epidemic around the world.

In developed countries nutrient deficiencies should not be a cause of death, yet anemia kills thousands every year. To be exact, the latest release of statistics showed that Anemia hospitalized 146,000 Americans in one year. 5,219 of these people died. Globally it’s even worse, and according to the World Health Organization, 1.62 billion people suffer from iron deficiency anemia. Eating iron rich animal foods is the best defense against this life-threatening condition.

The best food sources of iron are: red meat, liver, fish, and poultry.   

Protein

Protein is essential for muscle growth and repair.  It is also necessary for energy production, hormone synthesis and the creation of antibodies to protect against illness.  Animal foods contain all essential amino acids needed by the body in the right proportions. Obtaining complete protein can be a challenge for strict vegetarians unless they eat a balanced and varied diet containing plenty of beans, legumes, nuts & seeds, vegetables, and whole grains These foods are not close to as mineral and nutrient rich as animal proteins. Protein from meat, fish, poultry, dairy, and eggs provided the highest quality and quantity proteins compared to plants relative to calories and variety needed.  Eggs have been described as the ‘perfect protein’.  It should be noted that for most people getting adequate protein is not an issue. If you eat a well-formulated diet including these ingredients, it is not necessary to take protein supplements, shakes or bars to get your body’s complete protein needs.  

Calcium 

Calcium is famous for its role in building and maintaining a healthy skeleton and warding off osteoporosis.  It is also used to control muscle and nerve function and balance acid/base levels in our bloodstream.  Plants, grains, and tofu contain calcium – but these also include phytic acid and oxalate, which interfere with the body’s absorption of calcium. Dairy has been blamed for leeching calcium from your bones, as milk has an acid-forming effect on the body, but this is a myth unless the overall diet is acidic, and can be avoided by eating a balanced diet which emphasizes real food and avoids processed and manufactured products.  The best dietary sources of calcium are bone broths, small oily fish and whole fat dairy, all of which also contain vitamins A and D to enhance absorption.

Omega 3s

The human brain is made of 60% fat and essential fatty acids. In particular Omega 3’s, are required for brain health and may be protective against Alzheimer’s and dementia.  In addition, omega 3s are important for cardiovascular health and normalizing cholesterols, reducing the risk for heart disease and stroke.  Omega 3s are also good for your skin and joints (with anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties).  Omega 3s include Alpha Linoleic Acid (ALAs), EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).  ALA is contained in foods (including plant-based foods such as walnuts and flax seeds), but only animal products contain good sources of EPA and DHA.  (Although ALA can be converted into EPA and DHA by the body, the process is inefficient and insufficient.)  Most of the health benefits associated with Omega 3’s come from EPA and DHA found in animal products – not ALA from plant-based foods.  The best dietary sources of Omega 3’s are fish, cod liver oil, eggs, and meat /dairy from grass-fed cows.

Carnosine

Another advantage of eating animal products, specifically beef is that it provides an abundance of carnosine.

Carnosine (beta-analyl-L-histidine) is a compound created by the combination of the amino acids alanine and histidine. It is found throughout the body, and it has several important roles in human health.

Carnosine has anti-glycosylation properties and reduces the harms of a process called ‘glycation’ which involves advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). Glycation is central to the aging process and progressively damages our body, potentially leading to atherosclerosis and various other chronic diseases.

Additionally, carnosine helps boost the immune system and reduce inflammation. The compound is also thought to help prevent lipid peroxidation within our cells.

Beef is one of the highest sources of carnosine (containing about 50% more than poultry)

Creatine

The health benefits that creatine bring include, improved exercise performance, supporting muscle growth and development, providing a greater energy supply and improved endurance and increasing muscular size

Your liver can produce approximately 2g creatine per day, depending on the pre-cursors being available. Creatine precursors include arginine, glycine, and methionine. Not only are all of these amino acids present in beef, but beef is one of the single most significant dietary sources for them.

In other words, eating beef gives you a decent amount of dietary creatine, and it helps your body to produce it too

Meat Is Delicious

Finally, meat adds flavor and depth to any meal.  Everything from lean cuts to roasts, to morning eggs, to sashimi, to stocks and slow-cooked stews can create a well-rounded, delicious and satisfying meal.  That satisfaction is not just in your head. The combination of high-quality proteins and saturated fats send satiety signals to our brain and stomachs.  Being properly nourished also prevents overeating.  The upshot from a health and weight perspective is that you are more likely to achieve and maintain a healthy weight for life if you have a diet we enjoy, rather than trying to follow the latest fads that leave you feeling deprived and miserable.

Meat Will Not Kill You 

But doesn’t eating meat make you fat and sick and doomed to an early death?  Well, not necessarily.  Although eating meat has been blamed for a score of chronic diseases and health conditions – including obesity, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, a host of cancers, and even impotence! – many of these studies are now being questioned or overturned by new evidence.  

One problem is timing, humans have been eating beef, pork and butter for millennia, but heart disease is a modern problem.  The first heart attack was diagnosed in 1912.  Epidemiological evidence also contradicts the assertion that traditional foods cause chronic metabolic conditions.  People eating traditional diets notoriously rich in saturated coconut oil, whole milk, and red meat, don’t get fat.  They don’t get diabetes and heart disease either.  The real culprit, is industrial foods, like white flour, corn oil, and refined sugars.  Sadly, many people have been needlessly avoiding eggs, liver, and shellfish for decades.

Beef contains dozens of health-promoting nutrients that you need in your diet. Whether it’s boosting your vitamin D levels, fighting cancer, losing weight, reducing your cardiovascular risk, promoting lean muscle mass or boosting brain function, there are infinite benefits to a diet that is centered around meat.  Overall, it is one of the most nutrient-dense foods in the human diet, and has been for thousands and thousands of years.