There is great debate about whether vegetarian or vegan diet more or less healthy than that which includes meat. Of course, everyone protects their own. Omnivores remind vegetarians and vegans that they need to take vitamin B12 supplements, even though they don’t need supplements at all. Vegetarians and vegans, on the other hand, talk about the fat in red meat. All this, of course, without taking into account ethical or moral reasons why everyone chooses their own diet. Another argument against plant-based diets is that they tend to vegetarians eat more ultra-processed foods. Same for vegans. But is this true?
To settle the dispute once and for all, the team scientists from Imperial College London and the universities of Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Ghent (Belgium)conducted a study comparing data from 200,000 people registered in British Biobank.
It is a database of voluntary information about the habits and long-term health of a very large sample of people, allowing observational studies to be conducted without the need to specifically recruit volunteers. Attention was paid to each person’s diet and the foods they typically included in their daily diet. Thus, it was seen that vegans and vegetarians do indeed eat more ultra-processed foods. But it has a few nuances that we must take into account.
Yes, vegetarians eat more ultra-processed foods, but what does that mean?
The difference in ultraprocessed food intake for each diet type was significant, but not huge. In particular, vegetarians had higher intakes with a difference of 1.3 percentage points and for vegans 1.2. This difference was determined by adjusting the percentage of ultra-processed foods consumed between these two diet types and regular red meat consumers. The summary of all this is that vegans and vegetarians eat more ultra-processed foods than frequent red meat eaters, but the difference is very small.
The study does not determine whether this higher amount of ultra-processed foods makes these people’s health prognosis worse than that of the general population. red meat consumers. And in fact, when talking about ultra-processed foods, we must remember that there is no one way to define them.
What is processed food?
There are people who define processed foods as foods that have multiple ingredients. composition. For example, a glass of milk is not processed because it only contains milk, but a chocolate shake is not processed because it also contains sugar, cocoa and many other additives. However, a red meat steak is not processed because it only contains meat, whereas a can of legumes by definition will, despite being infinitely healthier.
To avoid this problem, there are those who identify the fact that food is being processed ability to distinguish ingredients. There are several ingredients in a can of legumes, but each of them can be seen separately. On the other hand, in a chocolate cocktail we do not see cocoa, sugar and each additive separately. This may be a better definition, but there are still exceptions. Therefore, there really is no precise definition of what processed and ultra-processed are. The problem is that most of the latter contain high levels saturated fat, sugar or salt. This is the harm, not that they contain more or less ingredients.
For this reason, we cannot guarantee that someone who eats a lot of red meat will have better health than vegetarians who eat more processed foods, since red meat, even if it is the only product, contains a lot proven harmful effect.
In fact, there are numerous studies that show that a plant-based diet, if properly planned, protects against many diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and various types of cancer. We can’t say it’s the worst diet because we tend to eat more processed foods.
Only in England
This study was based on data from England, so it cannot be certain that vegetarians eat more ultra-processed foods in other parts of the world.
Why do vegetarians eat more processed foods?
In fact, the reason why vegans and vegetarians eat more ultra-processed foods is that they often meat substitutes These are ultra-processed foods, such as soy-based, that also contain high amounts of salt, fat or starch.
There is nothing wrong with eating them from time to time, just like any ultra-processed food, but it is true that it is not good to overindulge in them. Therefore, given that it has been more than proven that for the good of the planet we must all develop in the direction feeding a large number of plantsyou must do good disclosure in this aspect. Legumes are an excellent source of protein, which, together with spices, can replace the taste of many animal products. It may not taste or texture exactly the same, but it is much healthier.
On the other hand, it would be interesting for the food industry to offer more alternatives that while they may be considered processed, they contain much more acceptable levels of salt, sugar or fat. Bars and restaurants should also have more options. We should all move in this direction and, above all, not demonize or criticize the nutrition of others. This war, like all wars, makes no sense.
Source: Hiper Textual
