Long-term randomised controlled trials and prospective cohort studies that evaluate myocardial infarction, stroke incidence essential
Plant based meat alternatives may have some attributes that protect the heart, Canadian researchers have reported in a recent review published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.
But, they have also flagged that long term trials and studies that evaluate incidence of cardiovascular events such as stroke and myocardial infarction in people who have been on such diets for long, are needed for more definitive conclusions. Plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs) are foods that taste like meat but contain ingredients such as soy, pea, wheat and certain kinds of fungi.
“Overall, the nutritional profiles of PBMAs vary considerably but generally align with recommendations for improving cardiovascular health; compared with meat, PBMAs are usually lower in saturated fat and higher in polyunsaturated fat and dietary fibre. Some dietary trials that have replaced meat with PBMAs have reported improvements in CVD risk factors, including total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein B-100, and body weight. No currently available evidence suggests that the concerning aspects of PMBAs (eg, food processing and high sodium content) negate the potential cardiovascular benefits. We conclude that replacing meat with PBMAs may be cardioprotective,” wrote the researchers from the University of British Columbia.
The researchers also wrote that most PBMAs are ultra-processed foods (UPFs): foods produced primarily from substances extracted from whole food sources (eg, sugar, salt, oil, protein) or synthesized in a laboratory (eg, flavour enhancers, food colouring, etc). For this reason, the potential health implications of PBMAs have been questioned by the public and health professionals. Health risks of ultraprocessed foods are currently being widely discussed. A recent 30-year study that looked at all cause mortality in subjects consuming ultraprocessed foods finds higher mortality links and not just related to cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
