New research shows that although plant-based meat products are generally healthier than meat equivalents, they can be higher in sugar and are often lacking important nutrients found in real meat. Lead author Maria Shahid said that despite the growing popularity of plant-based meat substitutes – often based on health reasons – there is very little evidence of the actual health impact of these products. “Both plant-based and processed meats mostly fall into the ultra-processed category, so this raises concerns about their role in a healthy diet,” she said. “While we found plant-based meat products were generally healthier than their processed meat equivalents, healthier alternatives would still be lean unprocessed meats and legumes, beans and falafel.”
Plant-based meats, or meat analogues, are designed to mimic meat products and act as a substitute for meat protein. They are commonly made from plant-based vegetable protein (soy protein, wheat protein, pea and rice protein, or a combination) or fermentation-based fungus protein (mycoprotein).
With consumer demand driving the proliferation of new products emulating the structure, texture, taste and appearance of traditional meat products, sales in Australia alone are estimated to rise to almost A$3 billion by 2030. George Institute researchers used the Institute’s FoodSwitch database to assess and compare the nutrient content and nutritional quality of plant-based meat analogues and their equivalent meat products available in Australian supermarkets. The types of meat products and plant-based meat analogue equivalents studied were burgers, meatballs, mince, sausages, bacon, coated poultry, plain poultry, and meat with pastry. They found that using the Australian Government’s Health Star Rating system, overall, plant-based meat analogues were found to have a healthier nutritional profile compared with equivalent meat products and their energy content was marginally lower. While the protein content was similar in both categories, plant-based meat analogues on average had significantly less saturated fat and sodium, as well as more fibre than meat products.
