An investigation revealed that substituting meat alternatives for different animal-based meats lowered heart disease risk variables such as body weight and LDL cholesterol.
Despite being highly processed, plant-based meat substitutes may be better for the heart than meat, according to a recent study.
According to a review of earlier research, when different animal-based meats were substituted with a plant-based substitute, heart disease risk factors such as body weight, LDL cholesterol, and total cholesterol improved. The paper was published on Wednesday in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.
According to Dr. Ehud Ur, a medical professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and the study’s principal author, “plant-based meat is a healthy alternative that is clearly associated with reduced cardiovascular risk factors.”
The latest study, which examined papers from 1970 to 2023, also discovered significant nutritional differences in the meat alternatives, including in terms of saturated fat and salt content.
According to one of the clinical studies the researchers referenced, those who drank plant-based substitutes had a decrease in total cholesterol of 13%, a decrease in LDL cholesterol of 9%, a decrease in triglycerides of 53%, and an increase in HDL cholesterol of 11%.
Ur and his associates concentrated on two burger brands: one from an earlier generation and one from a more recent generation that tastes more like beef. The burger from the younger firm included 30% of the daily recommended amount of saturated fat, while the burger from the older brand only contained 6%. Similarly, the newer brand had 27% of the RDA for cholesterol, whereas the older brand had none at all.
Most alternatives to meat are heavily processed. Ultraprocessed foods have been associated with an increased risk of heart disease and early mortality because they are often poor in fiber, high in salt, sugar, and chemicals.
According to a study that was just published in Lancet Regional Health—Europe, eating ultraprocessed plant-based meals, such as meat substitutes, may make you more susceptible to heart attacks and strokes. However, the study did not directly compare meat substitutes with real meat.
Ur retorted that not all highly processed meals are harmful and that a food item shouldn’t be referred to as the “kiss of death.”
Processing by itself isn’t always a negative thing, according to Ur. “These plant-based meats are highly processed, that much is true, but not to the extent that they contain high levels of saturated fats or specific carbohydrates linked to negative effects.”
According to Ur, a randomized study comparing the risk of heart attack and stroke in individuals who consume meat substitutes to those who consume traditional meat is necessary.
“Obviously, people could be able to tell whether they were eating meat or an alternative, so it could be challenging to conduct a double-blind trial,” he stated. “But in terms of flavor, some of the more recent plant-based meat substitutes are extremely similar to real meat.”
