Is plant-based meat healthier than regular meat?

[zakiyatasnim]

Plant-based meat is gaining popularity, with supermarkets and restaurants offering more and more plant-based alternatives. Many believe that such meat tastes just as good as conventional meat, and is also better for the environment and animals.



However, critics are concerned that these products are just as high in calories and harmful as animal protein. Let's try to find out which product — plant or animal — brings more benefits to our health.

Differences between plant-based meat
In 2016, Beyond Burger and Impossible Burger introduced a new meat alternative recipe. They were met with rave reviews: people claimed that the plant-based burger tasted like real meat. The thing is, these companies did not use fillers such as rice and tofu. Instead, they created a new substance from modified plant proteins, coconut oil and a molecule called "heme."

If you look at the ingredients of many meat substitutes, they don't seem like a healthy product at all. Most of them contain chemical compounds such as methylcellulose, soy legoglobin, and zinc gluconate. In addition, their calorie content is almost the same, and sometimes even higher, than regular beef patties.

The vegan Impossible Whopper on Burger King's menu contains 630 calories, while the regular Whopper has 660. They also don't differ much in fat, at 35 and 40 grams, respectively. The plant-based version only surpasses the meat version in sodium, at 1,240 mg and 980 mg, respectively.

When compared on these indicators, the alternative product does not seem more beneficial. However, a plant-based diet in general can reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes. This does lithuania number data not mean that it is enough to just switch to meat substitutes: the diet should also include vegetables, fruits and whole grains.

Plant-based meat and a healthy lifestyle
To maintain a healthy lifestyle, doctors recommend eating more whole plant foods and limiting meat, dairy, processed foods, and eggs. In addition, a report from the US National Institutes of Health shows that a plant-based diet is a more economical and safer way to reduce body mass index, blood pressure, and glycohemoglobin and cholesterol levels.

According to the same study, people who follow a plant-based diet take fewer medications for chronic conditions and have lower rates of death from coronary heart disease. This diet is especially recommended for those who suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity.

Although plant-based meat alternatives are made from scratch, they tend to contain the same amount of fat and sodium as regular red meat. So unless you're following a vegan or vegetarian diet, switching to them probably won't do you much good. Instead, focus on lean proteins (fish and white meat) and plant-based proteins (nuts and beans).

However, moderate consumption of plant-based meats will not harm you either. One lean burger, just like a regular one, will not derail your healthy lifestyle. The main thing is to limit the frequency of consumption of these products.