The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has reported that excessive consumption of red meat can lead to high cholesterol, cancers, cardiovascular disease, obesity, type-2 diabetes, and other chronic, potentially deadly diseases. Further, in 2015, the World Health Organization classified processed meats, such as bacon, sausages, and beef jerky as being carcinogenic, and red meat, including beef, pork, and lamb as potentially carcinogenic.

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In a recent study, researchers measured the levels of the molecule; trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) in the bodies of the participants. TMAO has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. It was found that TMAO levels were lower in the bodies of the participants that were consuming plant-based meat. Precursors of TMAO, carnitine, and choline, are found in red meat.

 

Even though it hasn’t been proven if TMAO is an actual risk factor or just an association, recently, studies have shown that high levels of TMAO are consistent with increased inflammation and blood clotting, among other health concerns. Another study found that people with elevated TMAO had a 60% higher risk for adverse cardiovascular complications, such as a heart attack.

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Other than TMAO, there are many health-related issues that occur due to meat consumption, be it due to the increase of certain other harmful components or the lack of essential nutrients. Since conventional meat does not contain fiber, meat-based diets tend to be lacking in fiber. However, meat alternatives contain high amounts of fiber, making them a more well-rounded alternative.

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Certain meat and meat-based products like chicken and egg are found to contain hormones that end up interfering with bodily functions and may alter the process of transcription. Meat has also been linked to increases in cholesterol levels while plant-based and cell-based meat does not contain any cholesterol whatsoever. Animal meat has also shown to increase resistance towards insulin in a recent study, increasing the risk of diabetes for people who consume animal meat on a daily.

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Another crucial problem with meat consumption is the bioaccumulation of harmful substances, such as mercury in the body. Fish consumption is the most significant source of mercury ingestion in humans. Seawater only contains small amounts of mercury and methyl mercury but due to biomagnification, species higher on the food chain can amass body concentration of the toxin ten times higher than what they consume. Methyl mercury is absorbed by algae and subsequently eaten by the fish that are on the lower end of the food chain. Herring contains 0.1 ppm of mercury while fishes that are higher on the food chain, like sharks contain more than 1 ppm of mercury. Humans end up accumulating even more mercury being at the top of the food chain.

 

A major advantage that alternative meats have over conventional animal meat is that they can be fortified. Just the way biofortification is used in the dairy industry to add nutrients, like Vitamin D, to milk and other dairy products, plant-based meat can be fortified to incorporate various nutrients and minerals in the meat to amplify its nutrient profile.

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Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest health challenges of our time. It is reported that at least 2.8 million people get an antibiotic-resistant infection every year in the United States, of which at least 35 thousand people die. Animals bred in factory farms are injected with antibiotics and hormones that only fuel this problem further. Alternative meats, thus, also help in reducing the risk of more antibiotic-resistant infections evolving.

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