2023-07-06 10:05:25
by Elena Meli
The nutritional value of industrial products that replace meat is not always optimal, so vegan diets are not necessarily synonymous with health and weight loss
On supermarket shelves you can find something for all tastes: with the increase in the number of people who choose to eat vegetarian, the use of meat substitutes is also growing. It would be necessary to know how to choose them, because not all of them have optimal nutritional characteristics: this is indicated by a Swedish research for which over 40 products on sale in the Scandinavian country were examined, most of which were deficient from the point of view of micronutrients.
iron and zinc
Researchers have analyzed the nutritional quality of soy substitutes, pea protein, tempeh and so on, finding that in many cases the formulations do not allow for proper absorption of iron and zinc, which are also labeled as important micronutrients. : in these products, in fact, they are often linked to phytates and as such they are not absorbed and are not really available to the body. The umpteenth proof that green food is not automatically a pass for health: like any regime that eliminates certain types of food en bloc, it is essential to know the nutritional content of foods well so as to make up for any deficiencies thanks to a balanced diet and aware.
Risks of protein deficiencies
The vegetarian choice cannot be improvised, because if it is approached superficially, simply by eliminating meat from the diet, one can expose oneself to risks such as protein deficiency or precisely the deficiency of iron, calcium, omega-3 or vitamin B12 (present in fact almost only in foods of animal origin, it must necessarily be integrated into vegan regimes), with possible negative consequences especially in children or pregnant or breastfeeding women.
What do vegan ready meals contain?
Better then to limit the consumption of ready-to-eat veg foods, the nutritional quality of which is not always optimal, also because to give consistency and flavor they can contain fats, thickeners, emulsifiers, colorings and a lot of sugar and/or salt.
veg and weight
The myth according to which eating green makes you lose weight also needs to be dispelled: on average, vegetarians are thinner than omnivores because a veg diet is generally rich in fibre, filling and low in calories, but much depends on the quality of the diet and green food is not always synonymous with virtuous choices for the balance. French fries, pizzas and focaccias can be vegetarian or even vegan, but if they become the daily diet it is difficult to stay thin; in the same way, if you eat a lot of refined carbohydrates it is possible that your weight will not drop at all, as well as if you overdo it with dairy products without evaluating their fat intake.
A correct and balanced vegetarian diet is associated with health benefits such as a reduction in general inflammation and the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer; the intestinal bacterial flora changes for the better and life expectancy increases.
July 6, 2023 (change July 6, 2023 | 10:04)
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