Meat or not to meat? Plant-based substitutes challenged in study

Background

Diets based on plants (PBDs) were found to improve the health of cardiometabolic systems because of being rich in diverse variety of bioactive components, e.g., vitamins carotenoids, dietary fibers and more. While they have many advantages, long-term compliance for foodies can be difficult due to the fact that the consumption of meat is embedded in the past, culture and the social customs.

PBMAs made from plant-based, sustainable sources, are designed to mimic the organoleptic characteristics of counterparts made from animals. Due to their increasing popularity, it is crucial to evaluate the health benefits of PBMAs in comparison to a standard omnivorous diet. Particularly there is a dearth of studies within the Asian diet.

About this Study for meat

In order to fill the gap that has been identified in literature, present study sought to evaluate the effects that ABMD as well as PBMD on the cardiometabolic health of Singaporeans with a high risk of having type 2 diabetes (T2DM). The primary hypothesis was that the substitution of PBMA will result in better cardiometabolic health, and less risk caused by non-communicable illnesses.

It was an eight-week randomized controlled trial that included the participation of 89 people. Of them, 44 were instructed to change to a fixed amount of PBMAs and the remainder switched to meat made from animals that were similar to PBMAs. The primary outcome was LDL-cholesterol. The secondary outcomes included other cardiovascular risk factors (e.g. glucose, fructosamine and fructosamine) as well as dietary information. Within a specific sub-population the secondary outcome comprised a measure of blood pressure in the ambulatory setting at baseline and post-intervention, and continuously monitored glucose levels for 14 days.

Study Results

There were no significant effects on the lipid-lipoprotein profile, However, both diets were related to lower fructosamine and a higher HOMA-b level over time. There were no apparent differences among the ABMD and PBMD groups. The results didn't show any obvious advantages of PBMD on the cardiometabolic state compared to ABMD.

The subpopulation who underwent glucose monitoring had more successful glucose management within those in the ABMD group. The blood pressure of the patients improved modestly following the use of an ABMD but not with a one-time PBMD. These results suggest that the positive health effects of PBDs shouldn't be confused with PBMDs. This is due to PBMDs are different from PBDs in regards to nutrition and their impact on the cardiometabolic health.

When looking at PBMAs against the animal-based diets, significant distinctions were found in macro- and micronutrient profiles. The ABMD group had a higher intake of protein intake, and when it comes to micronutrients the PBMAs were more sodium-rich. Calcium and potassium were discovered more abundant in a few PBMAs.

The more positive results in the glycemic index of the ABMD group could be caused by the less carbohydrate intake and more protein consumption compared with those in the PBMD group. The bioavailability of protein was not determined, however studies have shown that there is a decrease in digestion and absorption of PBMA proteins when compared with meat made from animals. This causes a difference in insulin secretion as well as the production of digestive hormones.

The evaluation and selection of a variety of popular and widely accessible current PBMAs is a major advantage of this study. The intervention method was able to be adapted to allow the evaluation of more diverse effects on diet following a shift to PBMD. In addition, the tightly controlled setting, in which the provision or consumption of foods took place at certain time periods, helped the impact of confounders being minimized.

Conclusions

In conclusion, despite the increasing acceptance of PBMAs as sources of protein alternatives however, the findings presented here don't confirm the notion that there are superior benefits to cardiometabolic health connected to PBMDs in comparison to a diet that is omnivorous and includes animal-based products.

Incorporating PBMAs in the diet can impact nutritional intake and impact glycemic management. This means there are health benefits to PBDs shouldn't be confused with PBMD since PBMDs are different from PBDs in the sense of their nutrition and influence on the health of cardiometabolic systems.

The research results presented here provide the impetus and incentive in the industry of food to study and create new PBMAs with more nutritional benefits and bioaccessibility. Current focus is on organoleptic qualities, and the expansion of the scope to take into account sustainability and nutrition will benefit both consumers and producers.