Beyond Meat and Impossible Meat have exploded in popularity over the past couple of years. It’s noteable that you can now get a plant-based option at most major fast-food establishments. As someone who has followed a meatless diet for over 20 years, the emergence of plant-based products in recent years still astounds me. But many people ask me, and wonder: Is Beyond Meat Healthy? Is Impossible Meat Healthy?
I’ve seen a lot of back and fourth on the internet about this. I’ve also overheard arguments on the topic. So, I thought it could make for an interesting blog post.
Now, before I get any further, I just want to acknowledge that yes, I am a vegan, and I have been for about 6 years. And I haven’t touched meat since I was around 7 years old.
I would also like to acknowledge that I personally do not care for Beyond Meat and/or Impossible Meat. To me, they are too realistic and I honestly find them…well…they’re not for me.
That said, I plan to be as objective as possible in this post. Scientific integrity is of utmost importance to me.
If you want to read more about what you need to know about nutrition on a plant-based diet, please see this post.
Okay, Now Let’s Look at the Nutrition Facts:
I created the chart below from nutrition labels found on the Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat websites, and compared these two burgers to 80% lean ground beef and low sodium cooked white beans. I sourced the nutrition information of the later two on the USDA food database (see links).
*Sources:
- https://ods.od.nih.gov/Health_Information/Dietary_Reference_Intakes.aspx
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK56068/table/summarytables.t5/?report=objectonly;
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK56068/table/summarytables.t4/?report=objectonly
Looking over the comparison chart above, a couple of things jump out at me. First of all, it caloric content of both plant-based, imitation meat patties are about on par with a beef burger.
While both imitation meats are lower in fat that the beef burger, none of the three “meat” options are low fat foods. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as it is recommended that 20-35% of total calories come from fat, provided that these are consumed as part of a healthful, diverse, and balanced diet.
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