Reduce Meat Intake With These Five Methods

Many people are trying to reduce their meat intake – especially in recent years, this has become a growing trend. It is usually decided to reduce meat intake for either health or environmental reasons, personal taste preferences or because of the cruel treatment of the animals. However, not everyone knows how to reduce meat consumption in a healthy way.

Reducing meat intake can reduce the risk of high blood pressure, hypercholesterolemia, and uric acid problems. For unfamiliar people, taking such a step all of a sudden can be a very radical change. That’s why we’re going to now recommend methods to help you start eating less meat gradually.  That way, it becomes easier to adopt new eating habits.

Use these methods to reduce your meat intake

1. Be aware that meat is not essential for health

There is a widespread myth that meat is important for maintaining public health. However, this is a myth, as there are several foods that can provide us with the nutrients we need to meet our nutritional needs.

With that in mind, it’s a good idea to start by reducing the amount of meat you eat each week as well as the size of the portions you eat. Also remember that meat is not only pork and beef and chicken, but also:

• Sausages
• Processed meat products
• Pateita etc.

2. Vegetables and legumes are the best allies

You should be aware that by reducing your meat intake, you should also increase the amount of certain other foods. That way, you’ll be able to supplement your diet with the nutrients you would otherwise get from meat.

This increase must take the form of vegetables that provide you with all the iron and protein your body needs. So you need to increase your intake of lentils as they act as a great source of protein, fiber, B vitamins, minerals and iron. However, there are other healthy foods like beans, soybeans as well as whole grains like rice, oats and wheat.

3. Reduce your meat intake by planning your weekly purchases

A fairly simple method to reduce meat intake is to stop buying it. You don’t eat meat if you don’t have it! So try to buy more vegetables, fruits and legumes when you make weekly grocery purchases. You will be amazed at the amount of plant-based dishes available at your local grocery store as well as the variety of dishes you can prepare from them.

4. Reduce meat consumption step by step

As we mentioned earlier, it is important that you gradually reduce the amount of meat to achieve your goal effectively. To do this, you can start:

• By removing meat products from breakfast.
• Eating vegetables several times a week, replacing sausages and other animal products. Salads, omelettes and vegetable boxes are also good options.
• Finding new meatless recipes. Because when you realize all the opportunities available, you will reduce your meat intake much more boldly.

If you want to reduce your meat intake for health reasons, it is best to choose low-fat sausages and meat products such as turkey and chicken. Likewise, if you want to reduce your meat intake because you become a vegetarian or vegan, you want to stop using all foods that contain meat or animal products, depending on the case. In any case, it is always easier to make gradual changes to your body to better absorb your dietary changes.

5. Eat fish instead of meat

If you want to stop eating meat for health reasons and aren’t going to adopt a purely vegetarian diet, just add more fish to your meals. It’s a great way to substitute meat products for most recipes.

Blue fish, for example, are a great source of Omega-3 fatty acids and good oils. For this reason, fish is a good animal product to eat instead of other meat products. Other fish such as sea bass, bream and cod are also low in fat and fairly healthy for the body.

Summary

All in all, if you want to change your eating habits as well as reduce your meat eating, keep in mind that you need to let your body adapt to all the changes, i.e. you should do it progressively. When you’ve finally stopped eating meat or significantly reduced your intake of it, you’re sure to notice the results and feel much better!

Thanks for reading this article!