02/03/2026
Interesting information
We’ve heard for years that we absolutely need lots of fruits and vegetables to stay strong, get our vitamins, and keep our bones healthy. Doctors, the news, and even the food labels push that idea hard. But let me explain in why that's not the full story, especially if you're eating lots of meat.
For decades, “experts” said the best place to get vitamins and minerals is from plants: oranges for vitamin C, spinach for iron, bananas for potassium. But here's the thing, meat gives you those same nutrients in a form your body can actually use much more easily.
- Vitamin B12 (important for your nerves, blood, and energy, especially as we get older): Plants have none of the real kind. Meat, eggs, and especially liver have plenty and your body absorbs it right away. Many folks over 65 have trouble soaking up B12 from food anyway, but meat delivers it best.
- Iron for energy and to avoid feeling tired all the time: The iron in meat goes into your blood very easily (15–35% gets used). Iron from spinach or beans? Only a tiny bit (2–20% gets used), and plants have natural "blockers" (anti-nutrients) that lock most of it away so your body can't use it.
- Vitamin A for your eyes, skin, and immune system: Meat, eggs, cheese, fish oil, liver has the real, ready-to-use version (retinol). Carrots have a weaker version that your body has to change first and as we age, that change doesn't always work well.
- Other big ones like zinc (for healing and fighting colds), B vitamins (for steady energy), and even calcium or magnesium: Meat, fish, and organs pack them in high amounts without being blocked by the plant anti-nutrients.
- What about vitamin C? That's the one everyone worries about, no oranges! Well, here's the simple part: When you eat only meat (no breads, sugars, or carbs), your body's need for vitamin C drops way down. Why? Carbs create more "stress" (oxidative stress) inside your cells that uses up vitamin C. Without those carbs, you need less vitamin C. Fresh meat has a little vitamin C too (like in old-time explorer diets, no scurvy even without fruit). Folks who've eaten meat-only for 10, 20, even 30+ years don't get scurvy or weak gums.
- Potassium, calcium, magnesium? Meat has solid amounts (especially if you eat fatty cuts). You don't need giant salads to get those nutrients.
Bottom line: You don't have to force down fruits and veggies "for the vitamins" if you're eating real meat regularly.
Meat gives your body the best quality nutrients without the extras (like fiber you might not need or plant stuff that can upset your digestion). Many folks on carnivore diets feel stronger, have less joint pain, steadier energy, and no more digestive or bathroom troubles.
Of course, everybody's different, if you have health issues or take medicines, chat with your doctor first before making big changes.
But the old idea that plants are the only way to get the nutrients you need is just not true when meat does the job so well and completely.
