Meat when you're young, vegetarian as you get older?

This is all just personal observation, but I wonder how many others have had the same experience?

I was vegetarian from 16-18 but quit it as I felt a bit passive and needing of meat. I started back on meat and remained ever since eating maybe 60% red meat, 40% chicken and pork - no seafood.

When I turned 48 I had high blood pressure, high colesterol, constant chest pains, and even a micro stroke. My Dad died at 49 of heart failure, and I could see I was a heart attack waiting to happen. My stomach like my Dad's before me was the classic profile of of those that develop heart problems starting to extend at the top just below the breasts and out from there. In addition I always felt this kind of over aggression, hot temper and utter lack of self control of my emotions. Classic.

After my mini stroke (happening at the same age as my father was when he passed), I decided to get very serious about my health. I cut out a big nicotine habit (5 packs a day or chewing tobacco), did colon cleanses, cut way down on sweets etc. Also started a program of more frequent exercise.

But to manage my blood pressure I was given beta blockers, something else for cholesterol and started feeling frail and out of sorts because of the pharmaceuticals I was starting to use aggressively and in combination.

I remembered back to when I was vegetarian in my younger days, how much weight I lost, and that somewhat less aggressive slightly anemic feeling I had. Well the beta blockers were a medicinal way with side effects to achieve the same thing, and I thought I did need to be knocked back in terms of general aggression to prevent an almost certain heart attack.

Now I'm 51 and have been vegetarian for probably about a year. I've been able to cut out the cholesterol medicine completely and cut back half on my high blood pressure medicine (still having significantly lower BP and cholesterol than when I ate meat). After I cut out my cholesterol medication and went veg, I went back to my doctor and was tested again. Ironically the doctor told me that he couldn't believe how effective the medicine was since the improvement in my cholesterol was almost miraculous. After I told him I stopped the medicine and went vegan, he sat there speechless and then just got up and left the room - lol.

That feeling of constant aggression and emotional uncontrol is also gone. What made me feel anemic at 18 makes me feel much more physically and emotionally healthy and peaceful at 51. Weight loss hasn't been as dramatic as when I was younger, but its there, and for the first time in decades I have a (pretty much) flat stomach. And the shape is now the healthy profile, not the heart trouble harbinger shape it's always been.

I had the feeling that getting rid of the extra hormones, residual adreneline and other byproducts of meat in favor of more benign and easy to digest plants, nuts, starches etc was exactly what my body needed - and would achieve the same thing in a far healthier way that the pharamaceuticals they were trying to pump through me.

After all this, it's made me wonder if while you're young, developing and uber active if eating meat isn't the best and healthiest way to go. But as you hit middle age, and start developing typical conditions like hypertension, arterial blockages, high cholesterol, heart issues etc, even colon issues, if the vegetarian diet wouldn't be the most suitable to maximize your health and longevity.

Maybe that huge amount of protein, not to mention the extra hormones and adrenals, become counterproductive as you age. And I'm thinking particularly of men here since I know women tend to eat healthier and more sparingly of meat at all ages. I haven't seen any studies about this, but for me personally it's crystal clear that meat benefitted me more when I was younger, and vegetarian is clearly better for my health at this stage. Though I will say knowing the benefits I do now, I probably would have switched to vegan in my late 30's rather than 50's to maximize my health.

Anyone have thoughts on this, seen any studies, etc?

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