Your gastrointestinal (GI) tract, also known as your digestive tract, is involved in the process of digesting food, absorbing nutrients from it, and getting rid of the waste products in the form of stool.
From top to bottom, your GI tract runs about 9 meters, or roughly 30 feet, according to the National Institutes of Health. It takes time for food to travel such a distance. The amount of time is related to your diet, specifically to the amount of meat and fiber you take in.
So when it comes to which is easier to digest — meat or vegetables — several factors need to be considered.
Bowel Transit Time
Bowel transit time, or digestion time, is the term doctors use to describe how long it takes for food to pass from your mouth to your anus. Regardless of what you eat, the vegetable and meat digestion process begins the same way.
Right after ingestion, food travels relatively quickly. Within six to eight hours, it has moved from your stomach through your small intestine and into your large intestine, Mayo Clinic says. The partially digested food can then sit for more than a day while it’s broken down.
The average digestion time that food spends in your large intestine varies by gender, the average being 33 hours for men and 47 hours for women, according to Mayo Clinic. Many factors contribute to digestion rate and can vary individually depending on what you’ve eaten.
Proteins in meat and fish can take as long as two days to fully digest. Fruits and vegetables may move through your system in less than a day due to the higher fiber content.
Vegetarian or Meat for Digestion Time?
Diets higher in fiber are linked with faster passage and bulkier stools, according to MedlinePlus. Vegetarians take in more fiber than meat-eaters, likely because plant-based foods make up a greater part of the vegetarian diet.
Plant foods are the only good sources of fiber, which helps move food through your intestines at a faster rate. According to the Canadian Society of Intestinal Research, vegetarians tend to have faster bowel transit times and more frequent bowel movements than omnivores. The difference in transit times can be attributed to the amount of fiber in the diet.
Dietary Fat Causes Slow Digestion
Another reason for a delay in digestion time experienced by meat eaters relative to vegetarians may have to do with the amount of fat consumed. Animal products such as meat, dairy, and eggs typically contain higher amounts of fats than fruits, vegetables, and grains.
Fats take more time to digest compared with protein or carbohydrates, according to Cleveland Clinic. Fats tend to rise and float in the stomach and are acted upon last, which tends to slow digestion.
Drink plenty of water and eat a diet rich in fiber to shorten digestion time. You can also help keep your digestive tract healthy by limiting how much red meat you eat and getting exercise.