Red is best – research!

plant-based products promoted as meat alternatives.

MEAT DELIVERS more of the essential protein building blocks compared to a plant-based alternative.

That’s the findings from a human clinical trial done for the Pasture Raised Advantage research programme to explore the health and wellbeing benefits of eating pasture-raised beef and lamb as part of a balanced diet, compared to grain-finished beef or a plant-based alternative.

The project, which involved researchers at AgResearch, the University of Auckland, Massey University and the Riddet Institute, shows that red meat is probably a better source of protein for the body than highly processed

In this first of two clinical trials, 30 participants aged 20-34 years were fed breakfast on four different days and their blood, digestive symptoms and mood were monitored for four hours immediately following the meal.

Breakfast was a burrito that contained a single serving of a different protein each day; pasture-raised beef, grainfinished beef, lamb and a plant-based alternative –served in random order to each participant across the four days.

University of Auckland’s Andrea Braakhuis, who heads up the team of nutrition scientists responsible for the study, says they measured the nutrients in the blood of the participants.

It saw a significant difference in the type and amounts of amino acids that come from the digestion of the protein of red meat compared to the protein of the processed meat alternative.

“Amino acids from red meat were of greater biological value and better