Experts debate the harms and benefits of a plant-based diet
Vegan 'fake meat' products linked to increased deaths from cardiovascular disease, experts say, study finds A plant-based diet can improve your health, but not if it's ultra-processed. So veggie burgers and cakes increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, study says.
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Swapping meat and dairy products for plant-based ones may not be as easy a health solution as you think, writes Britain's Daily Mail.
Although eating fresh vegetables may reduce your risk of heart disease, it may be worth reconsidering how much you eat vegan burgers and cakes that you add to your diet are offered by the publication.
Scientists have found that choosing highly processed plant-based foods, such as vegan sausages, burgers designed to replace animal products, and cakes and crisps, is associated with a 15% increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.
This follows from an analysis of the diets of more than 118,000 study participants by the UK Biobank.
Highly processed foods rich in fat, salt and sugar have long been criticized for increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke .
A study published in the journal Lancet Regional Health – Europe shows that these harmful substances are present even in plant-based foods, high consumption of which leads to a 15% increase in mortality from heart disease.
In the study, which involved experts from Imperial College London, used data from more than 118,000 Britons aged 40 to 69 whose diets were assessed over at least two days.
Scientists divide food into plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, cereals, breads, cakes and sweets, and animal-based foods, such as fish, poultry, red meat, eggs and dairy products.
These two groups were then divided into ultraprocessed and non-ultraprocessed groups.
These data were then compared with hospital and mortality data to obtain information on cardiovascular disease.
People who ate a lot of highly processed plant foods had a 7% higher risk of developing diseases such as clogged heart arteries and a 15% higher risk of dying compared to vegetarians who ate fewer plant foods.
A 10% increase in consumption of unprocessed vegetarian foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, led to an 8% lower risk of heart disease.
Deaths from cardiovascular disease fell by a fifth among vegetarians who ate the least fatty acids, and by 13% among cardiovascular diseases overall, caused by the buildup of fatty deposits inside the arteries.
Dr Esther Vamos, co-author of the study from Imperial College London's School of Public Health, said: “Fresh plant-based foods such as fruit and vegetables, whole grains and legumes are known to have important health and environmental benefits, while ultra-processed foods Often marketed as healthy, this large-scale study shows that ultra-processed plant-based foods do not appear to have protective effects on health and are associated with poor health outcomes.”
Scientists suggest that dietary supplements and industrial pollutants present in these products can cause oxidative stress and inflammation.
They added that dietary guidelines promoting a plant-based diet and reducing meat consumption should also emphasize the importance of avoiding fatty acids for good heart health.
Study author Dr. Fernanda Rauber, an expert in preventive medicine at the University of Sun – Paulo in Brazil, said this is the first study to show that highly processed plant foods are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
“Although these foods are plant-based, due to their composition and processing methods, they may contribute to the development of risk factors such as dyslipidemia and hypertension,” she comments. – Dietary additives and industrial pollutants present in these foods can cause oxidative stress and inflammation, further exacerbating the risks. Thus, our results support the need for plant-based food choices that take into account the degree of processing to improve cardiovascular health.”
But independent experts said it was vital that the study's findings were put into context, the Daily Mail noted. They described how the study combined all plant fats, including chips, cakes, sweets and other fatty foods that are known to be bad for heart health.
Professor Günter Kuhnle, nutrition and food science expert at the University of Reading, said: “The findings of the latest study into ultra-processed foods are not surprising as 'ultra-processed plant foods' include foods known to have adverse health effects. : foods that are high in sugar, fat and salt. These include, for example, “baked goods, buns and cakes”, “confectionery” and “soft drinks”, and their health effects were well known even before How the concept of ultra-recycling became popular.”
“This may cause confusion among general readers as they may be misinterpreted as plant-based alternatives to animal products, such as plant-based drinks or meat alternatives. However, in this study, these products appear to represent only a small proportion of total consumption.” ultra-processed food,” emphasizes Professor Kuhnle.
He adds that it is also “unsurprising” that eating more minimally processed foods such as fruit and vegetables has a positive impact on heart health.
Dr Dwayne Mellor, a dietitian and spokesman for the British Dietetic Association, also noted that the way the study was conducted had to be taken into account.
“The study looked at the effects of all ultra-processed plant foods – while this included plant-based meat alternatives, they only provided 0.2% of the energy from ultra-processed foods consumed by the participants monitored during the study,” he said.
“The main foods considered ultra-processed plant-based were processed bakery products, including packaged breads, pastries, cakes and cookies, as well as chips and soft drinks,” the nutritionist notes.
Dr Mellor added: “This study therefore perhaps highlights the problem that many animal-free foods, including biscuits, crisps, confectionery and soft drinks, are technically plant-based, but most people do not consider them to be a necessary part of a healthy diet.
“It is therefore important to stress that just because a food or drink is technically plant-based does not mean it is healthy.”
Dr Hilda Mulroney, a nutrition and health expert at London Metropolitan University, said the study's findings would 'cause a stir'. She said: “This is an area worth exploring; I don't agree with the idea that just because something is 'plant-based' it is automatically healthy.
“However, I also don't I think when people think of “plant based” they mean breads, cereals, etc. I think they are focusing more on alternatives to meat, fish and dairy products.’
She added: “While some may suggest that the message of this study is that all highly processed plant foods are unhealthy, I think what the study actually shows is that a poor diet is associated with an increased risk of chronic disease.” .
Dr. Mulroney also believes the study has its limitations. She noted: “The study is still limited to showing associations and cannot prove causation. It also relies entirely on the NOVA classification system, which has raised a number of concerns, particularly because it suggests that the health effects of foods depend solely on the degree of processing, rather than their nutritional value. For example, breakfast cereals are classified as highly processed foods and so should be avoided, according to the authors, but… we know that breakfast cereals make an important contribution to the absorption of a range of nutrients.”
Food additives are foods that have undergone various modifications to extend their shelf life or make them more palatable to the consumer, or sometimes both, the Daily Mail notes.
A simple sign that a product is categorised as ultra-processed is if it contains ingredients you wouldn't find in your cupboard, such as colourings, sweeteners and preservatives that are undetectable. Another clue is the amount of fat, salt and sugar contained in each package, with ultra-processed foods typically containing large amounts of these.
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