Why does meat taste so nasty after being off it for awhile?

This has been bothering me for almost 2 years, so I might as well ask:

At one point on my second year of being a vegetarian (I was then 15), I tried meat again, just to see if I still could eat it, and I couldn't! After being a vegetarian for awhile, meat tasted totally disgusting for some reason, and I actually felt really sick to my stomach. I couldn't seem to digest it right...

Is meat an aquired taste or something? I mean, do people teach theirselves to like it like they do coffee and whatnot, and then after not eating it for awhile, forget how to like it? And since my body is so used to digesting non meat products, it couldn't handle meat? Or was it psycho-sematic, and I just felt really guilty eating the flesh of an animal so it made me sick? I mean, I hear this is pretty normal, so I was wondering if anyone actually knew why it happens?

 

when I used to eat meat I could never get enough of it, but last month I tried eating a hamburger, and I just couldnt. I donno what it was, it didnt taste good at all and thoughts were going through my mind that this was once a living creature that was killed so very horribly. I have been meat free since then

 

I think it's pretty much both. Most of the things that happen in our lives can be controlled by the "mind over matter" ideology. But I know I accidentally ate soup with beef broth and didn't know it until I was ill for three days afterward. I think I had been a vegetarian for 3 years then...can't quite remember, so anyway the doc said it was possible. So...I'm thinking...both. I'm sure as most of us know, our bodies weren't made to digest animal products. Carnivores have short digestive tracts, humans have long. Animal products take a longer time than fruits and veggies to digest, therefore, they have a tendency to rot...and cause polyps...so I've heard...correct me if I'm wrong on that. So to get sick...I think may be normal if your body hasn't digested something like that in awhile.

 

I haven't eaten meat for a year, so no idea about actually tasting it. Can relate though. A few months in my mother decided to cook bacon. I stayed well away fearing I'd be tempted, but then the smell drifted up and it didn't appeal at all. It just smelt like dead flesh, not an appealing food at all.

That probably is just mental. I shudder to think of what meat really is and that I would actually put it in my mouth.

The physical symptoms are logical. The body gets out of the swing of digesting meat, so it seems like an alien substance. Animal products are hard to digest anyway.

 

Hi, Feministhippy, I believe our tastes for everything are aquired. We all *like* what we are used to. Going veg just helps you to aquire new tastes and lose old ones. I have been veg for 2 years and the taste of meat is gross to me now as well. I have learned to like all veggies! Chives

 

i think its just the way our tastebuds work, cause a while ago i got sick and know i cant eat wheat, so know i have to eat kamut stuff and spelt and things like that, and it all tasted weird but know im used to it and wheat products tastes weird so i think it just as to deal with our taste buds.

 

There is a reason you get sick when you try to consume meat after not eating it for a while. When you stop eating meat your body discontinues producing the enzyme required to digest meat. Without that enzyme you can't process it properly and therefore get sick. I can't imagine ever consuming flesh ever again. Why would you want to? Aside from the ethical ramifications of it it's horrible for you. It causes so many health problems it's just not worth it.