It is unknown if anything other than fat, particularly saturated fat, in beef and other red meats is a trigger. And it is a bit misleading to use the lack of fiber and lower water content as a reason for slower digestion of red meats. No meat - red or white - contains much fiber. And the difference in water content is quite small. Depending on the cut raw red meat is about 55-75% water while raw fish and fowl have about 60-80% water. Leaner cuts contain more water on a per weight basis because they have less fat. The method of cooking determines the final amount of water in cooked meat and fish.
One reason that red meat takes longer to digest than white meat and fish is that it contains more connective tissue, particularly collagen which is a type of dense protien. Fish contains about 3% and animal meat 15% or more. The digestion of dense connective protein takes longer and may also result in slower GI contractions which can exacerbate IBS symptoms.
Good Luck
-------------------- STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
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Re: I know beef is a trigger for IBS but why? Is it the higher fat content (m)
