Being plant-based doesn't always mean health, especially when it comes to vegetarian "meat."

It's not long before the new year begins, and people are still thinking about their resolutions and goals for 2022. Many people choose to stay healthy, quit drinking, or start a new hobby. Vegetarian magazines and organizations are pushing for a plant-based diet — calling it the "ultimate New Year's resolution." Plant-based meats tend to be high in sodium, hyper-processed, and no healthier than meats they imitate.

At the same time, nearly half of consumers think they are more nutritious. So if your new year's resolution is health-related, you might want to reconsider switching to a plant-based diet – if it involves plant-based meat.

Impossible Burger, for example, is one of the most impressive meatless foods. Its products are made from a blend of soy, potato protein, coconut and sunflower oil, and it can bleed even as if it really were. Meanwhile, it has the same calorie count and saturated fat levels as McDonald's quarter-pound patties, and it has six times as much sodium as McDonald's.

The global plant-based meat market is expected to explode to $85 billion by 2030. Merchants took note of this and launched a selection of burgers, sausages, chunks, minced meats and seafood without any trace of animal products.

What are the nutritional benefits?

According to a recent study, the nutritional benefits of plant-based foods are minimal. Researchers from the Institute for Food and Biotechnology Innovation in Singapore simulated the results of replacing it with animal-free versions of bacon, chicken, beef burgers and ice cream.

The results showed that diets using plant-based foods instead of animal foods had lower levels of vitamin B12, calcium, potassium, zinc and magnesium than recommended daily values, while sodium, sugar and saturated fat levels were higher.

Stephan van Vliet, a postdoctoral fellow at Duke University's Institute of Molecular Physiology, points out that even with the addition of vitamins and minerals, these products cannot be nutritionally substituted for each other.

Animal sources like meat, milk, and eggs are complete proteins, meaning they contain enough of the nine essential amino acids we have to get from our diet every day. Plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and grains often lack one or more of these amino acids and need to be mixed.

Plant-based meat manufacturers believe that their products contain similar amounts of protein, which are of the same quality as animal proteins. But focusing on protein is too "simplistic," van Vliet says, "and food contains hundreds to thousands of compounds that can affect human metabolism and health." ”

Van Vliet and colleagues compared 190 molecules in plant-based meat substitutes and grass-fed ground beef and found that 90 percent of them were different. "Plant-based meat substitutes lack certain amino acids and derivatives, such as creatine, taurine, and onzeline, all of which have an impact on our health and underlying brain function as well as muscle function," van Vliet noted.

Other metabolites such as polyphenols and antioxidants are found in larger quantities in plant-based meats or are only found in plants. He argues that foods of plant and animal origin are complementary in our diets, with some nutrients being better obtained from animal sources and others obtained from plants.

Plant-based terminology

"People choose plant-based burgers for a variety of reasons," says Rosie Schwartz, a consulting nutritionist in Toronto, "including reducing meat intake." But she believes that if it's because of health issues, consumers should rethink their reasons.

"Because what's called plant-based is replaced by it, it's really leading us in the wrong direction," Schwartz said.

According to nutritionists and Canadian food guidelines, plant-based is the recommended way we should eat. But according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, "plant-based" also refers to anything from meat to paint to pillowcases, as long as they are made primarily or entirely of plants.

Just because it's made from plants doesn't mean it's healthy. "I do think it's very confusing for consumers. It may not be chicken, but everything else that comes with the nuggets can be harmful to our health," van Vliet said.

The future of plant-based meat

Previously, plant-based meat companies focused on the taste, texture and appearance of their products. Targeting meat eaters, these companies have created plant-based wonders designed to make it look, taste and feel like something real.

Impossible Foods, the creator of Impossible Burger, says 90 percent of its customers are still meat eaters. Its business is not to turn vegetarian lovers who eat salads and legumes into fake meat consumers.

"Impossible Foods' whole mission is to create plant-based products that compete directly with animal meat," says Esther Cohn, communications manager at Impossible Foods, "and if you eat five beef burgers a week, we want you to change them, even if it's just a try." ”

With the booming market and new animal-free proteins made from cells in the lab or fungi in fermenters, the options are undoubtedly endless. But can they also be transformed to be healthier? We will have to wait and see.