Are plant-based meat substitutes good for health?

Plant-based diets (PBDs) have been shown to positively impact cardiometabolic health due to the presence of a wide range of bioactive constituents, e.g., vitamins, dietary fibres, carotenoids, and so on. The plant-based diets, developed from sustainable plant-based sources, aim to mimic the taste and texture attributes of their animal-based counterparts. With their growing popularity, it is important to critically evaluate their health effects relative to a typical omnivorous diet.

The study examined the effects of plant-based and animal-based diets on heart and metabolic health in people at risk of type 2 diabetes. Researchers hypothesized that switching to plant-based meat alternatives (PBMA) would improve health and lower disease risks. It was an 8-week trial with 89 participants. 44 were given PBMA, while the rest continued with animal-based meats. LDL-cholesterol was the main focus, with other risk factors like glucose levels also assessed. Some participants also monitored blood pressure and glucose continuously for 14 days.

The results revealed no significant effects on the lipid-lipoprotein profile; however, both dietary regimes were associated with lower fructosamine and higher HOMA-β over time. No apparent differences were noted between the ABMD and the PBMD groups. No clear benefits of PBMD on cardiometabolic health relative to ABMD was observed. Furthermore, the subpopulation that underwent glucose monitoring reported more effective glycemic management in the ABMD group.

These findings suggested that incorporating PBMAs into the diet could affect nutritional intake and potentially compromise glycemic management. This implied that the health benefits of PBDs should not be conflated with PBMD because PBMDs are distinct from PBDs in terms of their nutrition and impact on cardiometabolic health.

Reference: Darel Wee Kiat Toh, Amanda Simin Fu, Kervyn Ajay Mehta, Nicole Yi Lin Lam, Sumanto Haldar, Christiani Jeyakumar Henry; Plant-based meat analogues (PBMAs) and their effects on cardiometabolic health: An 8-week randomized controlled trial comparing PBMAs with their corresponding animal-based foods; Journal: Journal: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2024.04.006