Score one for the carnivores!
New research from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden found that plant-based substitutes, often considered a "healthy" alternative to actual meat, do NOT contain the nutritional quality of the real thing.
Researchers looked at 44 different meat alternatives available for purchase in Sweden, most of which consisted of soy and pea protein, with some also including the fermented soy product tempeh and mycoproteins (proteins from fungi), and found that the plant-based meat alternatives "don't measure up to the innate nutritional value of consuming animal protein."
The study's lead author Cecilia Mayer Labba said in a university release, "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."
The problems occur with the phytates.
According to Labba, phytates form insoluble compounds with essential dietary minerals like non-heme iron and zinc when they enter the gastrointestinal tract, meaning the intestines can't absorb these nutrients and reap their healthy benefits.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
