Everything that happens to your body when you stop eating meat for just a couple of weeks

As a meat eater, the thought of giving it up is something that I always think of.

Just by chatting with friends and family, it's crossed all of our minds at least once.

However, with conflicting health benefits being reported, it's hard to know what's right for you.

Though it seems registered dieticians, health scientists, and neuroscientists certainly know more about this than a random influencer on TikTok.

So. without further ado, here are the known effects cutting out meat can have on your body.

Weight loss and heart benefits

More and more people are lessening their meat intake (Getty Stock Images)

The widely accepted weight loss method is if you burn more calories than you consume, you are creating something called a 'calorie deficit,' which means you are very likely to lose weight.

And by cutting out meat products, you might end up eating less calories.

This is because vegetables, legumes, whole grains are very high in fibre, and by eating fibre-rich foods, it's basically supposed to fill you up faster.

"We end up just consuming more foods that are fewer calories," Matthew Landry, a dietician and health scientist at the University of California, said in a report by National Geographic.

Some studies have also shown that veggie or vegan diets can lead to lower blood pressure, which decreases your risk of a heart attack.

Gut changes

More plant-based alternatives seem to be popping up in restaurants (Getty Stock Images)

A Stanford study has suggested that people who eat meat will possess a gut bacteria known as bilophila wadsworthia.

This bacteria has been linked to 'disease-driving inflammation,' which 'can be very problematic to have in your gut microbiota at high abundance,' study co-author, Matthew Carter, said.

Preliminary data suggests that 'one way to help get rid of this microbe is to switch to a vegan diet'.

Immune health

According to a 2024 study, people who went on a two-week vegan diet developed higher activity in parts of the immune system, which helps fight off viruses.

"Collectively, this work demonstrates that in diverse participants two weeks of controlled dietary intervention is sufficient to significantly and divergently impact host immunity, which could have implications for precision nutritional interventions," the authors said.

Healthy habits

An estimated one percent (79 million people) of the global population is vegan, as of 2021 (Getty Stock Images)

Becoming a vegan could lead to other 'healthier habits', such as swapping out ultra processed foods like hot dogs, sweets, instant noodles, energy drinks, for minimally processed 'whole foods' like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy and healthy fats.

Downsides of giving up meat

Healthline reports that removing meat from your diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies if not properly managed.

For example, vitamin B12, which is predominantly found in animal products, is crucial for nerve function and red blood cell formation.

There's also a chance of developing an inadequate intake of iron, calcium, zinc, and vitamin D, potentially affecting bone health and immune function.