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- Issue no. 17: Can You Get All Your Nutrients without Meat?
Issue no. 17: Can You Get All Your Nutrients without Meat?
Paolo Lamparelli
January 09, 2024
Reading time: 3 minutes
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Todays’ menu:
1) Plant-Based Puzzle: Can You Get All Your Nutrients without Meat?
2) Plant-Powered: Navigating Nutrient Needs on a Plant-Based Plate
3) Beyond Beans and Tofu: Can Algae Fuel Our Muscle Growth?
🌱 Plant-Based Puzzle: Can You Get All Your Nutrients without Meat?
🍽️ Different portion sizes
January often comes with new year resolutions.
In the last couple of years, gut health has taken center stage.
This newfound focus on plant-based diets, however, comes with a caveat: relying solely on plants may not provide all the necessary nutrients.
A recent research paper sheds light on just how much of specific plant-based foods an adult needs to consume to obtain one-third of the recommended daily intake of crucial vitamins and minerals. These key nutrients include vitamin A, folate, vitamin B12, calcium, iron, and zinc.
For key nutrients, it takes twice the amount of plant-based food compared to animal products to achieve the same nutritional intake (see picture below).
With the exception of seeds, nuts, and leafy vegetables like spinach.
🥊 Punchline
The top sources of key vitamins and minerals are organs, small fish, dark green leafy vegetables, molluscs, crustaceans, goat, beef, eggs, milk, canned fish with bones, mutton, and lamb.
But this abundance is less readily found in plant-based foods.
Therefore, replacing animal-based sources with plant-based foods typically involves:
1. Bigger portions to compensate for lower nutrient density in individual plant foods
2. Lots of different plant based foods to ensures broader intake and reduces reliance on specific sources
This is why plant based diets require careful planning (with or without the use of supplements).
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😕 Some things to watch out!
We spoke about nutrition density of plant based foods.
Here's a closer look at some common concerns when following a plant based diet:
· Vitamin B12: Essential to make red blood cells and helps release energy from food. Vitamin B12 is scarce in plants. Supplementation is usually necessary, with fortified dairy alternatives and yeast offering good enough plant-based sources
· Calcium: essential for bones health. Good plant sources are kale, dried fruits, leafy vegetables, nuts like Brazil nuts, and seeds like sesame seeds.
However, plant foods often contain "anti-nutrients" that hinder the absorption of minerals like calcium, iron, and zinc. Legumes, seeds, spinach, and nuts are common culprits. Sprouts, soaking, and boiling can help reduce these anti-nutrients
· Vitamin D: essential for calcium absorption and hormonal health. vitamin D is best obtained from sunlight. However, limited sunlight in the UK necessitates year-round supplementation with at least 10 micrograms daily.
· Iron: essential for healthy red blood cells and metabolism. Good enough sources are leafy greens, legumes, wholegrains, nuts, seeds and dried fruits. Absorption of iron from plants is usually poor, but consuming vitamin C-rich foods like berries, peppers, kiwis, and citrus fruits can significantly boost it
· Iodine: essential to make thyroid hormones. The amount of iodine in plants depend on the soil quality. Good plant sources are seaweed and fortified foods.
Hopefully this can help you better plan a plant-based diet to fully enjoy its health benefits.
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🫘 Beyond Beans and Tofu: Can Algae Fuel Our Muscle Growth?
💪 The right protein powder
More of us looking for sustainable protein sources.
But when it comes to animal alternatives, we are often struck with beans and tofu.
A new study shines the spotlight on an unexpected contender: algae
Researchers focused on spirulina and chlorella, two readily available algae rich in micronutrients and protein.
Their study found that supplementation with spirulina or chlorella can support muscle growth in young healthy adults following exercise, when compared to a fungal protein source called mycoprotein (the one in Quorn).
Interestingly, spirulina supplementation results in greater muscle synthesis than chlorella.
🥊 Punchline
Their findings suggest that algae may be an interesting and sustainable alternative to animal-derived protein when it comes to building muscle.
So, are algae poised to be the next big thing in muscle-building?
Not so fast! Three key hurdles remain:
1. Taste: anyone who tried spirulina knows that its potent flavour isn't exactly palate-pleasing
2. Heavy metals: Algae can accumulate heavy metals like cadmium and lead from the sea. Ensuring safe levels and developing decontamination methods will be paramount.
3. The Gold Standard Challenge: Eggs, dairy, and red meat are the gold standard in muscle-building arena, triggering the highest rates of muscle synthesis. Until algae can prove equally or even more effective, widespread adoption might be very slow.
Despite these challenges, the study reveals the potential of algae in shaping a sustainable food future and offering an eco-friendly alternative for muscle building.
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To your health!
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