Diet is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association recommends following a whole-food, minimally processed diet emphasizing fruit and vegetables to reduce cardiovascular mortality. Recently, processed plant-based meat substitutes, such as Beyond Meat® and Impossible™ foods have become easily accessible to consumers and are advertised as a healthful addition to a plant-based diet. However, these products are highly processed and contain high amounts of saturated fat and sodium. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of processed plant-based meat diets on adverse cardiovascular events compared to animal-based meat diets and minimally processed healthful plant-based diets.
Health outcomes are dependent on micronutrient content Plant-based diets with the highest levels of serum beta-carotene and other micronutrients are associated with lower overall cardiovascular disease and mortality, as well as better metabolic markers.1,7,8
Plant-base meats reduce TMAO levels and improve cardiovascular disease risk factors Animal-based diets are associated with higher serum levels of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), which is associated with an increased risk of heart attacks, vascular disease, and stroke. 2,9,10
Consumption of plant-based meat alternatives has been shown to reduce TMAO levels by 31.9% while reducing LDL and blood pressure and increasing HDL levels. Many studies found that highly processed diets are associated with negative health outcomes, regardless of plant-based content. Unhealthful plant-based diets are associated with greater cardiovascular disease risk factors and mortality compared to healthful plant-based diets. Lastly, it was found that computer modeling predicts adherence to a minimally processed diet containing animal products will result in lower rates of cardiovascular disease, ischemic heart disease, and diabetes, compared to a moderately processed plant-based diet
