When a vegetarian decides to reintroduce meat into his diet, people often say to "start slow because you've killed off your meat-digesting enzymes." Is there any truth to this statement?
by 
Erin Albrecht
ANSWERS: 3
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Some. The problem is not that you kill enzymes, but rather the bacteria that produce them. There are bacteria in our stomaches that specialize in breaking down meat - which aids in our own digestion. If you haven't had meat in awhile, their numbers drop. Then when meat is reintroduced it's possible to get a stomach ache because the meat is not as well digested. It's not fatal, but it can be an unpleasant surprise. I'm personally known at least one vegetarian who has experienced this problem.
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It's definitely a good idea to start slowly. Meat digestion takes place primarily in the duodenum, not the stomach although gastric secretions and bile start the process in the stomach. There is no truth to the 'meat-digesting enzymes' idea, nor can you 'kill off enzymes'. The gallbladder and pancreas are simply not used to secreting so much bile and insulin respectively, so a big steak after 10 years of not eating meat or dairy is probably not going to stay down. After a few small, low fat meals the pancreas and gallbladder/liver should be back to normal, although diarrhea will probably occur because of the sudden change in colonic waste material.
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I agree with the answers above, and would like to add why I think this idea is passed on. I am a vegetarian, and when the topic comes up in conversation (usually over a meat meal), it is a non-vegetarian who brings it up. I think it is to discourage others from becoming vegetarian (that they will make themselves sick in doing so), and to call the vegetarians weak in a way. It is like saying, "Vegetarians are not tough enough to digest meat like us regular meat eaters." I am reading too much into this common misunderstanding of human digestion, but I have too often been in uncomfortable situations where my food choices are under open attack. Thanks to the other respondants for giving good explanations of how our digestion actually works.
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