Here's why you should replace red meat with plant-based proteins
| Apr 11, 2019, 11:56 IST
We've all grown up with our mums insisting that we eat more veggies and as much as we'd hate to admit it, turns out they've been right all along. Not only do vegetables contain a lot of nutrients and vitamins, but they also work wonders in keeping health diseases at bay. According to a new study, people who consume red meat should start replacing it with plant-based proteins instead as it can work as an effective way to reduce cardiovascular diseases. It's a known fact that consuming too much red meat can lead to heart diseases but it was always wondered what the ideal substitute for it might be. Now, scientists have found that plant-based proteins might just be the answer.
The research was conducted by researchers from Purdue University and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and compared the health effects between diets high in red meat and diets high in other specific food types. Consuming red meat can increase the levels of triglyceride in the body. So, in comparison when people opted for plant-based diets that consisted of foods like nuts, soy, legumes, and similar plants, it was found that most heart-disease factors like triglycerides and bad cholesterol levels were reduced in the body.
Apart from triglyceride levels, there wasn't much of a difference between a diet consisting of red meat and other food-based diets. When plant-based diets were compared with red meat-based diets specifically it was found that the plant-based diets worked better at reducing cardiovascular-related risks. It also found that there was a specific link between eating foods like nuts instead of red meat when it came to having lower risks of heart diseases.
The researchers also explained that earlier the risk of red meat diets as compared to other diets was not explored properly as the red meat diet wasn't compared with the right replaceable diets. Now, since the researchers compared different diets with the red meat diet, they were able to decipher that plant-based diets were the most appropriate ones when it came to replacing red meat. They also hope to use these diet comparisons to help find more health outcomes apart from heart disease.
The senior author of the study Meir Stampfer spoke about the study and explained, "Asking ‘Is red meat good or bad?’ is useless. It has to be ‘Compared to what?’ If you replace burgers with cookies or fries, you don’t get healthier. But if you replace red meat with healthy plant protein sources, like nuts and beans, you get a health benefit." Well, maybe replacing certain foods can help people battle certain health diseases. Stay tuned for more updates.
The research was conducted by researchers from Purdue University and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and compared the health effects between diets high in red meat and diets high in other specific food types. Consuming red meat can increase the levels of triglyceride in the body. So, in comparison when people opted for plant-based diets that consisted of foods like nuts, soy, legumes, and similar plants, it was found that most heart-disease factors like triglycerides and bad cholesterol levels were reduced in the body.
Apart from triglyceride levels, there wasn't much of a difference between a diet consisting of red meat and other food-based diets. When plant-based diets were compared with red meat-based diets specifically it was found that the plant-based diets worked better at reducing cardiovascular-related risks. It also found that there was a specific link between eating foods like nuts instead of red meat when it came to having lower risks of heart diseases.
The researchers also explained that earlier the risk of red meat diets as compared to other diets was not explored properly as the red meat diet wasn't compared with the right replaceable diets. Now, since the researchers compared different diets with the red meat diet, they were able to decipher that plant-based diets were the most appropriate ones when it came to replacing red meat. They also hope to use these diet comparisons to help find more health outcomes apart from heart disease.
The senior author of the study Meir Stampfer spoke about the study and explained, "Asking ‘Is red meat good or bad?’ is useless. It has to be ‘Compared to what?’ If you replace burgers with cookies or fries, you don’t get healthier. But if you replace red meat with healthy plant protein sources, like nuts and beans, you get a health benefit." Well, maybe replacing certain foods can help people battle certain health diseases. Stay tuned for more updates.