Scientists find a vital flaw in plant-based meat

Italian scientists have made a careful comparison between beef steaks on the one hand and their vegetarian counterparts on the other.

It turns out that plant alternatives contain substances that are less important to the human body. The research in this regard was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

The steaks and bresaola were sampled from real meat and from several alternatives made from legumes and grains. The fat, salt and protein content were evaluated.

The plant-based products showed less protein than in the natural meat samples, but also showed a good percentage of amino acids, although the amount of essential amino acids in plant-based meat does not meet the requirements set by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for children.

At the same time, a special analysis was conducted aimed at understanding how the human body absorbs the nutrients contained in meat. It turns out that these processes occur in sausage products a little better than in artificial “steaks”.

The researchers point out that this is the first time such a comparison has been made between meat and its commercial counterparts.

The authors of the research said, “The overall quality of protein and the digestibility of nutrients are related to the use of high-quality materials containing protein, as well as the processes used to produce both fake meat products. The appropriate replacement of natural meat with its counterparts depends to a large extent on the quality of the raw materials used in its manufacture.”