Is plant-based “fake” meat good for your health?

Fake burgers. Fake bacon. Fake sausages. Even fake chicken and sweet corn sandwiches. These days, it seems like there's no meat product that doesn't have a vegan doppelganger. And consumers are loving it. In the US alone, the plant-based food market is worth More than twice as much It is expected to grow from $3.9 billion to $8.1 billion between 2017 and 2023.

At the same time, there has been a booming field of research supporting the health benefits of a plant-based diet in recent years. Meta review Published in PLOS One This year, the health benefits of vegetarianism and vegan diets are clear: compared to meat-based diets, plant-based diets have been consistently associated with improved health outcomes in terms of blood pressure, blood sugar control, BMI scores, and lower incidence of ischemic heart disease, gastrointestinal cancer, and prostate cancer.

These two phenomena seem like a perfect match: With more people turning to plant-based diets and promising plant-based research coming out, it's time to grab some plant-based party sausages and celebrate healthy living!

But there's a catch: Nearly all studies demonstrating the health benefits of plant-based diets have looked at the effects of actual plant-based ingredients like vegetables, legumes and nuts, and haven't taken into account processed foods like lamb kebabs made from pea protein and emulsifiers.

So, based solely on accumulating plant-based research, there's no guarantee that plant-based chicken shawarma is healthy. It may even pose health risks of its own…

After all, this kind of artificial fake meat: Ultra-Processed Foods – The exact types of artificially processed foods are Contributing to the rise in obesitycardiovascular disease, cancer, and other diseases common in the Western world are on the rise.

So which is it? Is fake meat a healthy, environmentally friendly alternative to beef and pork fat? Or is it just another fake product in the Western world's harmful new diet?

Let’s look at some relevant research on plant-based meat alternatives to find out the answer.

What does the research say?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, very little research has been done so far to explore the nutritional value of plant-based “meat,” but a consensus is already emerging.

These studies have found that plant-based alternatives are generally lower in saturated fat, higher in sugar and lacking in nutrients such as vitamin B12 and iron compared to their meat-based counterparts.

in Paper published in Nutrients In 2019, researchers from the Grains and Pulses Nutrition Council of Australia found that less than a quarter (24%) of purchased meat alternatives were fortified with vitamin B12; only 20% were fortified with iron and 18% were full of zinc. Most of the 137 fake meat products tested were also lower in kilojoules (kJ), total fat and saturated fat compared to real meat, but higher in carbohydrates and dietary fiber. The majority of the products (96%) were also high in sodium.

This last finding in particular led the researchers to conclude that meat alternatives themselves may pose health concerns, given that salt is a “major dietary factor in terms of global disease burden.”

Other researchers (who may or may not be less biased against grains and legumes) have come to slightly different results when testing plant-based “meat.”

in Paper published in Nutrition and diet In 2023, researchers at the University of Sydney found that the sodium content of the meat alternatives they tested was lower than real meat. But like the grain and legume researchers, they found that the 132 plant-based foods they analyzed had less saturated fat and more sugar than their meaty counterparts. Similarly, only 12.1% of meat alternatives were fortified with iron, vitamin B12, and zinc.

another Research Presentation Food Ingredient Analysis Journal A study last year found that the average energy content of most of 216 alternative meat products was similar to their full-meat counterparts, but these values ​​varied widely, ranging from 267 to 280 calories.–1,796 Per 100kJ g) Beyond meat products.

Fake sausages had the highest average sodium content (494 Per 100 mg g, which is lower than the average sodium content of the actual sausage (611 The fake sausages contained the same amount of protein and saturated fat as the real sausages.

Foods made from tempeh (fermented soybeans) are generally lower in energy and fat but higher in sugar and dietary fiber than foods made from mycoprotein or tofu.

Ultimately, these studies tend to reach the same conclusionMeat alternatives may be convenient and familiar, but they are likely to be less healthy, less sustainable and more costly than real plant-based foods like legumes and vegetables.

What do the experts say?

Should we cut back on plant-based meat as well as real meat for the sake of our health?

Not entirely, experts say. When choosing your next meal, it's best to evaluate meat alternatives based on the same principles you would evaluate any other food: salt, sugar, fat, protein and nutrient levels. After all, not all meat alternatives are nutritionally equal.

“When it comes to sausages, consumers should be cautious as plant-based sausages tend to be higher in salt.” Dr. Duane Mellor“It's important to understand that diet is important,” said the British Dietetic Association spokesman, Ms.

Aside from minimising their intake of synthetic flavours, Mellor says health-conscious plant-based dieters can also benefit from keeping their shopping cart as “naked” as possible.

“In terms of the health impact, [plant-based “meats”] “You're going to lose some of the nutrients,” he says. “Maybe it'll be a low-fat, low-salt, low-protein alternative to meat. If you wrap it in breadcrumbs or in pastry or add it to a creamy, rich sauce, it might be a little better than a meat alternative, but it's not going to be a healthy option. A sausage roll is still a sausage roll. A chicken Kiev is still a chicken Kiev. It's still got all the fat and salt.”

“If it's closer to the raw meat version, then it may technically be ultra-processed,” he continued, “but it doesn't have all the things that tie it together,” he added. “Will it have any negative health effects? Probably not, other than you'll need to supplement with important vitamins and minerals that you may be missing.”

Naturally, producers of plant-based meat alternatives have slightly different views on the place such foods have in our diets.

Like Mellor, Andy Shovel thisTHIS, the UK's third largest meat substitute manufacturer, acknowledges that fake meat may have unhealthy qualities when compared to plant-based products such as vegetables and legumes, but it says its products are meat substitutes, not vegetable and legume substitutes.

“What's interesting is that some people say, 'Well, it's an unhealthy product,' and you say, 'Well, you compare it to eggplant? [eggplant]a salad? Or are we comparing it to the meat products that we're trying to replace?'” Shovel said. Technology Network inside Ask Me Anything Webinar It took place earlier this year.

“You can't compare plant-based bacon to ratatouille, you have to compare it to pork bacon, because what we're trying to replace is pork, and then plant-based bacon and bacon are like night and day, health-wise,” he said. “It's 5 percent fat, 2 percent saturated fat. [and] “Our meat version has half the salt. So when you think about nutrition, I think it's always important to make a fair comparison between the meat version and our version in exactly the same proportions.”

So, is fake meat good for your health?

Existing research suggests that meat substitutes made from mycoprotein and soy may share some unhealthy qualities. Many products are high in sugar and lack essential nutrients, such as vitamin B12, found in meat alternatives. Most meat substitutes are also lower in saturated fat than the meaty foods they imitate, but these fat values ​​vary widely across products and brands. Veggie sausages in particular appear to replicate the unhealthy qualities of their meaty counterparts better than most alternatives.

However, by several criteria, many of these products teeth still It's healthier than real meat dishes, and, when supplemented with a little vitamin B12 and iron, it offers a healthier option for people looking to cut back on their meat intake. The makers say their product is intended to be just that kind of alternative.

We can all agree that a diet rich in plant-based foods and cooked from scratch offers significant benefits to human health, and even if that diet includes the occasional veggie burger rather than a real hamburger, it is unlikely to pose any significant health risks, especially when combined with adequate intakes of vitamin B12 and zinc.

About the interviewee

Dr. Duane Mellor is an award-winning registered dietitian and science communicator.

Andy Shovell is an entrepreneur and influencer in the field of sustainable food innovation in the UK.