Review warns of deficiencies associated with plant-based diets
Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) has looked at the findings of a review published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which reported that switching to plant-based diets appears to “put us at risk of nutrient deficiencies”.
QMS highlighted that the authors of ‘Impact of consuming an environmentally protective diet on micronutrients: a systematic literature review‘ said: “We found evidence that diets aiming to reduce environmental impact can result in lower intakes and status of key micronutrients.”
Looking at this in the context of red meat, the trade body highlighted that pork contains 10 vitamins and minerals at “significant levels” and said that the meat was “rich in high quality protein”. It also referred to lamb and beef as “similar nutrition superheroes”.
QMS maintained that “a typical meat-free meal has a lower protein quality than animal foods”, and said that despite lower intake of nutrients like vitamin B12, vitamin D, zinc and iodine, plant foods are rich in fibre, vitamin C and polyphenols, stating that they are “still vital to include in the daily diet”.
Dr Carrie Ruxton, dietitian and QMS board member.
The nutritional content of red meat was explored in another paper published in the journal, ‘Animal board invited review: The contribution of red meat to adult nutrition and health beyond protein‘.
Lead author of the review and QMS board member, dietitian Dr Carrie Ruxton, said: “Red meat has been eaten by humans for tens of thousands of years and the reason is because it is a very nutrient-dense food, containing most of the nutrients we need for growth and repair. Not only this, some of the minerals in red meat, such as iron and zinc, are in a format that’s better absorbed by the human body compared with plant or fortification sources.”
The review looked at the benefits and risks of eating meat versus avoiding it, reportedly finding that moderate intakes of red meat provide far more benefits than risks.
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