Vegan Meats and Poor Health Outcomes

[VeganForum]

by Jack Norris, RD A June 10, 2024 article published in the Washington Post, When plant foods are ultra-processed, the health benefits disappear, reported on a U.K. study examining diet and cardiovascular disease outcomes (Rauber, 2024). The study had a prospective design that measured the participants’ diets and followed their health outcomes for an average […]

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[silva]

You mean like so many omnivores?
Gosh, it's almost as if "vegan" had a meaning that didn't imply health! Like, I don't need to eat animals so I won't

 

[Lou]

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Actually, I find this to be an interesting subject.
an Impossible Whopper isn't any healthier that a beef whopper if you just look at sodium and fat, impossible burgers aren't any better or may be worse than beef. But there are other things to look at. First off beef burgers don't contain any fiber. P-B burgers do. And some of the plant based burgers are fortified with vitamins and minerals so that they contain similar amounts of B12 and iron.and even other vitamins and minerals. Plus plants contain other beneficial nutrients including some things like phytonutrients that no one measures and we don't even fully understand. Plus red meat has been linked to some cancers. That might be the fiber but there might be carcinogens in red meat.

Well it does become somewhat complicated and there are plenty of holes in our knowledge base.
But I don't think there exists a strong argument that beef is better than beans. Add that to the environmental and ethical concerns, plant based is the best way to go.

However one must also remember that for the best health outcomes we must limit processed food.

 

[PTree15]

Actually, I find this to be an interesting subject.
...

However one must also remember that for the best health outcomes we must limit processed food.

(Bold emphasis mine). This is the key, I think. More whole foods, plant-based or otherwise.

 

[silva]

(Bold emphasis mine). This is the key, I think. More whole foods, plant-based or otherwise.

Oh course that's true, but it shouldn't be correlated with being vegan
This conflation of 'vegan=healthy" is such a sore spot with me. The whole need to be so strict or your health will suffer" blah blah blah.
That's no more or less true for those who shun animal products as it is for those who consume them!
Even the tracking apps are based to favor typical omni values rather than true percentages, since vitamins from whole plant sources are absorbed differently. Many omnivores still come out with poor values, but most don't bother to track until they make a diet change- then get bent out of shape!

If you want to discuss the benefits of a plant based diet than discuss plant based diets. I'm rather ticked when people tell me sugar or chips aren't vegan because they're unhealthy!

 

[Blues]

Most of the food I consume is organic.
Surprisingly ,there is a good selection down here .
I assume they are honest in their labelling.

 

[PTree15]

Oh course that's true, but it shouldn't be correlated with being vegan
This conflation of 'vegan=healthy" is such a sore spot with me. The whole need to be so strict or your health will suffer" blah blah blah.
That's no more or less true for those who shun animal products as it is for those who consume them!
Even the tracking apps are based to favor typical omni values rather than true percentages, since vitamins from whole plant sources are absorbed differently. Many omnivores still come out with poor values, but most don't bother to track until they make a diet change- then get bent out of shape!

If you want to discuss the benefits of a plant based diet than discuss plant based diets. I'm rather ticked when people tell me sugar or chips aren't vegan because they're unhealthy!

Oh, I agree. I think so many people don't really know what vegan actually means.

 

[Brian W]

As long as your general "bad" food (i.e.salt, oil, sugar...) levels are fairly low, eating processed foods won't do you any harm, and besides, a veggie burger contains more fiber and less fat than a meat burger and virtually no saturated fat so it is still less unhealthy even if it isn't perfect.

Vegetable Burgers Vs. Beef | Livestrong.com

In general, you'll get less fat and calories and more fiber in veggie burgers than in their beef counterparts. The downside is veggie burgers are higher in sodium -- although still in a moderate range -- and lower in protein. When you eat veggie burgers, you typically get three times less total fat and seven times less saturated fat than when you eat average beef burgers, according to the American Dietetic Association.

Sorry, that comparison was out of context with the thread purpose but I will keep it here for interest. There are meat evangelists who try to say vegan meat is unhealthy so the comparison is perhaps good in that context.

 

[Lou]

Based on the widespread consumption of the foods in the plant-sourced UPF category, it’s not just plant-based eaters who are risking their heart health. The authors’ key message was that just because a food is plant-based or mostly plant-based, doesn’t make it healthy. This finding won’t come as a surprise to many people, and it’s likely not a source of concern for ethical vegans. Yet some of the media coverage has claimed that the shows veganism is unhealthy.​

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In particular, some outlets have used the study to claim that meat alternatives are bad for your heart. But the study doesn’t distinguish the risks associated with specific plant-sourced UPF. In addition, meat alternatives only accounted for 0.2 percent of the calories consumed by participants, according to Rauber. “[W]e cannot draw specific conclusions related to this particular type of food,” she said.​

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Is Processed Vegan Food Bad For Your Heart? A Fact Check

A new study links a higher risk of cardiovascular disease to plant-based ultra-processed foods. Here we fact-check the media coverage.

plantbasednews.org