Plant-based meat alternatives are better for your heart than real meat

Plant-based meat alternatives improve cardiovascular disease risk factors compared to animal meat.

This is supported by a review of studies published today in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, which reports that despite significant variation in the nutritional value of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs), they generally have a more heart-healthy nutritional profile than real meat.

“Commercially available PBMAs have a diverse nutritional composition but generally have a cardioprotective nutritional profile compared to meat, including lower amounts of saturated fatty acids and higher fiber per serving. Available randomized clinical trials of PBMAs are promising and suggest that replacing meat with PBMAs may improve cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, including lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels,” the study authors wrote.

“PBMAs do not appear to have a negative impact on other CVD risk factors such as blood pressure, despite their classification as ultra-processed foods and the high sodium content of many products,” the researchers added. “These improvements in CVD risk factors may translate into a reduced risk of developing CVD; however, high-quality long-term studies are needed to assess CVD outcomes.”

What are plant-based meat alternatives?

Plant-based meat alternatives are typically highly processed foods made from plant ingredients that can replace meat in the diet.

The study authors reviewed studies on plant-based meat alternatives from 1970 to 2023 to assess what is known about their nutritional composition and effects on cardiovascular disease risk factors such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

The researchers reported that several studies suggest that plant-based meat alternatives may improve heart disease risk factors, such as cholesterol levels. They also found that these products are not associated with increased blood pressure, despite the high sodium content of some of them.

Benefits of Plant-Based Meat Alternatives Over Real Meat

Christopher Gardner, PhD, chair of the American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee and professor of medicine and nutrition researcher at Stanford University in California, discussed the many qualities that make plant-based meat alternatives a healthy choice over meat.

"Saturated fat is lower, unsaturated fat is higher, and fiber is higher in PBMA compared to animal meats, all of which suggest that they are 'healthier' for cardiometabolic risk factors than animal meats," said Gardner, who was not involved in the study.

"Meat and animal products contain carnitine and choline, which are precursors to TMAO, and they are absent from PBMA. TMAO has emerged as a potentially important new risk factor for heart disease. This may be another reason for the potential benefit of PBMA," he added.

Nutritional Value of Plant-Based Meat Alternatives

Gardner argues that while PBMAs may be highly processed, that shouldn't detract from their potential benefits when used as a meat substitute.

"The new generation of PBMAs has taken the approach of not just being an alternative, but being an alternative that looks, smells and tastes as much like animal meat as possible, with the hope that people will choose them over animal meat," Gardner said.

“Healthy versus unhealthy is a false dichotomy. Good versus bad is the same thing. Unprocessed versus ultra-processed is the same thing,” he added. “Some foods that could be described as ultra-processed have a better nutritional profile than others. Some PBMAs have a better nutritional profile than many other ultra-processed foods. If demonizing PBMAs because of their ultra-processed nature leads to people consuming animal meat instead of PBMAs, I think that misinterprets the intent of warning people about ultra-processed foods.”