If you attended our July 8th Wellness Wednesday session, you heard Dr. Christopher Gardner, Nutrition Scientist at Stanford, describe a soon-to-be-released study called SWAP-MEAT. That study was just published in the August 11th issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1).
How the Study Was Conducted
SWAP-MEAT was a 16-week crossover study in which 36 generally healthy adults were divided into two groups. Each group consumed one type of meat (plant or animal) for 8 weeks and then switched to the other type of meat for 8 weeks. The goal was to understand what, if any, health benefits there were from the plant-based vs. animal-based protein. (Full disclosure: this study was funded by a producer of plant-based meats, but as Dr. Gardner points out, that doesn’t always yield pro-industry findings. In fact, his last six studies funded by industry all yielded null results.)
I had the opportunity to discuss the key findings with Dr. Gardner:
Q: In your opinion, what was the top take-away from the study?
“In our head to head comparison, swapping out red meat for Beyond Meat, three health factors were better during the Beyond Meat phase: (1) Lower LDL-cholesterol, (2) Lower weight, and (3) Lower levels of a molecule called TMAO which is related to red meat consumption and is linked to higher incidence of stroke and heart attack.”
Q: What surprised you in the study?
“One health factor that wasn’t different, but is interesting because of that, was blood pressure. Plant-based meats have gotten bad press because of their high saturated fat and sodium content. If the sodium for Beyond Meat was a problem, it could have raised blood pressure. But in the context of the overall diet, total sodium intake was the same during both phases, as was blood pressure.”
Q: What is your advice to consumers?
“We have been telling people for decades to eat more whole plant foods – beans, vegetables, whole intact grains. Some people have done that while others have been unable or unwilling to make that shift. For those that haven’t made the shift, I feel that the alternative meats are an option that should be considered. This will achieve greater overall reductions in red meat consumption.”
Q: Are there other benefits to consuming plant-based meats?
“The new alternative meat products have obvious potential benefits for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to raising beef cattle, and obvious benefits for animal rights and welfare. Currently, the US consumes more meat and more red meat than any country in the world. If we want other countries to help us with GHG emission reductions, we need to set examples ourselves. More substantial reductions in red meat consumption here at home would be one important way to do this.”
