By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

You may have seen the headlines that proclaimed, “Beyond Bad: Fake Meat And Other ‘Ultra Processed’ Vegan Food Linked To Heart Disease, Early Death” and “Vegan Fake Meats are Linked to Increase in Heart Deaths.” Other headlines were more measured – “When Plant Foods are Ultra-processed, the Health Benefits Disappear” but the accompanying article Identified “meat substitutes, including imitation burgers and sausages” as examples of ultra-processed plant foods.

In reality, the study that these headlines were based on wasn’t able to determine how much risk was associated with vegan meats. Let’s step back and take a look at the study.

What is the study?

The study (1) was from the United Kingdom and included more than 118,000 adults age 40-69 years old at the start of the study who recorded what they ate for two different days between 2009 and 2012. The subjects were followed for a median of 9 years to track health issues and deaths. Foods that the subjects reported eating were classified as either plant-sourced or non-plant/animal-sourced. These food groups were then divided into ultra-processed foods and non-ultra-processed foods. Ultra-processed animal-sourced foods included sausages, chicken nuggets, battered fish, ice cream, and mayonnaise. Packaged bread, crackers, pastries, cookies, margarine, salty snacks, sugary breakfast cereals, fruit juice, soft drinks, canned soup, tofu, tempeh, and veggie burgers were included in the category of ultra-processed plant-sourced foods. Note that many foods classified as ultra-processed plant-sourced foods are not necessarily vegan foods.

What did this study find?

Higher consumption of ultra-processed foods, whether plant-sourced or animal-sourced, was associated with a greater risk of heart disease and of dying from heart disease. A 10% higher consumption of ultra-processed plant-sourced foods was associated with a 6% increase in the risk of developing heart disease and an 18% higher risk of dying from heart disease. In contrast, a 10% higher consumption of non-ultra-processed plant-sourced foods was associated with an 8% lower risk of developing heart disease and a 20% lower risk of dying from heart disease.

It is important to note that the foods in the ultra-processed plant-sourced food category were primarily commercial baked goods including breads, pastries, cakes, cookies, and frozen pizza and that these represented, on average, almost a quarter of the study subjects’ calories. Snack foods and candy supplied about 7% of the calories in the subjects’ diets and soft drinks and fruit juice supplied 2% of calories. The entire category of “meat alternatives” which includes veggie sausages and burgers, tofu, tempeh, and TVP supplied 0.2% of total calories. In other words, the vegan fake meats that were condemned in some headlines were a very minor part of the diets of the subjects of this study.

Are there practical implications?

One key message is to question headlines and to look for multiple reliable sources of information. Additionally, the results of this study point to the benefits of eating mostly less processed plant foods including dried beans, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and nuts and seeds. Tofu, tempeh, and vegan meats can supply a variety of nutrients and the results of this study do not support avoiding these foods.

Reference:

1. Rauber F, da Costa Louzada ML, Chang K, et al. Implications of food ultra-processing on cardiovascular risk considering plant origin foods: an analysis of the UK Biobank cohort. The Lancet Regional Health – Europe. In press, 2024.

To read more about vegan processed food see:

Vegan Processed Foods – Embrace Them? Shun Them?

Ultra-Processed or Smartly Processed?

You can read other commentary on this study at:

Vegan Health – Vegan Meats and Poor Health Outcomes

CNN – Plant-based Ultraprocessed Foods Linked To Heart Disease, Early Death, Study Says

Scientific American – Are Plant-Based Ultraprocessed Foods Linked to Heart Disease?