Q
Hey lady! Any idea why I have become "allergic" to beef? I literally cannot eat it anymore without become violently ill. I dont mind not eating meat but I need to find substitutes in food that will be full of protein. If you have any suggestions for me, I would appreciate it so much!!!
creativedecline
A

Hello! Glad you found me on here :)

Sorry to hear about the stomach/digestive issues you’ve been going through lately, it is definitely not a fun thing to discover that you have a new intolerance/allergy to food. Interesting enough, I started having this same problem when I was in high school (which, consequently, is one of the things that lead me to vegetarianism).

After getting a lot of test done, one of the major flags/most bizarre, was discovering that my body wasn’t producing very much protease. Protease is the enzyme that the body normally produces in order to digest/break down proteins. Because of this - I was exhausted and experienced a lot of discomfort much of the time, as my body was working too hard to try to break proteins down. Similar to someone who is lactose intolerant (their body isn’t producing enough of the enzyme lactase to break down lactose).

I don’t know if this is the same case for you, but it would definitely explain it. It’s interesting though that it appears to be beef specific. I do remember having an even greater difficulty when I would eat beef. On a practical level as far as digestion goes, beef/pork can take 2-3 times more than the amount of time it takes to digest chicken/turkey and 8-10 times longer than it takes to digest fruit or veggies. With that said, your body is definitely working a lot harder to break down beef.

It is pretty daunting changing ones diet, but don’t be alarmed. As far as substitutions for protein - There are many!

Some of my favorite ways to get protein are from these sources:

Beans/Legumes
Quinoa (and other high protein grains)
Tempeh
Eggs
Tofu
Nuts
Nut Butters

All of those things are very reasonably priced (with the exception of nuts and nut butters - which can be made at home if you have the time & equipment). Challenge yourself/be inventive, use these foods in ways that you normally wouldn’t see them. Eggs and beans are a lot more interesting and diverse than people realize. Also, if you find that you are actually into veggie burgers/soy meat products, there are also a whole host of those products on the market (BOCA Foods, Garden Burger, Field Roast (favorite), Quorn, etc) - but some of these can definitely be pricy, so buy cheap where you can.

I hope this helps some. Best of luck to you transitioning,
Feel free to ask more questions as they come :)

- C.J