Fake “meat” products such as Bill Gates’s lab-grown “beef” are linked to cardiovascular diseases and heart failure-related deaths, a new study has found.
The study found that the hyper-processed “foods” cause a greatly increased risk of cardiac arrest and strokes.
The results of the study are a major blow to the narrative that vegetarian and vegan diets help to lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
According to a new study by researchers at Imperial College London and Sao Paulo University, which analyzed the diets of more than 118,000 participants, scientists found that meat-free “foods” carry a huge risk of heart disease if they are ultra-processed.
The study, published in Lancet Regional Health – Europe, notes that this excludes natural produce such as fresh fruit and vegetables.
However, ultra-processed products that are plant-derived, insect-based, or lab-grown, carry an increased risk of heart failure and death.
Scientists found that ultra-processed food (UPF) products, such as lab-grown “beef” or insect-based “beetleburgers,” are linked with a 15 percent higher risk of suffering heart attacks and strokes.
The researchers found that these dangers are even present in plant-based UPFs, which have long been hailed as a “healthy” option to meat.
The research, which involved experts from Imperial College London, utilized data from more than 118,000 UK citizens.
The participants, aged 40 to 69 years, had their diets assessed over at least two days.
Scientists split food into plant-based products, such as fruit, vegetables, grains, and bread, as well as cakes and candy, and animal-based products such as fish, poultry, red meat, eggs, and dairy.
The two groups were then further divided into either ultra-processed food (UPF) or non-ultra-processed.
This data was then linked to hospital and mortality records to obtain information on cardiovascular diseases.
People who ate a lot of plant-based ultra-processed foods had a 7 percent greater risk of suffering conditions like blocked heart vessels.
They also had a 15 percent heightened risk of dying when compared to vegetarians whose diets had fewer UPFs.
Upping intake of non-processed vegetarian foods – such as fresh fruit and vegetables – by 10 percent was linked to an 8 percent lower risk of getting heart disease.
Deaths from heart disease fell by a fifth in vegetarians who consumed the least UPFs and 13 percent in cardiovascular disease overall.
The scientists noted that UPFs caused a build-up of fatty deposits inside the arteries.
Dr. Eszter Vamos, co-author of the study, from Imperial College London’s School of Public Health, said:
“Fresh plant-based foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and legumes are known to have important health and environmental benefits.
“While ultra-processed foods are often marketed as healthy foods, this large study suggests that plant-based ultra-processed foods do not seem to have protective health effects and are linked to poor health outcomes.”
Food additives and industrial contaminants present in these foods could cause oxidative stress and inflammation, the scientists suggest.
They added that nutritional guidelines promoting plant-based diets and cutting down on meat must also promote the importance of avoiding UPFs for good heart health.
Study author Dr. Fernanda Rauber, an expert in preventative medicine from the University of São Paulo in Brazil, said that it’s the first to show that fake “meat” products are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.
“Despite being plant-based, these foods may contribute to risk factors such as dyslipidemia and hypertension due to their composition and processing methods,” she said.
“Food additives and industrial contaminants present in these foods might cause oxidative stress and inflammation, further aggravating the risks.
“Therefore, our results support the shift towards plant-based food choices that consider the degree of processing to improve cardiovascular health outcomes.”
The researchers noted that, while the products may appear to be healthy by claiming to be “meat-free,” plant-based,” or “lab-grown,” the fact that they are ultra-processed makes them a threat to public health.
The study comes amid a growing push for the general public to replace traditional meat and dairy products with fake “foods.”
However, a growing number of nutrition experts have been warning against fake “meat” products.
Nutritionist and “Sacred Cow: The Case for (Better Meat)” author Diana Rodgers says lab-grown meat, such as that sold by Bill Gates’s Upside Foods, is still not as healthy as McDonalds.
“I’d rather eat my shoe than lab-grown meat,” Rodgers stated.
British investigative food journalist Joanna Blythman has also warned against plant-based meat, which she says sometimes contains up to 30 artificial ingredients.
“Artificial plant-based proteins tend to be loaded with ‘anti-nutrients’ – compounds that make it harder for our guts to absorb beneficial macro and micronutrients,” Blythman wrote in an article for the Daily Mail.
“Essentially, it’s less digestible than real meat, and certainly less nutritious.”
https://slaynews.com/news/fake-meat-products-cause-heart-attacks-strokes-study-finds/
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