7 BIG FACTS AND FABLES ABOUT PLANT-BASED FOOD

Eating more plant-based foods instead of meat is good for your health and better for the environment and animal welfare. Changing your eating pattern seems easy, just turn the switch to plant-based food, and avoid meat. But from a nutritional view it is not that simple. You still need to get your daily amounts of nutrients, once provided by meat. These are my 7 biggest myths about plant-based food.

Fable 1:

Plant-based foods are not as nutritious as animal-based foods.

Plant-based foods can provide all the essential nutrients needed for a healthy diet. Whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds all contain important vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Additionally, plant-based diets have been associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. But there is a difference between a vegan and vegetarian eating pattern. If you eat no animal sources at all, as vegans do, you need to provide yourself with vitamin B12, which is only available in animalbased foods. Vegetarians who also eat eggs, dairy, and sometimes fish do not necessarily have to add B12.

Another nutrient to be keen about is the mineral iron, which is abundant in meat. Plant-based sources, like grains, contain iron, but the bioavailability of this iron is not as good as the iron in meat. When you eat iron-rich plant-based food it is good to combine this with a source rich in vitamin C, like legumes with green leaves. It enhances absorption.

Fable 2: Plant-based diets lack protein.

Plant-based foods such as beans, lentils, quinoa, and nuts are excellent sources of protein. A good variation in plant-based foods, like beans and grains, can provide the complete spectrum of proteins as they contain all the essential amino acids needed for body growth and repair. Essential in its turn means that your body can’t make it, so you should take it in with your food. Many meat substitutes are often made with proteins from beans. Check if they contain extra vitamin B12 and Iron which makes them a complete meat substitute.

Fable 3: Mushrooms are a good meat substitute.

This is a persistent myth. Where did it ever come from? Maybe because mushrooms have something 'meaty' about them? But mushrooms are low in protein and other relevant nutrients necessary for a food to be a good meat substitute. That is why they are counted among the vegetables. Interesting nutritional fact about white mushrooms: if you expose them to sunlight the amount

Fable 4: Plant-based diets are hard to follow.

With the growing availability of plant-based alternatives and the increasing popularity of plant-based diets, it is easier than ever to follow a plant-based diet. Many grocery stores now carry a wide variety of plant-based products and there are also many delicious plant-based recipes available online.

Plant-based diets can be followed by anyone, regardless of their dietary preferences. Many people who eat a plant-based diet still eat small amounts of animal-based products, such as eggs or dairy. It is not necessary to be a vegetarian or vegan to eat more plant-based food. Sometimes people think a plantbased eating pattern is expensive, but in fact, plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes are often less expensive than animal-based foods. Buying in bulk and cooking at home can also help to keep costs down.

Fable 5:

As a vegetarian or vegan you contribute to deforestation because you eat soy products.

Meat and dairy substitutes are often based on soy. Think of a soy drink or a veggie burger. But the amounts we eat worldwide are dwarfed by soy grown for animal feed, which are large quantities (more than 90% of the total production). The latter is an important driver of deforestation in the Amazon region, for example, with disastrous consequences for nature and the climate. In addition, producers of meat and dairy substitutes based on soy consciously source their soy from elsewhere: from Europe, America, or China, for example.

Fable 6: Plant-based diets are low in fat.

While it is true that plant-based diets tend to be lower in saturated fat than animal-based diets, they can still provide a healthy amount of healthy fats. Avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil are all excellent sources of healthy fats. Sources rich in omega-3 fatty acids should be focused on, as this is an essential fatty acid we need in our diet. Marine sources like algae and fatty fish can provide you with this essential. Plant-based alternatives are for example walnuts and oil from rapeseed. Keep in mind the omega-3 oils from plant-based sources do convert not as well as fish-based omega-3 fatty acids. Like omega 3, proteins, iron, and vitamin B12 are good animal-based nutrients. Meats high in saturated fatty acids you better can set aside more often as saturated fat is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.

Fable 7: There is an ecological optimum in eating meat.

An eye-opener for vegetarians: not eating any meat is not the best thing for the climate! Certainly not if you continue to eat dairy and eggs. It would be a waste of food to bury the hens and cows that have finished laying eggs and giving milk. You better eat their meat. Furthermore, pigs and chickens are omnivores, which you can easily feed on leftovers from the food industry. The amount of meat you generate with this, however, is a lot less than what we eat now; there is enough for everyone if we limit our meat consumption to once a week.

For more information: www.boekenbestellen.nl/boek/77-fabelsen-feiten-rond-plantaardige-voeding

Hans Kraak

Hans Kraak is educated in biology and journalism and wrote three books about nutrition and health. He worked for the Dutch ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food quality and the Netherlands Nutrition Centre. As editor in chief he publishes in the Dutch Magazine for Nutrition and Dietetics, as a food and wine writer he published in Meininger’s Wine Business International and reports for PLMA Live EU and PLMA USA.