Column, Live Longer, Live Stronger: The Benefits of Meat Analogs

Most food choices we make are simply due to ingrained habits; a very small percentage of our conditions and diseases are from our genes. What we inherit most from our parents that influences our own health is how they cooked and what they ate. Breaking these habits may be one of the most challenging tasks we face.

On the other hand, a simple yet effective step in breaking these bad habits is writing down our goals in the form of “if/then” statements on a piece of paper, making a healthier option the default option. For example, “If I am craving a burger, then I will choose a Beyond burger” provides your next step, the substitute you have in mind. It can make a huge difference in your success to live longer and live stronger!

Eating meat is an example of a habit that has grown dramatically over time. Plant-based meat alternatives, also known as “meat analogs” have been around for several decades, but only recently have they become one of the hottest topics in the food research world. We now can have a similar taste and texture to meats with analogs that are affordable, all of which can help us transition away from animal products themselves. And it’s working: In recent years in North America, plant-meat sales have increased by 37%.

But how healthy are these meat analogs? They are, after all, highly processed, and definitely not a whole food. The clinical trial “Study With Appetizing PlantFood-Meat Eating Alternative Trial” by researchers at Stanford University compared the effect of eating meat analogs to eating actual animal meat on human health by having people eat at least two servings a day of plant-based meat instead of animal meat for eight weeks each, attempting to keep everything else as similar as possible. Instead of burgers from cows, sausage from pigs and breasts from chickens, they ate plant-based burgers, sausage and chicken breasts. While the researchers could have chosen the worst possible meats to compare to, the meat they used for the eight meat weeks was organic and grass-fed.

The plant-based meat phase showed a significant drop in trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) levels, which is associated with heart failure, kidney failure and the hardening of our arteries, the No. 1 killer in the U.S.

The plant-based meat phase also achieved a significant drop in cholesterol — no surprise there.

The big surprise was weight: While eating the plant-based meats, participants lost a few pounds, so weight was modestly but significantly lower after eight weeks compared to when they were eating the equivalents in animal meats. They lost weight even though there were no differences in reported total calorie intake or physical activity levels. This has happened in other studies where there are the same calories with more weight loss, slimmer waists and less body fat while eating the meat analogs. Interestingly, the resting metabolic rate for those eating a vegetarian diet is up to 20% higher! So, vegetarians are basically burning more calories in their sleep. Cool beans! (Hint, hint!)

The healthiest diet is whole foods that are plant-based, where nothing has been added and nothing has been taken away. However, meat analogs can be effective in helping us transition to a whole food, plant-based diet without having to go cold turkey; no pun intended.

So, where do you begin? Start by spending some time in the produce section of the grocery store, where they have many options for plant-based cheeses, sausages, tempeh “bacon” and other interesting things you can substitute. Then, check out all of the non-dairy milks and yogurts in the dairy section of the store. Lastly, in the frozen section, there are burgers, chicken breasts, chicken nuggets, sausages, black bean burgers and more. Our personal favorites are Beyond Burgers, Morningstar Farms sausage patties, Gardein Ultimate Chick'n Strips and Gardein Chick'n Breasts.

If you want a slower transition, try using half almond milk, half real cheese or half of your chopped chicken with the real versions of these foods and gradually move up to 100% plant-based. By doing this, you can lose weight, reduce cholesterol, and reduce heart failure, kidney failure and atherosclerosis. This will also help reduce the number of 25 million animals slaughtered each day in the U.S. while reducing greenhouse gasses, more than any other measure you can take. What’s not to love?

Cheryl Mothes is a natural health nutrition counselor who loves helping others realize the impact nutrition can have on living their best, as well as preventing and reversing disease. She and her husband Rick Hetzel own Fresh Healthy Café to offer healthy food choices to the community.