Is Fake Meat Better for You Than Real Meat?

You’ve probably heard these two bits of nutrition advice: Eat more plants, and cut back on ultraprocessed foods.

So where does that leave fake-meat burgers, sausages, nuggets and other products sold by companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods? They are made from plants like soybeans and peas, but they are also highly processed.

If you ask the companies, they will tell you that their products are good for you. Nutrition experts say that there may be benefits, too. But while it’s clear that eating red meat and processed meat is associated with health risks like heart disease, some types of cancer and earlier death, we really don’t yet know how fake-meat alternatives might affect our health in the long term.

How do their nutrients compare?

The nutrient profiles of fake-meat products can vary widely, but two scientific reviews, both published in 2024, suggest a few patterns.

Compared with regular meat like ground beef, pork sausages and chicken, the plant-based versions typically have fewer saturated fats (a category of fats that have been linked to heart disease) and similar or slightly lower levels of protein.

A four-ounce burger made with 85 percent lean ground beef, for instance, contains 6.5 grams of saturated fat. An equivalent size Impossible Burger has a little less than that (six grams of saturated fat), and a Beyond Burger has a lot less (just two grams). On the other hand, a Gardein Ultimate Plant-Based Burger has nearly 40 percent more saturated fat (nine grams) when compared with ground beef.

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