If you're a meat lover, listen up. A tick bite may turn your beloved steak dinner into a life-threatening emergency.

Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University analyzed three cases of delayed anaphylaxis to meat: this is a severe, life threatening allergic reaction that presents itself a few hours after a meal is eaten.

As it turns out, when you're bitten by a tick, your body produces antibodies in your blood to a specific carbohydrate that is present in red meat. The theory is when an affected person then eats meat, the immune system responds by releasing histamine which can trigger hives and anaphylaxis.

This delayed response was first spotted in the Southeast and is now being reported in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. While rare, researchers want physicians to be aware of this new syndrome and counsel these patients to avoid red meat.

I'm Dr. Cindy Haines of HealthdayTV, with the news that doctors are reading, health news that matters to you.