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Nutrition and Health (including climate and ecological aspects)

Plant-based alternative proteins—are they nutritionally more advantageous?

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 77, pages 1051–1060 (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background

The transition towards sustainable nutrition as well as the exploration of alternative sources of protein have been at the forefront of thinking in the 21st century. However, further research is required to ascertain if a diet composed of alternative plant-based proteins has similar nutritional advantages to a plant-based diet. This study aims to model the replacement of a diet consisting of animal-based proteins with plant-based alternatives (PBA), in a group of Asians.

Methods

A 4-day food record was collected from 50 individuals residing in Singapore and nutrient profiles were generated for each individual. Food records were analysed, and meat, dairy, and seafood ingredients were substituted gram-for-gram with their PBA. The original and replaced nutrient profiles were compared against each other and the differences in macro and micronutrients were analysed.

Results

A significant increase in carbohydrates, dietary fibre, as well as in micronutrients such as sodium and calcium was observed. Conversely, there was a significant decreased intake in overall energy, protein and fat (p < 0.005).

Conclusions

The significant nutritional impact of substituting animal-based proteins for PBA may present benefits for bone health and individuals on a caloric restriction diet. However, higher sodium levels may be undesirable for individuals with cardiovascular conditions and hypertension, and the low bioavailability of iron in plant-based sources may present issues for iron deficient populations. Bearing some of these key findings in mind, researchers and manufacturers need to consider these when developing alternative protein products to meet consumer demands for palatable and nutritious plant-based products.

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Fig. 1: Data collection: Food weighing and recording (Picture samples).
Fig. 2: Process flow chart from food record to generation of nutrient profile.
Fig. 3: Replacement of animal-based protein with plant-based alternatives.
Fig. 4: Distribution charts for comparing nutrient intakes.

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Data availability

The nutritional dataset generated during this study will be made available to the reader by contacting the corresponding author. However, due to constraints imposed by A*STAR Singapore Institutional Review Board, the release of the entire nutritional dataset will only be done at the discretion of the authors.

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Funding

This research is supported unconditionally by the Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), A*STAR under its IAF-PP Food Structure Engineering for Nutrition and Health Programme (Grant ID No: H17/01/a0/A11 and H18/01/a0/B11).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Nutrition Research Centre (CNRC), Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), #07-02, 14 Medical Drive, Singapore, 117599, Singapore

    Wesley Tay, Rina Quek, Joseph Lim, Bhupinder Kaur, Shalini Ponnalagu & Christiani Jeyakumar Henry

  2. Department of Biochemistry, National University of Singapore, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore, 117596, Singapore

    Christiani Jeyakumar Henry

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  1. Wesley Tay
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Contributions

Conceptualisation, W.T. and C.J.H.; data analysis, W.T., R.Q., J.L. S.P.; writing—original draft preparation, W.T., R.Q., J.L.; writing—review and editing, W.T., R.Q., J.L., B.K., S.P., C.J.H. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christiani Jeyakumar Henry.

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Ethical approval

The study was conducted in accordance with the guidelines laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki, and all procedures involving human participants were approved by the A*STAR Institutional Review Board, Singapore (Reference no. 2021-110). Before the commencement of the study, all participants were briefed on the study protocol and were given ample time to read through the procedure before giving consent.

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Tay, W., Quek, R., Lim, J. et al. Plant-based alternative proteins—are they nutritionally more advantageous?. Eur J Clin Nutr 77, 1051–1060 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-023-01328-1

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