Real men eat broccoli

Today is Theme Day here at the b5 Science and Health channel (hosted at Cancer Commentary this month), and we are celebrating National Men’s Health Week. In honor of this, I have a question: why is it that eating big hunks of meat is considered manly in this day and age? It’s not like most men actually have anything to do with the demise of the animals they feast on - they use the exact same pick-up-a-styrofoam-package-from-the-supermarket method as women do to acquire meat. But still the meat-is-manly idea persists.

When I tell people I’m a vegetarian, it’s the men who often feel compelled to share that they “just couldn’t live without steak.” They say this loudly and proudly, as if they’ve somehow proven me wrong. As if I was asking them to stop eating it. As if we’re all supposed to be impressed by their manly love of devouring dead animals.

So what’s the deal? Does eating meat really make you more manly? It’s not new news that eating meat is not healthy :

Diets containing meat are usually higher in fat, particularly artery-damaging saturated fat, and higher in calories. Plant foods are less calorically dense and they are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, fiber and other plant substances that have been shown to lower cholesterol levels and protect against heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Is it manly to be overweight, or to have higher chances of diseases such as cancer and diabetes? Now I’m no manliness expert, but I’d say that a guy who takes care of his health is more attractive any day.

What do you think?