Fried chicken, porterhouse steaks, pork chops: so delicious! The smell and taste of meat can be alluring, and if you are like many Americans, you love eating all varieties of it. Based on a scholarly article printed in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Forbes magazine estimates Americans spend about $142 billion dollars each year on meat at grocery stores and restaurants. But is eating meat every day, several times a day, good for you?
Researchers who studied the eating habits of more than half a million people over a 10-year period believe overeating meat can be hazardous to your health, according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. More specifically, eating too much meat can increase the chances of cancer and diabetes. Other diseases and illnesses that can be caused or worsened by eating meat are gout, arthritis and heart disease.
What happens when you eat meat?
When you take that first bite out of a filet mignon, experts cannot agree on how long it takes the average person to digest it. While some say it takes only four to six hours, others state that it takes nearly 72 hours to digest meat.
Though widely debated regarding the average time it takes for a human to digest meat, it is common knowledge that proteins are harder to break down than simple sugars, like those found in fruit. Because the process to break down proteins takes longer, an amount of usable protein is available for an extended amount of time as well. And because of that, the average person stays energized longer, according to Healthy Eating. For this reason, many athletes choose a diet high in protein. Hence, the more active you are, the more meat you may be eating.