What’s up with all this “plant-based” meat replacement stuff that’s all the rage? Seems like all the fast food franchises are scrambling to come up with plant based versions of their burgers and subs so they can cash in on this “plant-based” save the planet BS. Before you dive into one of these frankenfoods that have been given birth in some processed food company’s laboratory, check out the long list of ingredients in them. Meat is simply meat, one ingredient – meat! A part of the natural human diet for millennium, since the beginning of time! Why do people decide to believe the crap that the media feeds them on TV and in news articles that benefit processed food companies and not our health!
For some reason people have decided that a food that has been invented in a lab is more healthy than a food that has been part of a healthy, normal diet for millions of years. Red meat has been demonized for the last 50 or so years for some strange reason (I think the proven false “heart health” hypothesis is partly to blame). There is no good data that shows red meat causing any detrimental health conditions like cancer whatsoever. If you don’t believe it, do your own research and when you find a study that has a title the supports the “red meat bad” bs, check it out more closely and you’ll find the data is very poor and does not show causation.
So what is the major concern with these substitute meat products? The main health problem is with the use of seed oils. Seed oils which are commonly referred to as “vegetable oils” are in a majority of processed food. They were invented over a hundred years ago when it was noticed that there was a growing amount of leftover seeds from the cotton industry. Some thought it would be beneficial to do something with these leftover seeds instead of throwing them out. Eurika! Why not squeeze them using very high pressure and toxic chemicals and exact a very small amount of oil. Initially this oil was used to lubricate machinery but then someone thought “I bet we can eat this stuff!!!” WTF
So…the first big processed food companies were born. Companies like Proctor and Gamble saw the monetary potential in turning these oils into foodstuffs. Crisco and margarine were invented and advertised as a healthier/cheaper alternative to lard/butter. This stuff is loaded with trans fat which recently was outlawed. More companies jumped on this bandwagon making oils from corn, sunflower, rapeseed, flaxseed, soy, etc. All these oils are polyunsaturated fat which means they have more than one double oxygen bond, more on that later. These oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids and also lower LDL and total cholesterol so they were recommended by health organizations to help prevent heart disease etc. We now know that lowering cholesterol may be bad for health and less is being made about it as time goes bye. Lowering LDL cholesterol might even be very unhealthy especially in older people.
So why all the press about going plant-based to save our health and planet? Money! Processed food companies are seeing that consumers are starting to realize how bad sugar and grains are and are scrambling to come up with “processed” factory alternative foods. Why do people believe a strict vegan diet can help health and the planet? Processed food can keep selling factory made food that is “saving us and the earth” that’s why! The money keeps flowing and everyone is happy because eating a Beyond Burger is stopping climate change. Please!
Look up on YouTube “How Canola Oil is Made” and tell me that’s a healthy food. These seed oils have 2 or more double oxygen bonds which leads them to forming “ROS”s in the body. These “Reactive Oxygen Species” are released into the body and act like rust. This is why “Vegetable Oils” are deemed toxic and go rancid when heated. The real bad news is just about every restaurant in North America uses these in their fryers because it’s cheap. You will also find them in most store bought condiments, packaged food and dressings. The over consumption of vegetable oils is also linked to many of our modern chronic health problems. My advise is to limit these industrial oils and increase your omega-3 intake. Try to eat more wild caught fish etc and/or take a supplement. Also limit how often you eat out. Real health is in real food!
Rick Keto Ironman 