Are you the one hovering
around the chef at a bbq?
Do you add bacon to every salad?
If you're one to give into your
carnivorous instincts,
it makes you wonder.
What if you only ate red meat?
Humans desire to consume the flesh
of mammals is nothing new.
to feed our global appetite.
Whether we're grilling in our backyard,
or grabbing fast-food on the run,
red meat is a staple
in most of our diets.
But if you were consuming
such high amounts
of protein every day,
OK, let's set up some rules.
On this diet, we're only eating red meat.
No carbs,
no veggies,
and only water to drink.
If you order a burger,
hold the bun,
the cheese,
and give your friend the fries.
And don't think about
adding salt either.
All your nutrients will come from protein.
And let's make one thing clear.
Red meat
is meat that comes from a mammal.
Despite what the commercials
told you in the nineties,
pork is definitely not
"the other white meat."
So go ahead and enjoy
your bacon-wrapped steak.
Just try not to burn the meat
when you sear it.
If you cook red meat at high temperatures,
it might trigger the production
of compounds that may cause
bowel cancer.
Burnt or charred pieces could
contain more carcinogens,
the chemicals that cause cancer.
To reduce the risk,
use gentler cooking methods
like stewing or steaming.
If you grill,
you'd need to keep the meat away
from the exposed flame
and flip it more often
to prevent burning.
And you're going to have
to be a bit more selective
when ordering out,
if you want to stay remotely healthy.
Since the World Health Organization classifies
processed meats as carcinogenic,
you may want to lay off the hotdogs.
A 2019 study
published in
the International Journal of Epidemiology
found that
consuming more than 76 g (2.6 oz)
of processed
or red meat each day
increases the chance of developing
colorectal cancer by 20%.
If you want to stay
on this 'red meat only' diet,
it's best to eat free-range,
grass-fed livestock.
So, stay clear of the frozen food aisle
and packaged meats.
Fresh red meat
contains vitamins like B12
that aren't found in plants.
And forget about buying those
pricey workout supplements.
Fresh red meat is also rich
in creatine and carnosine,
so you'd be getting nutrients
that promote muscle and brain function.
And grass-fed beef is even more nutritious
than grain-fed beef,
containing plenty of heart-healthy omega-3s.
But without any other source of fiber
in your diet,
your body could start to go through some
painful changes.
In the beginning,
you'd become constipated
and feel intense abdominal pain.
Eating only red meat
would create a buildup
of uric acid,
and your body would
form kidney stones.
Drinking more water will lower your chance of
forming these hard deposits,
made from salts and minerals.
Another, fairly obvious risk
would be your increased chance
of heart disease.
The amount of cholesterol
in your bloodstream
would rise to a dangerously
unhealthy level.
This growing mass of plaque
on blood vessel walls,
called atherosclerosis,
could lead to a heart attack,
or even a stroke.
A 2011 study
from the Harvard School of Public Health
found that
men who ate more than two servings
of red meat daily
had a 28% higher risk
of having a stroke
than men who ate about
one-third of a serving each day.
Add to that,
red meat produces a high acidic load
that's difficult for your body to absorb.
You would become
a perfect incubator for disease.
But this carnivorous lifestyle
might help you lose weight.
And eating lean meat
would reduce your hunger pangs.
Your cravings might go down,
so you eat less.
Maybe because you'd be sick of meat.
Of course, your new menu items
won't be cheap.
On average, conventional beef
will cost about $11 per 1 kg (2.2 lb).
Compare that to the same amount
of grass-fed organic beef,
which will be about $17.
And although eating well
could break your bank,
it's not the biggest price you'll pay.
With the high level
of iron building up in your body,
you might develop Alzheimer's disease.
And by limiting
your diet to red meat,
you wouldn't be getting the nutrients
from plants
that help you fight
blemishes on your skin.
You would increase your chance
of getting a disease.
And you'd be more likely to get a cancer
that you could have prevented.
But nutritional science isn't perfect
or exact.
It can take years
to fully understand
the consequences of diets,
so pay attention
to what your body tells you.
But if you burnt your mouth
on your grilled steak,
you may want to cool it down a bit.
So, what if you ate a brick of dry ice?
Well, that's a story for another What If.