The world of Tzu Chi May 2020 (Vol.122)

TZU CHI 122 59 Ng Hui Ling A nutritionist with a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and a Master’s degree in Sports Science, who served at the Singapore Heart Foundation before becoming self-employed, providing dietary consultations to vegetarians and writing a nutrition column for a health magazine. plant-based meat is equally nutritious, albeit its highly-processed nature? Applying this line of thought to all plant-based foods might be a logical fallacy. Plant-based foods lose a portion of nutrients and phytochemicals or plant compounds at the processing stage. In the case of plant-based meat, substantial amounts of food additives are added during the production process in order to replicate the taste and texture of real beef. Some perceive plant-based meat as a healthier choice as it does not contain cholesterol. Meanwhile, I prefer to take this opinion with a pinch of salt. Replacing real meat with plant-based meat simply because the latter is cholesterol-free is not necessarily a healthy move. Take, for instance, the plant-based meat burger I ordered the other day, which was accompanied by a side of fries that occupied a third of the platter, as well as raw greens in a portion so meagre it amounted to nothing but a mere garnish. Furthermore, the sodium content in processed plant-based food commonly reaches worrying levels; I reckon the amount of sodium contained in the plant-based meat patty I had consumed was by no means low. On second thought, does substituting real beef with plant-based meat really improve the quality of our diet? Some consumers have even mistaken plant-based meat for real beef, as the addition of heme – a deep red, iron-containing molecule extracted from the roots of soybean plants – during the production process of plant-based meat gives it an appearance and texture that resemble actual meat. However, past research has shown that a high intake of heme is associated with a rise in iron store levels and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. As I ingested a mouthful of the plant- based meat patty, it occurred to me that plant-based meat was probably invented for flexitarians who observe vegetarianism on a casual basis, such as on Meatless Mondays or the first and fifteenth days of every lunar month, as per Buddhist customs. My family and I have been long-term vegetarians, but rather than altering our diet by introducing copious amounts of plant-based meat, I opt to include a variety of natural plant-based foods such as greens, mushrooms, beans, legumes and nuts in my cooking to sustain a healthy and environmentally-friendly lifestyle.