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Low nutritional quality in vegetarian meat substitutes
EurekAlert! ^ | December 8, 2022 | Karin Wik

Posted on 12/09/2022 6:47:16 AM PST by karpov

The availability of foods based on plant proteins to substitute for meat has increased dramatically as more people choose a plant-based diet. At the same time, there are many challenges regarding the nutritional value of these products. A study from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden now shows that many of the meat substitutes sold in Sweden claim a high content of iron – but in a form that cannot be absorbed by the body.

A diet largely made up of plant-based foods such as root vegetables, pulses, fruit and vegetables generally has a low climate impact and is also associated with health benefits such as a reduced risk of age-related diabetes and cardiovascular disease, as has been shown in several large studies. But there have been far fewer studies of how people’s health is affected by eating products based on what are known as textured* plant proteins.

In the new study from Chalmers, a research team in the Division of Food and Nutrition Science analysed 44 different meat substitutes sold in Sweden. The products are mainly manufactured from soy and pea protein, but also include the fermented soy product tempeh and mycoproteins, that is, proteins from fungi.

‘Among these products, we saw a wide variation in nutritional content and how sustainable they can be from a health perspective. In general, the estimated absorption of iron and zinc from the products was extremely low. This is because these meat substitutes contained high levels of phytates, antinutrients that inhibit the absorption of minerals in the body,’ says Cecilia Mayer Labba, the study’s lead author, who recently defended her thesis on the nutritional limitations of switching from animal protein to plant-based protein.

The body misses out on necessary minerals

Phytates are found naturally in beans and cereals – they accumulate when proteins are extracted for use in meat substitutes. In the gastrointestinal tract, where mineral absorption takes place, phytates form insoluble compounds with essential dietary minerals, especially non-heme iron (iron found in plant foods) and zinc, which means that they cannot be absorbed in the intestine.

‘Both iron and zinc also accumulate in protein extraction. This is why high levels are listed among the product’s ingredients, but the minerals are bound to phytates and cannot be absorbed and used by the body,’ says Cecilia Mayer Labba.

Iron deficiency among women is a widespread, global problem. In Europe, 10 to 32 per cent of women of childbearing age are affected** and almost one in three teenage girls at secondary school in Sweden***. Women are also the group in society most likely to have switched to a plant-based diet and to eat the least amount of red meat, which is the main source of iron that can be easily absorbed in the digestive tract.

‘It is clear that when it comes to minerals in meat substitutes, the amount that is available for absorption by the body is a very important consideration. You cannot just look at the list of ingredients. Some of the products we studied are fortified with iron but it is still inhibited by phytates. We believe that making nutrition claims on only those nutrients that can be absorbed by the body could create incentives for the industry to improve those products,’ says Ann-Sofie Sandberg, Professor of Food and Nutrition Science at Chalmers and co-author of the study.

The food industry needs new methods

Tempeh, made from fermented soybeans, differed from the other meat substitutes in the amount of iron available for absorption by the body. This was expected, as the fermentation of tempeh uses microorganisms that break down phytates. Mycoproteins stood out for their high zinc content, without containing any known absorption inhibitors. However, according to the researchers, it is still unclear how well our intestines can break down the cell walls of mycoprotein and how this in turn affects the absorption of nutrients.

‘Plant-based food is important for the transition to sustainable food production, and there is huge development potential for plant-based meat substitutes. The industry needs to think about the nutritional value of these products and to utilise and optimise known process techniques such as fermentation, but also develop new methods to increase the absorption of various important nutrients,’ says Cecilia Mayer Labba.

Production of plant proteins

Most existing plant-based protein products on the market are based on protein extracted from a cultivated plant, such as soybeans, and separated from the plant’s other components. The protein is then subjected to high pressure and temperature, which restructures the proteins, known as *texturization, so that a product can be achieved that is meatier and chewier in combination with other ingredients. Chalmers’ study shows that the nutritional value of meat substitutes available today is often deficient depending on the choice of raw material (often imported soy) and processing conditions (content of anti-nutrients), and on additives (fat quality and salt). A meal containing 150 grams of meat substitutes contributes up to 60 per cent of the maximum recommended daily intake of salt, which according to the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations is 6 grams.


TOPICS: Food; Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: cancer; meat; soy; tofu; vegetarian
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To: karpov

Prehistoric Hominids who ate a primarily plant-based diet evolved into monkeys and apes.

Prehistoric Hominids who learned to hunt and subsisted on high-calorie, high protein meat evolved into men.


21 posted on 12/09/2022 7:48:36 AM PST by Paal Gulli
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To: karpov

Tofu has estrogen and will turn you into a Girly Man ,LOL


22 posted on 12/09/2022 8:01:05 AM PST by butlerweave
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To: semimojo
"...tofu... is pretty nutritious ..."

.

True - but I have one health issue that causes me to avoid tofu - Phytoestrogen(s).

It is plentiful in soy products.
The science is still not settled on whether phytoestrogens - homones
from plants that mimic human hormones have a major effect on
fertility and what-not. They do seem to lower testosterone somewhat.

But the jury is still out on the total science of it all.

But the Chinese eat lots of soy - and there's over a billion
of them - so fertility is probably not an issue with soy.

Other than all of that - the question is WHY eat tofu from a
taste perspective at all? I find it sort-of edible if I dunk it
in some San-J Schezuan sauce - but that stuff can make almost
anything edible - provided that you like spicy food.

So I don't fanatically avoid soy - I just 'casually' avoid it -
if that makes any sense.


23 posted on 12/09/2022 8:49:06 AM PST by GaltAdonis
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

All of a sudden everyone is going on about gluten. “Gluten free” popped up on everything. Who even knows what gluten is when they say, “I can’t have gluten?” I have only known one person who had real celiac disease. But all these fools run around saying they can’t have gluten without a clue as to what it is.

I LOVE GLUTEN I don’t eat much because carbs make me fat, but I loves me some glutenous fresh bread or pizza dough.


24 posted on 12/09/2022 8:53:32 AM PST by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes)
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To: metmom; 4everontheRight; 4Liberty; 5thGenTexan; 45semi; 101stAirborneVet; 300winmag; ...
Prepper ping - VEGETARIAN MEAT SUBSTITUTES

There is no known substitute for meat protein, not even currently among GMO engineered plant proteins.
Consumption of eggs, is the nearest alternative to meat protein, but is not considered vegetarian suitable.

25 posted on 12/09/2022 11:16:54 AM PST by Tilted Irish Kilt
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To: Tilted Irish Kilt

Vegetarian is an ancient native American Indian word that means “bad hunter”.


26 posted on 12/09/2022 11:19:54 AM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: Tilted Irish Kilt
Consumption of eggs, is the nearest alternative to meat protein, but is not considered vegetarian suitable.

Unfertilized eggs are indeed considered vegetarian suitable.

Fertilized ones generally are not.

Now they are not considered vegan suitable but vegans are... not well people.

Cooked eggs are just about the perfect food because we can digest them fully. Not many foods we can do that with.

27 posted on 12/09/2022 11:26:52 AM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (The nation of france was named after a hedgehog... The hedgehog's name was Kevin... Don't ask)
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To: Tilted Irish Kilt

There aren’t much of an6 sources for vitamin B12 outside of beef.

And I’ll wager that not many people who don’t eat beef even give their nutritional needs a second thought.


28 posted on 12/09/2022 11:40:11 AM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith…)
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To: butlerweave; metmom; Harmless Teddy Bear; GaltAdonis; karpov
I have an acquaintance/friend who never consumes any soy or tofu,
as both mimic the female hormone, estrogen.
She has a wonky gene that gives has a defect for breast cancer,
as she, her mother, and maternal grandmother all had breast cancer at the age of 36 years old,
and are concerned about a possible re-occurrence of breast and/or lymph node cancer.
29 posted on 12/09/2022 11:59:34 AM PST by Tilted Irish Kilt
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To: Paal Gulli

“Prehistoric Hominids who learned to hunt and subsisted on high-calorie, high protein meat evolved into men.”


Actually, Prehistoric Hominids who subsisted on scavenged fat and meat from the abandoned kills of large carnivores evolved into men who then learned to hunt and get their own high-calorie, high protein meat.

That’s why modern humans have stomachs only slightly less acidic than those of buzzards and vultures.

https://www.reddit.com/r/zerocarb/comments/8o13c8/human_stomach_ph_compared_to_other_animals_what/


30 posted on 12/09/2022 12:43:51 PM PST by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
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To: Tilted Irish Kilt
Yep.
Always be wary of those pesky 'wonky genes'.
They can be a real killer - literally.
31 posted on 12/09/2022 1:04:54 PM PST by GaltAdonis
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To: karpov

Only a tiny percentage of the food you eat gets absorbed anyway. It doesn’t take much for anti-nutrients to reduce that number to zero.

I’m on Team Carnivore.


32 posted on 12/09/2022 1:25:42 PM PST by Ellendra (A single lie on our side does more damage than a thousand lies on their side.)
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To: Ellendra
"Team Carnivore"

.

I heard - within the past few months or so, that deer -
the supposed herbivores - have recently been observed
in times of drought and food scarcity - to have been killing
and eating birds.

I wish I could remember -

Wait a sec...

I just searched for the topic and found LOTS of articles on this.
I never knew that there was a 'dark side' to Bambi!
But apparently this well known - it just wasn't to me!

LOL!

33 posted on 12/09/2022 1:48:44 PM PST by GaltAdonis
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To: karpov
Low nutritional quality in vegetarian meat substitutes

Exceeded only by poor tastiness quality.

34 posted on 12/09/2022 2:26:44 PM PST by Albion Wilde ("There is no good government at all & none possible."--Mark Twain)
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To: Albion Wilde

"Exceeded only by poor tastiness quality."

Now, let's not be too hasty here.   Cardboard can be seen by some (I guess) to be a plant-based meat substitute.   Now, when you're cooking your cardboard, to enhance the flavor of it, be sure to add a little salt, some pepper, maybe a bit of garlic, and, Voila!


(

:-)

)


(Tomato sauce?)

35 posted on 12/09/2022 2:47:20 PM PST by Songcraft
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To: Songcraft
Now, when you're cooking your cardboard, to enhance the flavor of it, be sure to add a little salt, some pepper, maybe a bit of garlic, and, Voila!

Hahaha!

I don't know why they are flacking all this "plant-based meat." There have always been "veggie burgers" and other "vegetarian" products. Did they think re-naming them would be the road to profits, or mass climate-fear conversions?

Vegetable dishes in an of themselves can be quite delicious. It is the attempts to imitate meat that fail miserably. Who is the market for imitation meat? People who like the taste of meat, which is a biological imperative due to the vitamins and minerals their body is craving. It's better to eat a tasty combo like corn and beans to get a complete protein than to eat one of those soy patties with a lot of spices. They don't really taste like meat, and they don't really taste very good.

36 posted on 12/10/2022 9:20:44 AM PST by Albion Wilde ("There is no good government at all & none possible."--Mark Twain)
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