The global market for plant-based meat, a type of meat made from plants, is projected to explode to 85 billion US dollars in 2030. Grocery stores are offering consumers an increasingly diverse array of burgers, sausages, and seafood options that have no trace of animal products. But if you think a diet of plant-based food is better for your health, you may want to look at the facts and seriously contemplate your choice before reaching a decision.

According to one recent study, the nutritional benefit of plant-based foods is minimal. Researchers from the Singapore Institute for Food and Biotechnology Innovation investigated the outcome of replacing bacon, chicken, beef burgers and ice cream with animal-free versions. What they found was that diets which substituted animal products with the plant-based alternatives were below the daily recommendations for essential nutrients vitamin B12, calcium, potassium, zinc and magnesium, and higher in sodium, sugar and saturated fat, all of which can be harmful to your body in excessive amounts.

Plant-based meat manufacturers argue their products contain similar amounts of protein that are comparable in quality to animal protein. However, “foods contain hundreds to thousands of compounds that are capable of impacting human health.”, says Stephan van Vliet at the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute. In their own studies, Van Vliet and colleagues compared samples of different plant-based meat alternatives with ground beef and found that 90 percent of them were different from each other. Plant-based meat alternatives lacked certain essential amino acids and other substances like creatine, taurine and anserine, which can all have an impact on our health and potentially brain function as well as muscle function.

Interestingly, Van Vliet also discovered that other beneficial substances like polyphenols and antioxidants were found in greater quantities or only in plant-based meats, which denotes a complementary relationship between plant and animal-based foods in our diet, where some nutrients are better obtained from animal sources and others from plants.

(Adapted from theconversation.com)