Going vegan won’t improve your health, an experiment suggests. Researchers have discovered that plant-based meat products offer no clear benefit for heart health. People who consumed fake sausages, burgers, and mince also had worse blood pressure compared to their meat-consuming counterparts. Experts have labeled the “health halo” surrounding plant-based meats unjustifiable and urged the food industry to re-evaluate the development of the next generation of meat alternatives.
Study co-author Dr. Sumanto Haldar, a lecturer in nutrition science at Bournemouth University, highlighted the substantial amount of processing involved in producing these plant-based meat alternatives. He pointed out that the end products can be high in salt, saturated fat, and additives in order to match the taste and texture of real meat products.
Based on the study’s findings, it is clear that there are still opportunities for improvements in plant-based meat analogues to justify perceptions of superior health benefits. The current plant-based meat alternatives available do not offer the same health advantages as a traditional plant-based diet, which typically consists of whole foods such as whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. This gives an impetus for the food industry to develop the next generation of meat alternative products that not only taste good but also have improved nutritional attributes and are more affordable for the entire population.
The experiment involved 82 participants at risk of type 2 diabetes who were split into carnivorous and plant-based dietary groups for an eight-week trial. Vegan participants replaced meat with ultra-processed alternatives from brands like Impossible Beef, Omni Foods, the Vegetarian Butcher, Beyond Meat, and The Vegetarian Butcher. The meat-eating group received beef and pork mince, chicken breasts, burger patties, sausages, and chicken nuggets.
Blood tests and glucose monitors were used to monitor the participants’ cardiometabolic health throughout the study. The researchers found no clear effects between the animal-based meat diet and the plant-based meat groups in terms of classical cardiovascular disease risk factors. However, dietary cholesterol fell in both groups, and sodium intake reduced among meat-eaters while it spiked among consumers of fake meat.
The interest in plant-based diets has been increasing in recent years, driven by ethical, environmental, and health reasons. Although the exact number of vegans in the UK is difficult to establish,