If a vegetarian says the only meat they’re willing to add to their diet is some chicken, would that be sufficient? Also, if they say that eating red meat makes them bloat or feel nausea, what do you recommend? Bitters?

First of all, I never tried to persuade anybody really to change their diet, and that might surprise you, but I offer information, and it’s up to the patients to do with that information what they will. I was a vegan at one point, [a] macrobiotic vegan. I’ve done just about every kind of diet variation that you can imagine.

I’ve also worked with patients for over a decade now, and I’ve found that trying to persuade patients, or anybody, for that matter, that they should change their behavior is not very effective. What I do in that situation is I say, “Look, if you’re willing to eat a limited amount of animal products, this would be the best option from a nutrient-density perspective—organ meats and shellfish hands down.” So a little bit of chicken liver, for example, in pâté or organ meats, or even taking the liver capsules, like from Paleovalley or Ancestral Supplements, so they don’t even need to eat it in that situation. Eating some oysters, clams, or mussels, those are so much more nutrient-dense than muscle meat that I do have some patients who are primarily vegetarian, but who are willing to eat a serving or two of oysters a week and a serving or two of liver a week. I think that’s a phenomenal approach if someone wants to be mostly vegetarian. Chicken breasts, unfortunately, is one of the least nutrient-dense animal products. It’s also one of the hardest meats to get organic and totally pasture-raised and clean. Psychologically, I kind of understand why vegetarians are willing to eat chicken, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense actually when beef and ruminants are often much cleaner meat and much more nutrient-dense.

It’s not unusual for vegetarians to not be able to digest meat. If they haven’t eaten meat for a long time, and then they tried to eat meat again, they often will have low stomach acid. Betaine hydrochloric acid or bitters and digestive enzymes can all be helpful in that situation.