Animal protein is being pitched as a fix for women’s health woes. Experts have some thoughts.
Juicy steaks, liver and bison: Inside the meat craze taking over women’s wellness. (Photo illustration: Liliana Penagos for Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images)
In many of her videos, Bella Ma, a content creator known as Steak and Butter Gal, eats a giant piece of meat, juices dripping, with her bare hands, while extolling the “healing” effects of her diet. On her podcast, Lauryn Bosstick praised eating organ meat as an underrated “beauty hack” that she swears helped her hair grow. A typical meal for former Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr? Bison, she revealed during an interview on Kristin Cavallari’s Let’s Be Honest podcast.
In the world of women’s health, meat is having a moment. But this isn’t the skinless chicken breasts and turkey meatballs of past diet trends. Today’s wellness seekers are chowing down on ground beef, liver, chicken hearts, venison and at times even raw steaks — often in pursuit of better skin, weight loss, fertility support or menopause relief.
Of course, meat-focused diets are nothing new. Trendy eating plans like keto, paleo and ancestral diets have long promoted eating animal protein, to varying degrees. Even the current administration has promoted the benefits of meat: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. bumped it toward the top of an updated food pyramid introduced earlier this year, along with new federal health guidelines that focus on protein and animal fats.
The rise of ‘period steak’ and organ meat supplements
But lately it seems that everywhere women turn, at least online, they’re not only being encouraged to consume more protein, but also being sold meat as a miracle cure for their health issues.
“Period steak theory,” which circulated on social media earlier this year, is the idea that eating the popular protein around the start of your period can offset menstrual cramps because of the boost in iron. Meanwhile, the New York Post reported that women are taking organ meat supplements for nutritional support during menopause. And on Reddit, some women trying to conceive describe being told to eat more meat; last fall, one woman wrote on the platform that her mother-in-law attributed her fertility struggles to her vegetarian diet.
For some women, eating more meat is a response to years of diets that have failed — and a way to reclaim power in a culture that has long conditioned them to take up less space. “The story that women have been told is, ‘Eat plants, red meat will kill you, meat is masculine,'” health coach and organ meat fan Ashleigh VanHouten tells Yahoo. “We’ve been told that vegan diets and 100-calorie snacks are going to keep us looking good, and we’re not thinking about what is actually going to nourish our bodies and make us strong.”
VanHouten, co-author of the cookbook Carnivore-ish, frames eating meat as a way for women to restore energy and vitality, arguing that they are “subject to depletion in a way that men are not,” particularly during menstruation and pregnancy when the body’s need for certain nutrients increases.
The success stories are hard to resist. Ma, the Steak and Butter Gal, was vegan before turning to the carnivore diet. Desperate for a solution to her chronic cystic acne, she came across stories like Kelly Hogan’s. An early proponent of the no-carb diet, Hogan mainly ate meat and cheese and says the lifestyle helped her overcome a host of health issues.
“I was just so impatient to heal and feel better,” Ma tells Yahoo. “I started with eggs and butter, and within that first meal, I felt nourished. I felt full for the first time — I never felt satiated on a vegan diet. That woke me up.” She says her skin cleared, her mental fog lifted and her period, which had disappeared when she was vegan, returned.
Today, Ma’s diet consists mostly of beef, eggs and butter. She says she hasn’t eaten a vegetable in more than seven years.
Do women really need to eat more meat?
Generally speaking, a ribeye for breakfast every morning isn’t something health experts recommend. The health risks of eating a lot of meat, especially red and processed meats, are well documented. “In America, we’re eating too much meat,” Andrea Glenn, a registered dietitian and assistant professor at New York University’s Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, tells Yahoo.
Red meat in particular — a favorite among proponents of the carnivore diet — can be high in saturated fat, which raises LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol levels and, in turn, the risk of heart disease and stroke. “If you’re eating red meat occasionally, I wouldn’t be concerned, but if you’re someone following the carnivore diet, or eating a lot of red meat, I’d be concerned,” Glenn says.
The World Cancer Research Fund International says there’s evidence that processed meat (think bacon, sausages, cold cuts) increases the risk of colorectal cancer and that red meat may as well. The organization recommends that people limit red meat consumption to three portions a week and eat very little, if any, processed meat.
There is truth, however, to the idea that meat provides nutrients that women may be deficient in, including iron, zinc and vitamin B12. More than one-third of women of reproductive age in the U.S. are iron-deficient, which researchers attribute primarily to menstrual bleeding. Iron deficiency and anemia are even more common among pregnant women.
Meat is a good source of iron, and organ meat in particular is so nutrient-dense that it’s sometimes called “nature’s multivitamin.” A 3-ounce serving of beef liver has nearly 30 times as much B12 as the same amount of ground beef, for example, and about 2.5 times the iron found in a cut like bottom round.
When VanHouten began incorporating liver into her diet, she says she noticed a boost in her energy levels right away, followed by improvements in her mood and mental clarity. “I just felt really good,” she says.
While nutrient deficiencies can contribute to problems ranging from fatigue to infertility, there’s still little scientific evidence that meat is the silver bullet it’s being presented as in some corners of the internet. And in the case of organ meat specifically, more isn’t always a good thing. Eating too much liver can cause vitamin A toxicity, for example, and health experts recommend pregnant women avoid liver entirely.
Protein-maxxing is putting meat on the menu
In 2025, U.S. meat sales hit a record high, even as prices rose, according to the Meat Institute, a trade association. Among women, that appetite for more meat likely reflects several overlapping wellness trends, including protein-maxxing and a greater focus on strength training, alongside growing awareness of how menopause affects muscle and bone health.
“Everyone is trying to hit their protein goals,” registered dietitian Amy Shapiro tells Yahoo. “And, you know, how much chicken can you eat? So red meat is entering the chat.”
However, health experts say it’s possible to get adequate protein from a vegetarian diet — beans, Greek yogurt, eggs and lentils are all great options. “As long as you’re getting enough protein, the source isn’t going to matter,” Glenn says. Research generally shows plant and animal proteins produce similar results when it comes to muscle building.
For women sold on the carnivore lifestyle, expert advice may carry less weight than their personal experience. Ma says she’s not trying to convince anyone to eat exactly like she does — she simply wants to share with other women that it’s an option. “Not everyone needs to be strictly all meat,” she says. “They might land somewhere in the middle where it’s fruits and vegetables plus red meat.”
Ma adds: “There isn’t one perfect diet for everyone. It’s about experimentation and seeing what works for your specific body, goals and lifestyle.”
And for some, that may look like gnawing on some ribeye.
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