Plant-based meat is more nutritious

Both saturated fat and cholesterol are linked to coronary heart disease, which affects more than 18 million Americans.^{6,7,8, 9} Stanford medical school researchers publishing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2020 found that consuming Beyond Meat products instead of organic chicken and organic grass-fed red meat led to statistically significant reductions in saturated fat intake as well as improvements in LDL cholesterol and heart disease risk factors. Even though participants ate the same amount of food in both the plant-based and animal-based  conditions, weight was significantly lower in the plant-based condition.¹⁰ In other words, plant-based meat led to weight loss and reduced cardiovascular risk factors relative to the consumption of organic animal-based meat.

Gut microbiota metabolize fiber into health-promoting short-chain fatty acids, which may help regulate blood pressure, blood glucose, and lipid metabolism.¹¹ Consuming dietary fiber can help prevent and decrease type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and colon cancer.^{12, 13} The average American gets less than half their recommended daily value of dietary fiber,¹⁴ but subbing plant-based meat for conventional can help close this gap. A 2021 randomized controlled trial found that replacing conventional meat with plant-based meat about five times per week increased participants’ weekly fiber consumption by an average of approximately 19 grams and increased fiber-metabolizing pathways in their gut microbiota.¹⁵ Similarly, Stanford scientists found that eating Beyond Meat instead of organic animal-based meat increased fiber intake by 35 grams per week on average — a 22% increase.¹⁶

Alternative proteins contain a comparable amount of protein to conventional meats, and many plant-based products exceed animal-based protein content. In a randomized controlled trial published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, male athletes who consumed Quorn’s mycoprotein (a fungi-based product) after strenuous exercise more than doubled their muscle growth rates relative to athletes who consumed milk protein afterward. ¹⁷

Alternative proteins often replace processed meats, which are high in sodium — as shown in the nugget nutrition facts above. Commercially available plant-based meats contain more sodium than unprepared meat. For example, a Beyond or Impossible burger provides roughly 16 percent of the recommended daily value of sodium. However, alternative proteins have already been seasoned at the point of sale and conventional unprepared meat has not. The difference shrinks dramatically after meal preparation: For instance, the Impossible Whopper contains only 10 percent more sodium than the traditional Whopper. ¹⁸ Simply adding cheese to the Whopper contributes more than 3.5x the sodium that swapping a conventional patty for the Impossible does.¹⁹  In the Stanford trial, there was no statistically significant difference in sodium intake or blood pressure across the plant-based and conventional meat conditions.²⁰ 

Unlike processed meats (i.e., bacon or hot dogs), alternative proteins do not use nitrite and nitrate preservatives, which produce N-nitroso chemicals that can lead to bowel cancer.²¹

Alternative proteins can continue to be enhanced through product reformulation efforts that  improve their nutrition. The ingredients currently used in plant-based meat are not fully optimized for this purpose, so the alternative protein industry is working within the limits of the existing supply chain.²² Ongoing research may enable plant-based meat producers to use even more nutritious crops, ingredients, and processes; further optimize fat content; and more.²³