Fast Food for Thought: Is Vegan Junk Food Worse for Your Health?
In six days’ time the BBC published three sensational articles about plant based diets as part of their “Future” series. The articles make flimsy assumptions and cite outdated studies (many of which were industry funded). One was about vegan diets negatively impacting intelligence (you can read a response to that article here), another was on vegans having higher risk of stroke (response here), and their latest article was about how vegan junk food is worse than its meat counterpart.
“…vegan fast food alternatives are often worse for your health than the meat equivalent.” — William Park, BBC
There seems to be a pattern here. But how much evidence is there? Let’s parse through some of the claims in the article.
From Junk to Junk
To state the obvious: junk food is junk food. It’s not healthy. It doesn’t matter if it’s vegan, paleo, keto, low carb, low fat, or high protein. And besides this BBC article, no sensible health professional is arguing it is anyway. But claiming one type is worse than the other while providing no supporting evidence (such as a study pitting vegan junk food against regular junk food) can be confusing for people trying to navigate a healthier lifestyle.
What we do know is that processed meat, which is a common component of junk food, is a type-1 carcinogen. That means we know it causes cancer. Non-processed meat is a type-2, meaning it probably causes cancer. So let’s start with that benchmark and go from there.
Something Fishy This Way Comes
Before discussing why vegan junk food is particularly bad, the author explains that it’s possible to eat a plant based diet and be healthy… but only if you supplement because it lacks essential nutrients. And one of those nutrients is an Omega 3 called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
“Tofu contains omega 3 but it is a type that is not as active as animal sources…” — Megan Rossi, dietician
They quote dietician Megan Rossi, who makes the case that Omega 3 is more ‘active’ in animals sources like fatty fish. Plant sources have a different type called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). But as the author (who is not a health professional) says, for our bodies to do “anything useful” with ALA it needs to be converted to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or DHA. And humans “aren’t equipped” to convert these properly.
This is inaccurate. ALA and EPA are easy to get enough of on a plant based diet. While we don’t have a consensus on the reliability of EPA/ALA conversion to DHA yet, some studies have shown vegans and vegetarians have a better conversion rate than some groups. We also don’t have sufficient data specifically linking lower DHA conversion to poor health outcomes. However we do know lower Omega 3 intake doesn’t adversely affect mood.
Luckily Algae-based DHA supplements and fortified foods exist until we know for sure.
While the author is right that fish is a good source of DHA, it’s important to note fish don’t make DHA. They absorb it from algae. Plus, fish products –including fish oil supplements — can contain heavy metals like mercury, saturated fat, and cholesterol. And several studies have linked higher levels of mercury found in mothers who eat more fish has been associated with birth defects, seizures, developmental disabilities, and cerebral palsy.
Certain fish products also come with high Omega 6 levels. Omega 6, or arachidonic acid, is metabolized into inflammatory chemicals that are distributed throughout the body, including the brain. So they’re inflammation-causing (the opposite of Omega 3). We also know people with higher levels in their blood may have significantly higher risks of suicide and episodes of depression. Studies also show restricting meat, fish, and poultry can improve mood.
VERDICT: There’s no data showing adverse health effects for people with lower DHA levels, but some studies show vegans and vegetarians have adequate ALA/EPA to DHA conversion rates. To avoid harmful substances in fish products you can take an algae-based supplement or consume fortified foods.
Can’t Get Enough Protein
Instead of going after soy or pea protein commonly found in meat analogs, the author instead mentions jackfruit as an emerging meat substitute in the plant-based movement. But they say if it’s protein you’re looking for, jackfruit is “nutritionally valueless” because it’s made up of mostly carbohydrates. To be clear: complex carbohydrates are not cookies and cake. They’re fruits and vegetables. They’re not detrimental to our health.
Conversely, they’re actually beneficial in almost every way. Meantime, protein is discussed as if it’s the end-all be-all nutrient when we know getting too much protein (especially animal protein) has been linked to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and kidney failure.
But back to the jackfruit. Is it really nutritionally valueless? Two cups of jackfruit is about six grams of protein, two grams of fat, and 76 grams of carbohydrates. It accounts for about 30% of your daily thiamine, 80% of your B6, 50% of your Vitamin C, 43% of your potassium, and 30% of your copper. It’s also been shown to help blood sugar control because of its flavanoid and antioxidant content. That’s not too bad considering.
Then dietician Rachel Clarkson says plant foods don’t contain good amounts of essential amino acids — the building blocks of protein — and that food paring is important on a vegan or vegetarian diet. This is very wrong.
“Proteins are made up of amino acids which are the building blocks of every cell and hormone in our body. However, most plants do not contain good amounts of all essential amino acids,” — Rachel Clarkson, dietician
There’s no data showing vegans and vegetarians need to combine proteins. Instead, there’s data showing protein paring is not a concern. Myths about plants being incomplete proteins have been circulating popular culture since the 1970’s when nutritionist Frances Moore Lappé posited the theory in Vogue Magazine. She later retracted her statement about protein combing after it was proved wrong.
But it stuck. And stuck well, because evidently some health experts still believe it. Even in 2020.
While some plant foods are lower in some, they still have all the essential amino acids. So, if you simply eat sufficient calories from different plant foods, you’ll get more than enough essential amino acids. You don’t need to make sure you consume every essential amino acid each meal. Additionally, the body dumps around 90 grams of protein into the digestive tract each day. It can recycle those amino acids to create new proteins if needed.
Verdict: all plants have all essential amino acids. Protein combining has been discredited for a long time. All protein comes from plants, either directly or indirectly through the food chain.
The Comparison
The author compares a vegan burger and chicken burger from KFC, pointing out that the vegan option has more sodium, sugar, carbohydrates, and less protein. This also inaccurate.
While it’s true the vegan option has more salt, both burgers have high amounts, and eating too much is a major health concern. But other than sodium, are they really much different?
There is a bit more protein in the chicken, but not much. And as it’s already been established, more protein doesn’t equate good health. Both options hover around 19 grams of fat (the chicken has a bit more saturated). The vegan burger only has seven more grams of carbohydrates. And they have the same amount of sugars and calories.
Except the author doesn’t mention that the vegan patty has no heme iron or cholesterol. A regular beef patty contains about 80 milligrams of cholesterol. Also the vegan option doesn’t contain N-nitroso-compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or heterocyclic amines, which are known cancer causing substances.
Then there’s the case for coconut oil, which is high in saturated fat and a frequent ingredient in plant based meats. Saturated fat can raise LDL cholesterol in your blood and lead to atherosclerosis. But this is all a kind of false dilemma. Animal products are high in saturated fat, too, including beef, chicken, eggs, and dairy. And so are many things animal products are eaten with like butter, mayonnaise, other cooking oils, and desserts. Coconut oil — like most oils — is high in fat because its calories are all from fat. But it still doesn’t come with cholesterol and heme iron. There’s data showing that when it comes to cholesterol levels, plant based proteins are healthier than red and white meats.
The Standard American Diet (SAD) is rich in meat, diary, and processed foods that can lead to huge spikes in sugar and fat in the blood. That can increase inflammation, damage protein, and hinder artery function. And it can happen in just a few hours after eating a breakfast sandwich.
But is there any research specifically comparing vegan junk food to meat based junk food? As it turns out, we do have data comparing a processed meat meal to a vegan meat meal. It looked a small group of healthy and diabetic subjects directly after eating. They found that triglycerides (fat in the blood) significantly increased in those eating the meat based meal, along with oxidative stress. These things were particularly high among diabetic subjects. Meanwhile, the group eating the vegan meat meal showed a huge increase in an antioxidant enzyme that is protective from oxidative stress.
VERDICT: while vegan junk food is not healthy, data shows it’s at least healthier than its meat counterpart. It also hasn’t been linked to cancer, diabetes, and heart disease like meat products have.
Iron Curtain of Misinformation
The author claims plant foods don’t have the best quality of iron. Whole grains, legumes, and leafy greens all contain non-heme iron. But heme iron, found only in animal products, is more desirable because it’s better absorbed by the body according to the author. Furthermore, the author cites a study done in 1999 with just 74 participants that suggests vegans and vegetarians are at higher risk of iron deficiency.
Well, we have newer data. The EPIC Oxford study done in 2016 looked at nearly 30,000 people, including 6,600 vegetarians and 800 vegans. In this study, vegans came out on top as the group with the highest iron intake.
The reason heme iron is so easily absorbed is because it comes with cholesterol and saturated fat. It’s also been linked to an increased risk of of diabetes, heart disease, and all-cause mortality.
VERDICT: compared to meat eaters, vegetarians tend to consume more iron. They also do not have higher rates of iron deficiency.
Cheese Trap
The author uses cheese as an example of a good source of vitamin B12. But before discussing B12, let’s talk about dairy products in general. They’re often touted as healthy. A good source of protein and calcium. But a meta-analysis, looking at the effects of animal and plant based foods on millions of people, found the more dairy people were eating, the more likely they were to develop prostate cancer. Those on a plant based diet were up to 36% less likely to develop the disease.
Rossi also says coconut oil is higher in saturated fat than animal sources. But cheese is the number one source of saturated fats in the SAD. Then it’s pizza (dairy), processed desserts, dairy desserts, chicken, sausage, franks, bacon, ribs, and burgers. And replacing saturated fats in the diet with the same amount of polyunsaturated fats (from plants) can reduce the risk of death by any cause by nearly 20%.
Back to cheese as a good source of B12. Animals products are actually supplemented with the vitamin because they no longer synthesis reliable amounts. So it’s inaccurate to say cheese is a good source. But you can also just take a supplement like the animal does, and avoid eating the animal.
Yes, vitamin B12 as an issue on a plant based diet and some studies have shown vegans having lower B12 levels, but nearly 40% of Americans are B12 deficient. It’s perhaps more concerning that Americans are eating that much dairy, a supposedly good source of B12, and they’re still coming up short.
VERDICT: there’s strong evidence of dairy consumption and prostate cancer. There’s no evidence of cashew cheese consumption and prostate cancer. On B12, people on plant based diets should be taking a supplement, but so should everyone else. There’s also plenty of plant based foods fortified with B12.
Meat Back on the Menu?
Here’s where things get particularly egregious. We know processed meat is a carcinogen and meat is a probable carcinogen. There’s a large body of work linking meat to negative health outcomes. And the data gets stronger everyday. For example, take this study published this month looking at 30,000 people for up to 30 years. Using six prospective cohort studies, it found eating meat was significantly associated with an increased risk of incident heart disease and all-cause mortality.
So why does the author say the negative health effects of consuming red and processed meat remain unclear?
“…the health risks associated with meat products are much less clear…” — William Park, BBC
They bring up some studies published in The Annals of Internal Medicine back in November 2019 that seemingly cast doubt on decades of science. A group called NutriRECS used alternative methodologies to reshuffle well-established data making meat seem less harmful. However, even their revamped meta-analyses found eating red and processed meat still increased the risk for heart disease by 14%, diabetes type 2 by 24%, cancer by 11%, and all-cause mortality by 13%.
Only three of the studies in the Annals were actual studies. One was a survey that found people enjoyed eating meat and therefore eating meat was important to them. And the last was a recommendation that suggested halting all further epidemiology on the links between red and processed meat and cancers because observational studies aren’t reliable.
Doctors from Harvard, Yale, Stanford and others — including one of the study authors –requested the journal retract the publications for their shoddy science. But the journal refused.
If you dig further, you find NutriRECS was bankrolled by AgriLife Research — an arm of the Texas A&M University that receives funding from the beef industry. The lead researcher, Bradley Johnston, failed to disclose that AgriLife Research gave him and Dalhousie (where he use to work as a professor) $76,863 for a new meta-analysis on saturated fat. And they gave it to him within the 36-month reporting period required by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.
VERDICT: suggesting red and processed meat aren’t harmful is irresponsible. Especially since they’re classified by WHO as carcinogens and the data linking them to negative health outcomes gets stronger everyday.
Compared to What?
So at the end of the day is a Beyond Burger healthier? We know eating junk food is unhealthy, vegan or not. But if you compare it to a beef patty full of cholesterol, saturated fat, heme iron, and cancer-causing compounds… then yes, it’s healthier. But compared to whole plant foods high in protein like beans, legumes, nuts, and soy products? No.
And instead of providing relevant data demonstrating why vegan junk food is worse than its meat equivalent, the article referenced myths from the 1970’s, outdated or misleading science, and omitted important information about the health risks of meat and dairy. Meat analogs can often be the first step on a person’s path to a healthier lifestyle, so what’s the point of scaring them away with misinformation?
