Vegetarians craving bacon/pork? Nutritional explanation?

[relizabeth]

I call myself a vegetarian because I don't eat meat 99% of the time. However, every once and a while, I see some bacon/sausage/al pastor taco, and feel like I simply must eat it. I usually do, and feel fine for the next month or several weeks until the next pork craving. Is there some weird nutritional explanation for this? Or is it purely gustatory?

[tatamagouche]

Casual but frequent observation does suggest that vegetarians fall off the wagon when bacon more than any other meat is in their path, though burgers run a close second.

[DanaB]

One of my friends who has been a vegetarian for 25 years says the only meat items he still misses (and craves) after all that time are prosciutto and bacon.

[Sam Fujisaka]

Your body telling you what it wants: an old friend and colleague worked with Guaymi Indians in a remote part of Panama in the 60s. He mostly ate local foods. Whenever he got a food shipment in, he found that he literally lapped up the oil the sardines were packed in prior to eating the sardines themselves. He had never done that previously and was always amused and a bit chagrined after.

[mudster]

I was vegetarian for 13 years, and I believe in the "your body tells you what it needs" theory, but I don't think bacon really falls into that category. Maybe your body is craving protein, yes, but bacon definitely isn't the best-for-you protein. (And if you follow the "body tells you" theory, your body would tell you to want what's GOOD for you.)

So I think it is, as you say, "purely gustatory." Or, if you want to get Proustian about it, you're craving the flavor, and the memories it represents.

There's nothing wrong with any of that. You just can't easily wrap it up as a 'necessity' if you're trying to be a strict vegetarian, because that's cheating.

[MakingSense]

I need pork. My body tells me that. Bacon is good. So are pork chops. With the bone in. I really like good pork rinds. There is nothing like bacon drippings for cooking. Lard makes the very best biscuits. A ham hock is a necessity for Red Beans and Rice. Natural casings work best for sausages but loose sausage is fine sometimes. Patés and terrines are always better with pork. Serious weakness for rillettes. Good BBQ. Chopped. Or crusty ribs. A good Carolina pig pullin'.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
If I were marooned on a desert island and I could wish for one thing, it would be a pregnant sow. Pigs in the US have average litters of 10, you know. That would keep me going just fine.

[susancinsf]

I read Sam's post as being a reference to the fat in bacon, NOT the protein....

[meatn3]

Bodies crave fat - pork supplies it in the most succulent manner.

[Sam Fujisaka]

My hypothesis, "Your body telling you what it wants" was speculative and based on the anecdotal experience of a friend and not on any body of evidence whatsoever. having said that, my friend did find it odd that he craved oil, albeit during a time when his dietry fats were extremely low due to the Guaymi diet.

[heathermb]

My sister was a vegetarian for a very long time. Every few months she would find herself literally dreaming about meat and would have just a little bit - most often pork of some kind. She has since added local, humanely raised/butchered meat into her diet but always followed the "your body telling you what it wants" theory for herself and interpreted her dreams of meat as just that.

[Richard 16]

I'm guessing, but it's probably a complex of things. Warning: Mild geekiness ahead.

Fat is the most calorie dense food; our ancestors often didn't know when they would eat next so we are attracted to it. Smell is a primal sense; it's the oldest one and the perception of it takes place in the "limbic" system, where emotions are processed. (All the other senses go through the "thalamus".) Unlike other senses smell directly invokes emotions associated with the smell, which is why when we smell food it's such an strong experiance.

I don't know why we are attracted to smoky flavors. It is likely something hard wired about them. People that cooked meats killed bacteria, mold, fungus, etc. in the meat, allowing for a healthier life and a better chance at passing on their genes. Since eating smoked food and a build up of lot of body fat often result in diseases later in life, I like this explanation from Dr. Steve Harris: http://yarchive.net/med/smoked.html

[ipsedixit]

You're low on your daily requirement of nitrates and sodium.

Suck it up and take one for the team ... go to town on the piggies and do it in style. Garnish some conchita pibil with bacon bits and spoon it over a thick slab of pork chops, and have it with a side of a couple of sausage links.

[Davwud]

There is a simple explanation for this. BACON IS AWESOME!!!!!

DT

[Peg]

I very rarely eat meat - and I find the smell of bacon and pork nauseating. I do, however, occasionally crave tongue (pig or beef).
How wierd is that?

[odkaty]

I have no cravings for tongue (yuck!) but definitely agree on the bacon and pork.

A woman in my old office was on Atkins and used to microwave eggs and bacon for breakfast. Most mornings my office mates would find me with my head over the waste basket. It was most unpleasant. Fortunately I'm vegetarian and don't have to worry about friends/family trying to feed me bacon!

[BobB]

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd put it at about 7.8.

[swsidejim]

I am the furthest thing from a vegetarian, and my body constantly craves pork(ribs, shoulder, butt, chops, loin, bacon). I couldnt imagine a diet that prohibited me from eating pork. What would my smoker do 99% of the time..

[invinotheresverde]

I think the reason this is happening is because you continually give into the craving. As with any type of diet (not dietING), cravings for things you used to eat take time to disappear. If you give into the craving, you're not really getting it out of your system. Yeah, bacon smells great, but if you enjoy eating it every now and again, why don't you just give up the "vegetarian" lifestyle and do what you enjoy?

[b0ardkn0t]

I think some of it might be "gustatory", but really I do have to say that sometimes your body just tells you to eat something you need--natural animal protein, which is why I toy with the idea of vegan/vegetarianism, but would never really seriously consider it. An all vegetable diet is not good(nor was the human body designed for a vegetarian diet, much like dogs, lions, and wolves) for the body/mind, to get your protein needs you would need to consume massive amounts of legumes, nuts, beans, etc. plus some sort of complex complimentary carb so that your body could absorb the plant protein. Meat protein of some sort whether fish, red meat, pork, poultry, etc. is necessary for adequate nutrition although a diet high in vegetables is highly desirable for obvious health benefits. Also it's been shown in studies that animal protein keeps your mind sharp.

[corgette]

I know it's not the same, but I believe Bac-Os are actually vegan, if that would take the edge off and alleviate any crisis of conscience.

That being said, like tatamagouche said, bacon seems to be the temptress of most vegetarians I know. I've catered weddings where those who gave me the most grief about having abundant "veggie options" also scarfed down their fair share of bacon-wrapped scallops. So, it does seem to be the temptation that brings people back to the omnivorous side.

I think it's just a smell/taste associated with satisfaction, home, gluttony, etc. For me anyway.

[im_nomad]

I don't eat meat and I regularly get the statement from people "oh I couldn't do that, don't you ever just crave a big juicy steak???" no..i don't. however i also didn't give up meat because i was forced to...i wasn't a big lover of the stuff last going off, and my way of eating was not really limited to the meat and potatoes variety anyway.

That being said, the smell of cooking bacon or a roasting chicken still gets me...the difference being is that while the smell is great...the thought of actually EATING it is another story. (and i know what i'd be in for.....about two years ago a restaurant mixed up two burrito meals and i accidentally ate a big bite of chicken, and i can tell you it tasted absolutely NOTHING like i'd remembered or expected...it tasted like what feathers smell like or something...yes weird i know)

One thing i have noticed though, is ever since i gave up eating meat, my love of anything smoked has increased big time. smoked cheeses, smoked paprika, smoked sea salt...etc etc...... i also love smokey flavors in scotch and scotch ales, as well as smokey tasting teas.

[marilees]

Try some Morningstar Farms "bacon" ;)

[im_nomad]

:( can't get it where i live.....

[goodhealthgourmet]

count me in the "your body's telling you what it needs" camp.

i was a vegetarian for 21 years. the mere thought of meat or poultry made me queasy, and the smell...gag. well, about 9 months ago i was diagnosed with severe gluten intolerance [which finally explained the digestive hell in which i had been living for my entire adult life]. obviously the first thing i did was give up gluten completely. very soon after, once all the gluten was cleared from my system and my body had begun to heal, i started having raging cravings for red meat. it was surreal. instead of making me gag, the smell of cooking meat made me ravenously hungry, and i literally had dreams about grilling hamburgers. i waited it out for a few days, but it continued to intensify, so i finally decided to go for it.

best burger i've ever eaten in my entire life.

i slept soundly through the night for the first time in years, and woke up feeling rested, invigorated, and satisfied. since that day, i have welcomed meat back into my diet with open arms.

i really believe that once my damaged tissues were no longer compromised & suppressed by the assault of gluten on my system, my body was able to tell me what it was craving nutritionally. i've always been conscious of keeping my protein intake high through vegetarian sources, but each protein has a unique amino acid composition, and i think i was craving the ones i hadn't been getting.

i gotta say, i love being a carnivore again!

[mvi]

I do not know enough about pork/ bacon that calls to you but I am also a vegetarian (now trying a vegan diet) and the only times I have craved red meat are when I am iron deficient. Just as I crave ginger ale when I have an upset stomach and oranges when I have a cold. In fact, when I start craving red meat now, after many years of not eating it, I start increasing my iron intake right away.

[olia]

Well i'm not vegetarian at all, but can happily subside on a cheese/bread diet for weeks, but when i'm feeling sick enough that it influences my appetite (hardly ever happens even w/fever, etc.) I always creave fruits, esp. citrus.
and of course if you overdo really rich foods (which fall into oil/fat category or lots of umami) i always want simple salads.
so maybe reverse is happening for you? (i was vegetarian for 4 years but my diet was far from healthy -- mostly carbs, and my off the wagon food was fried shrimps (not even good ones!))