Beyond Impossible Meat

Beyond Impossible Meat – Are Plant-Based Meats Healthier?

In the past three years, you may have noticed an abundance of plant-based meat alternatives popping out at your favorite restaurant and the grocery store.

When there is something new and different on the market, people often clamor to try it and talk about it – incessantly.

And something also tends to happen: it turns into some magic health food.

I am not sure why, but I often see it.

Years ago, everyone was talking about acai berries, juice, bowls, supplements, and all its fabulousness. Including weight loss aspects.

That one I never understood, and never bothered to investigate the origin of how it somehow became a weight-loss food. Acai was not, and still is not a weight-loss food.

There was nothing special about acai. All that I could figure out was that it was exotic and different. I just called it a “Brazilian blueberry” and would wonder why we needed to import a high antioxidant fruit from another continent when we had blueberries right here? Which are also very high in antioxidants.

It was a fruit – that is all. Not magical at all.

I see this happen a lot. Something new comes along, and suddenly it is healthy food. Weird.  

Step in the plant-based “meats.”

Why people gravitate to these varies. Perhaps they want to eat less meat or no meat, for humanitarian reasons, environmental reasons, or religious beliefs. I get that. Somehow, we still have to make food taste like meat that isn’t meat.

But when people start spouting about it being healthier or less processed? Hard no.

With the resources available at our fingertips, I have to wonder how people thought it was more nutritious? No.

NUTRITION PROFILE: 

I compared the regular Whopper with their plant-based option a while ago, mainly because it was the in-the-moment food.

I had people offended that I suggested that Burger King was a place to go. Back down for a second and listen – it was merely a way to compare a “regular” version with a famous “plant-based” version. There are many ways people can make and prepare their version of the plant-based meats now that people can get them at the grocery stores.

So, here I compare 4 ounces of ground beef and the two most popular plant-based meat options available in the market as of spring 2022.

Now, I personally use 93% lean or leaner when using ground beef.

However, the Impossible company uses the 80/20 version of ground beef for comparison. They are closer to the 85% lean ground beef when looked at side-by-side.

Compared to the 80% ground beef version, the plant-based versions appear leaner and lower in calories.

Because of this, I included the leaner and the less lean versions of ground beef on the table.

Nutrition Comparison of 4 oz of beef, Impossible, and Beyond burgers

By looking at the comparison, the leaner the choice, the lower calories, and the lower the total fat. Because beef is animal-based and cholesterol is found in animal foods and not plant foods, there is a difference. However, dietary cholesterol isn’t as big a concern to overall health as once thought. Total fat and types of fat, specifically saturated fat, are more the focus. I go into that here: Is Blood Cholesterol Still Relevant?

The sodium difference is significant. Most foods naturally have some sodium. Sodium recommendations are less than 2,300 mg sodium a day, and plant-based meats are about 15% of the recommended max (and other toppings will add more sodium).

Meat, animal food, does not have carbohydrates and not fiber. Fiber is only in plants, so meat and other animal-based food will not have fiber. So the fiber difference makes sense. And seriously, eat fruit, vegetable, beans, nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains for your fiber.

Protein is not much different between the different foods – virtually the same between the plant versions and the original.

Iron is also virtually the same, though it is important to note that we can absorb iron from animal sources more efficiently than plant sources.

So, the point in looking at the plant-based versions compared to the animal versions, the overall nutrients are very similar, with the most significant differences in the sodium. The cholesterol, total carbohydrates, and fiber are also different. However, this is consistent with an animal vs. plant food of anything.

INGREDIENTS

People have suggested that the plant versions are less processed. Now all food is processed to some extent. Even picking a tomato from your backyard and taking it inside, and washing it is a form of processing.

When it comes to ingredients, there are significant differences. For example, ground beef has ONE component and naturally occurring vitamins and minerals, whereas the plant-based versions have 20 -23 ingredients, including added vitamins and minerals.

Ingredients of Ground Beef:

Beef – that’s it. Pronounceable too.

The following vitamins and minerals that naturally occur in beef and are not added: thiamin[B1], riboflavin [B2], vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, niacin, vitamin B12, choline, selenium, zinc, iron, phosphorous, magnesium, potassium.

Ingredients of Impossible Burger:

Water, Soy Protein Concentrate, Coconut Oil, Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavors, 2% Or Less Of: Potato Protein, Methylcellulose, Yeast Extract, Cultured Dextrose, Food Starch Modified, Soy Leghemoglobin, Salt, Mixed Tocopherols (Antioxidant), Soy Protein Isolate

Vitamins and Minerals: Zinc Gluconate, Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin B12. Contains: Soy

Ingredients of Beyond Burger:

Water, pea protein*, expeller-pressed canola oil, refined coconut oil, rice protein, natural flavors, dried yeast, cocoa butter, methylcellulose, and less than 1% of potato starch, salt, potassium chloride, beet juice color, apple extract, pomegranate concentrate, sunflower lecithin, vinegar, lemon juice concentrate, vitamins and minerals (zinc sulfate, niacinamide [vitamin B3], pyridoxine hydrochloride [vitamin B6], cyanocobalamin [vitamin B12], calcium pantothenate).

*Peas are legumes. People with severe allergies to legumes like peanuts should be cautious when introducing pea protein into their diet because of the possibility of a pea allergy. Contains no peanuts or tree nuts.

POTENTIAL ALLERGENS:

Now, while rare, people can develop what is considered an allergy to red meat because of a tick bite known as the alpha-gal syndrome. People with this syndrome know to not eat red meat.

As noted in the Impossible Burger ingredients, it contains the allergen soy.

And the Beyond Burger ingredients include pea protein. And as stated on their label and website, people with an allergy to legumes would use caution when eating them.

Bottom line: If you want to eat the plant-based meats great. People who want the taste of meat without eating meat, have an alternative.

But it is an alternative only. Not healthier nutritionally and not short on ingredients.

Ground Beef Nutrition Information from the USDA Food Data Central website

Impossible Burger Information from the Impossible Foods website

Beyond Meat Information from the Beyond Meat website