The new meatless meat; healthy or unhealthy? - Charschan Chiropractic in North Brunswick, NJ and Scotch Plains, NJ

The new meatless meat; healthy or unhealthy?

If you have ever tried a meatless burger in the past, it was likely made up of either black beans or other combinations of vegetables that tasted nothing like meat. Many of these meat substitutes also did not cook like meat either.

Two relatively new companies have gone public and made a few early investors impossibly rich as their stock prices soared. Impossible foods and Beyond Meat are two companies that have developed products that look and even cook more like meat.

You can now find Beyond Meat in major food stores such as Whole Foods and several food chains. They also make a chicken substitute as well. Beyond Meat consists of pea protein isolate as the primary ingredient. Other ingredients (there are 22 in total) include mung bean protein, apple extract, and pomegranate fruit powder.

The Impossible Burger is a soy-based product. Some Nutritionists are concerned due to the amount saturated fat content and the presence of chemical additives in the product.

Due to the nature of the products, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey told Business Insider that he would not endorse the product. Even though a product may be made of vegetables, it may be horrible for our health when consumed on a regular basis over many years.

Most processed foods are higher in calories, while they are lower in nutritional content. While there is no argument that growing plants to develop meat like food is better for the environment than raising animals for slaughter, and more humane as well, replacing one unhealthy food for another is ultimately an unhealthy practice. Also, as with many processed foods, you may gain weight as these products are not low in calories, and some of the synthesized products within the foods may ultimately prove to be bad for our overall health years later.

You can read more about these products below

‘I will not endorse that’: The CEO of Whole Foods says eating plant-based ‘meats’ is unhealthy

Daniel Strauss Aug. 28, 2019

The CEO and cofounder of Whole Foods has some concerns about the plant-based “meat” craze.

John Mackey told CNBC on Wednesday that plant-based meat substitutes are good for the environment but not for your health, echoing concerns that have been raised by dieticians and nutritionists in recent weeks.

“If you look at the ingredients, they are super-highly processed foods,” Mackey told CNBC. “I don’t think eating highly processed foods is healthy. I think people thrive on eating whole foods.”