Do you have ‘Lack of Meat Syndrome’? Why not getting enough meat could be bad for you

Whether your favourite form is a bacon sarnie, a medium-rare steak or a slab of the rather more festive beef Wellington, meat is something the majority of us like to see on the menu.

Meat – particularly red meat – has been getting a bad reputation. If it’s not increasing our risk of a heart attack, it’s being linked to cancer. Yet jokes at the expense of vegetarians persist – and for many of us, sausage sandwiches remain practically impossible to turn to down.

However, according to a survey by Sizzling Pubs, our love of meat may be less a matter of taste and more a matter of addiction.

Feeling emotional

Their poll of 2,000 men found that 53% of those quizzed suffer from ‘Lack of Meat Syndrome (LMS)’ – meaning that when their diet is meat-free, they experience lethargy, sadness, mood swings and even anger.

A quarter admitted to feeling unsatisfied after a veggie dinner, 16% lacked energy and 4% said they felt angry; while 44% explained that they didn’t consider it a ‘proper’ meal if there’s no meat involved.

Caveman diet

Dietitian Dr Carrie Ruxton, who helped carry out the survey, explains that men wanting meat is a natural, and often ingrained, trait: “Current national trends show that fewer than 3% of men report opting for a meat-free diet, and this dietary preference can be traced right back through human evolution.

“Men have eaten meat from caveman times, when game provided up to two thirds of daily calories as part of an omnivorous (mixed) diet. However, no-one ever painted a carrot on a cave wall – so meat has always had a special role in most men’s diets.

“Men are probably attracted to meat because it’s high in protein – which, in the past, would have helped them build muscle for regular hunting duties. Nowadays, men are more likely to hunt for beer or the latest technology, but the built-in desire for protein is hard to shake off.”

Top of the cuts

When it comes to our meats of choice, a third of those surveyed claimed that it wasn’t bacon, or pork chops or burgers that hit their ‘meat-spot’, but of course, that old favourite: steak (hopefully accompanied by thick cut chips and a peppercorn sauce).

And fillet didn’t win out, either – apparently sirloin is the most-preferred cut, earning 31% of the vote.

“Meat is rich in B vitamins for energy, zinc for sperm production and, in the case of red meat, iron for mental function and blood oxygen transport,” says Dr Ruxton.

“This makes meat, particularly lean meat such as steak, a nourishing food for men.”

The alternatives

So how far would you go to make sure your diet remained meaty?

According to this survey, a third of men would prefer to do the washing up every night for a whole year or read the entirety of Tolstoy’s epic masterpiece War and Peace than go completely veggie – while one in eight would even prefer to watch their favourite sports team lose.

Photo credit: ImageBROKER/REX/Shutterstock

Do you believe in LMS? How would you – or the man in your life – cope without meat in your diet?