This is different. Out of scope, yes, but I need to publish this. It seems somewhat novel—or rather, I could not immediately find this thought when searching. Please let me know if you find a reference to similar ideas.
The background is mismatch -- there is a mismatch between the environment we are adapted to and the one we live in. Our bodies are adapted to the Stone Age (say, 100,000 years ago), when we were hunters and gatherers. We have not even adapted to farming (notable exception: some of us can digest milk). We are certainly not adapted to our modern society. For example, we love fast calories (sugar, processed carbs). In the Stone Age, this was advantageous for our survival—food was scarce, and we needed every calorie we could get. That is why we love it; we just cannot resist it. We are designed for that. Similarly, we love to relax. We are lazy by nature, we preserve our energy in front of Netflix. Good for us in the Stone Age, bad for us today.
Health problems associated with the Western lifestyle can typically be explained by this mismatch. But what about our love for meat? Why do we prefer meat over nuts and fat fish? They all have plenty of calories. Why do we gather around a fire to feast on grilled meat? Why don't we gather to feast on nuts? If nuts and fish are better for us, why haven't we developed a taste to prefer them? Shouldn't the survival rate of those who preferred nuts and fish have been higher than that of those who preferred meat?
Perhaps it (to some extent) is because meat is sexier. Men hunted in groups. The best hunters had good reproductive success with women. Women, think about it. Who is sexiest? The best hunter of a group of men -- the man who brings meat to the dinner feast? Or the man who gathers nuts? We are hardwired to support the survival of our genes. Even though nuts and fish may be better for our cholesterol levels, hunting and meat could result in more sex, more offspring. In evolution, that is what counts.
Not sure whether this is a good explanation, but at least it motivates me to lower my cholesterol by eating more plants and less saturated fat. This is not sexy. But, it is healthy.
