Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbam here the meat sweats is more than just
Speaker 1: an unexpectedly gross turn of phrase. It's become something of
Speaker 1: a punchline and everything from a Progressive insurance commercial in
Speaker 1: twenty sixteen to that Thanksgiving episode of the sitcom Friends
Speaker 1: from two thousand and one in which Joey played by
Speaker 1: Matt LeBlanc, consumes an entire turkey, then sits back and groans,
Speaker 1: here come the meat sweats. And a while back, fast
Speaker 1: food brand Arby's, which emphasizes the carnivora appeal of its menu,
Speaker 1: gave away beef themed sweatpants and hoodies as a promotion.
Speaker 1: You know, meat sweats. Miriam Webster even added this phrase
Speaker 1: to their dictionary in twenty twenty three. It's a punchline
Speaker 1: for a reason other than again that it's weirdly gross.
Speaker 1: People who have consumed large amounts of animal protein have
Speaker 1: occasionally reported that they've experienced a sensation of feeling flushed
Speaker 1: and fatigued, accompanied by perspiration. Although there isn't an extensive
Speaker 1: body of scientific literature on the meat sweats, it does
Speaker 1: seem to be a real phenomenon for the article of
Speaker 1: this episode is based on How Stuffworks. Spoke by email
Speaker 1: Chris Lockwood, PhD, a Draper, Utah based consultant in food,
Speaker 1: fitness and dietary supplement industries who holds his doctorate in
Speaker 1: exercise physiology from the University of Oklahoma. He explained that
Speaker 1: the thermal effect of feeding, or TEF for short, is
Speaker 1: actually a good thing rather than a sign of distress
Speaker 1: a quote. It means that your body is burning more
Speaker 1: calories and fat than it typically does when processing a meal.
Speaker 1: While you can get a thermal effect from eating other
Speaker 1: foods besides meat, a huge steak will make you sweat
Speaker 1: more than a loaded potato because protein is more difficult
Speaker 1: to break down than carbohydrates are fat and has a
Speaker 1: higher thermic effect when your body has to dieget and
Speaker 1: use it. Meaning some people will experience an increase in
Speaker 1: their core temperature when they eat a lot of meat,
Speaker 1: and as a result might start to sweat as a
Speaker 1: way for their body to help them cool off. But
Speaker 1: the thermic effective protein only explains part of the total TEF.
Speaker 1: According to Lockwood, protein also stimulates the release of hormones
Speaker 1: that affect your thyroid and are involved in regulating your metabolism.
Speaker 1: But okay, why would a meat eater sweat more than
Speaker 1: someone who eats a plateful of tofu with the same
Speaker 1: amount of protein. A one plausible explanation, according to Lockwood,
Speaker 1: is that the simple act of chewing also affects the metabolism.
Speaker 1: He says that researchers demonstrated this by having some experimental
Speaker 1: subjects eat a solid meal while others consume the same
Speaker 1: amount of calories and identical nutrients as a liquid pure
Speaker 1: For those who had to chew, the tef more than doubled.
Speaker 1: If you want to avoid meat sweats, it's fairly easy
Speaker 1: eat a bit less, especially if you've had meat sweats
Speaker 1: happen before and know about the point at which it
Speaker 1: starts for you. It doesn't mean you need to go
Speaker 1: hungry and just focus on foods other than proteins, vegetables
Speaker 1: or carbs, preferably whole grains, but you know treats are nice.
Speaker 1: Remember that, based on general healthy dietary guidelines, a serving
Speaker 1: of meat is around three to four ounces, or a
Speaker 1: piece about the size of your palm. Of course, everyone's
Speaker 1: body is different and nutrition is complicated. If you're here
Speaker 1: because you're concerned about your meat sweats, consult a medical
Speaker 1: professional who is not us. Today's episode is based on
Speaker 1: the article our meat Sweats A Real Thing on HowStuffWorks
Speaker 1: dot com, written by Patrick Jake Hyder. Brain Stuff is
Speaker 1: production by Heart Radio in partnership with how stuffworks dot
Speaker 1: Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. For more podcasts
Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.