Are ultra-processed vegan and vegetarian foods as healthy as they seem?

“Most of the food we eat is processed,” says Dr. Giles Yeo, an obesity expert at Cambridge University. Cooking and fermentation are forms of processing. However, ultra-processed foods are a modern phenomenon requiring industrial methods that can’t be replicated in a home kitchen. These foods are typically low in protein and fiber but high in salt, sugar and fat.

For example, ultra-processing might involve taking a chicken carcass, forcing it through a sieve to extract every last morsel of meat and tendon, and reforming the resulting “white slime” into a chicken nugget. “It’s this industrial process of extrusion,” Giles explains.

The problem with these foods, according to Giles, is that they are stripped of protein and fiber. To compensate for the lack of flavor due to the ultra-processing, manufacturers add salt, sugar and fat. “So ultra-processed foods tend to be low in protein and fiber, and high in salt, sugar and fat. That’s their problem.”

This also makes them “hyper-palatable.” In high-income countries like the UK, 50 to 60 percent of the calories consumed come from ultra-processed foods.

What’s the impact on our health? “In countries with more ultra-processed foods, there is an increase in obesity and other diet-related illnesses,” says Giles.

Interestingly, when we think about ultra-processed foods, we tend to think about burgers and hotdogs. “But ultra-processed vegetarian or vegan foods, like faux-meat burgers, have a health halo around them,” says the obesity expert. “They’re ultra-processed foods with very good PR.”

“Ultimately, meat and fish are never going to be processed foods because they are single-ingredient foods,” explains Sophie Medlin, Dietician and Chair of the British Dietetic Association for London.

“When we try to replicate them from plant products, we have to process them significantly to make them look, feel, and taste palatable. The more you try to imitate something, the more processing is required.”

Higher-tech faux meat burgers tend to be made with mung bean protein or peas, which contain protein. They may be more processed than basic Quorn products (made primarily from fungus) or tofu, but they still contain some protein.

However, some plant-based meat substitutes tell a different story. Jackfruit, for example, is often sold as a vegan substitute for pulled pork but contains nearly no protein. So, if you choose vegan pulled pork and don’t replace the protein elsewhere, you end up with a meal with very little protein.

“When you have plant-based or vegan foods, you consume less saturated fat,” says Giles. These fats typically come from animal-based products, so eating plant-based foods, ultra-processed or not, means consuming less saturated fat. “From that perspective, it is healthier.”

However, vegan ultra-processed foods are still lower in fiber and inherently higher in sugar, salt, and fat– both saturated and unsaturated. “So, from that perspective, ultra-processed vegan and plant-based foods are still ultra-processed foods.”

Source: BBC