This past weekend I ate a big bowl of BBQ pulled pork, ate the whole thing in one sitting, and according to the label that was the equivalent of several servings. I didn’t think anything of it until a couple of hours later when I was getting ready for bed and started just POURING sweat and feeling weak. Like just DRIPPED with sweat like you wouldn’t believe. Thought I was a goner, almost!
This marks just the latest time I’ve experienced a bizarre and potentially harmful non-allergic reaction to food and drink; a few years back I was determined to drink only water for the day and I was just constantly thirsty that day, so I kept refilling my water bottle and drinking water at a constant pace, which led to water intoxication, which is actually potentially FATAL but at the time I just thought, “wow, how weird, I’ve just been drinking water but now I feel drunk!”
(For those unfamiliar with the phenomenon of meat sweats, here’s a pretty accurate description I found on the web: “Meat sweats” is the mysterious condition whereby, after ingesting a generous helping of meat, you begin to sweat like a fat man in a cake shop. First identified by competitive eaters, for whom the malady is an occupational hazard, the meat sweats are thought to be caused by the combination of adrenaline and protein." Now, that last part is referring to the thermic effect of feeding and breaking down large amounts of protein. But as far as I know, there isn’t a solid scientific explanation for the phenomenon yet.)
I didn’t realize it was just meat that caused the sweats. I certainly do get them, and eating something spicy like pulled pork doesn’t help either. This is definitely something that’s happened to me after visiting Brazilian Barbecues. Servers applaud when I’m finally done eating.
If you get over hydrated you need some electrolytes. Just eat some salt if that’s all you have available. Your kidneys won’t let any fluid pass through if the electrolyte level is too low. If you’re drinking a lot and not pissing it out then you can be in trouble.
Yeah, me too - Casa Brazil has a system where each table is given a card - as long as it’s green side up, they keep arriving and carving various meats onto your plates. I always get my money’s worth, but I always suffer a bit with the sweats later on.
Because both descriptions seem to involve ingesting lots of meat that’s really high in sodium. Like HIGH. You’re probably consuming several days worth of sodium in one sitting. That can’t be good for your heart, even if the sweats pass, I should think!
Had the meat sweats once, after a huge amount of spicy BBQ pork. Surely a lot of sodium, but I’ve ingested an entire bag of potato chips in one sitting without sweats.
Not sure what you mean by “both descriptions” in my case; the other thing I mentioned was definitely water intoxication, and in that case, it was an imbalance created wherein there was too little sodium in my system.
Why did you continually feel thirsty the day you were drinking all water? I drink a bunch water each day. I like hydration. When is it too much? I don’t think I have ever been drunk on it.
No really, I am just high on life!
Nope, and I’ve tried my hardest to get water intoxication too. I hiked Havasupai Gorge in July and only had 2 liters of so of water by the time I got to my campground and was plenty dehydrated by then. The only thing salty I had that day was a bag of chips. I had another 2 liters by the time I went to bed and didn’t need to urinate during the night. I gulped down another 2 liters before I left on the hike up before refilling my water bottles, and still got dehydrated before I got to the top and had to borrow almost 2 liters of gatorade-type stuff from people walking down who could see I was in pretty bad shape. Then on my way to Vegas I had several bottles of water and Mountain Dew and once I got to Vegas went to the buffet and had several FULL plates of food along with a glass of water at each plate and then took advantage of the free drinks coupons and still did not need to urinate until the next day.
I think you had enough balance in terms of salt and electrolytes and other things that you weren’t in any danger of water intoxication, but then I’m not an expert on it.
Pork is NOT naturally high in sodium. Natural pork has about 145mg sodium per 8 oz serving - that’s about 6% of the daily recommended allowance for sodium for a healthy person. Beef has about 110 mg per 8 oz serving, chicken about 115. Salt cured or processed pork is much higher in sodium. Pulled pork, OTOH, is usually smoked natural pork shoulder with no more seasoning than would be put on smoked beef or chicken.
Not sure - there is some salty stuff amongst the offerings - gammon and parmesan lamb, but I mostly go for rare beef steak, which doesn’t seem overseasoned. Could still be a lot of sodium just based on total quantity, I guess.
Well, I’m borderline anemic, with typically low hematocrit levels, ever since I had bariatric surgery years and years ago. I’m usually pretty thirsty all the time; it’s just that usually I have drinks with sodium and/or vitamins in them, not just water. When I was drinking the water only (I had nothing else in the house and no money to get anything else that day, either) I never felt like my thirst was quenched.