The ultra-processed vegan meals specialists say you must AVOID

Tucking into a meat-free banger might not be any healthier than the real thing, claim food experts.

In fact, those who opt for ultra-processed plant-based products —including vegan ‘fake meat’ sausages, bacon and burgers as well as cakes and crisps — might be at 15 per cent higher risk of suffering a heart attack and stroke.

At least, that’s according to analysis of more than 118,000 participants’ diets, published in renowned medical journal the Lancet. 

But just because a plant-based product is a UPF doesn’t mean it is inherently bad for you, dieticians say.

Here, MailOnline breaks down which plant-based UPF products are actually good for you and which ones you should watch out for.  

A ‘plant-based’ label doesn’t mean it’s healthy… 

Packed with fat, salt and laden with sugar UPFs have long been vilified for increasing heart attack and stroke risk. 

However, not all UPFs can be lumped into the same pile. 

Plant based UPFs include vegan burgers, sausage rolls and breaded ‘chicken’ as well as vegan mince. 

But many brands of baked beans, supermarket bread, vegan cheese and cakes and crisps are also plant based, and UPFs.

By definition, UPFs are foods that have undergone various modifications to extend their shelf life or make them more appealing to the consumer, or sometimes both. 

An easy sign a food could be a UPF is if it contains ingredients you wouldn’t find in your kitchen cupboard, say critics of the products, such as unrecognisable colourings, sweeteners and preservatives.

Another clue is the amount of fat, salt and sugar lurking inside each pack, with UPFs often containing high amounts.

If you are tucking into a vegan sausage roll, the chances are it is no better for you than it’s meat equivalent.

‘If it looks like an unhealthy thing it probably is,’ Dr Duane Mellor, dietitian and spokesperson for British Dietetic Association told MailOnline. 

He stresses that if something has been fried and covered in pastry, it is unhealthy and probably contains a high amount of saturated fat and salt, no matter if it is vegan or UPF. 

Rob Hobson, registered nutritionist at Healthspan and author of Unprocess Your Life, urges people to check the labels as plant-based UPFs ‘do differ quite a lot’. 

‘I think most people assume that all plant-based food options are healthy but many can contain lots of salt, sugar and saturated fat in the same way as animal based products,’ he told MailOnline.

‘You can also check the front of pack label to check how much salt, sugar and saturated fat is in the production to help you to make a healthy food choice,’ he added. 

For example, a Greggs sausage roll contains 22g of fat, 13g of saturated fat and 1.6g of salt. 

And a Greggs Vegan Sausage Roll is only marginally better, containing 18g of fat, 8.7g of saturated fat and 1.8g of salt. 

Any food with more than 5g of heart-unhealthy saturated fat is considered ‘high sat fat’, so should be consumed in moderation.  

The NHS advises men to not eat more than 30g of saturated fat a day and women should not have more than 20g.

… but you can have fake meat that’s good for you

However, not all fake meat is unhealthy, even if it is classed as a UPF. 

Many Quorn and pea protein based products, although are UPF, can be a good edition to a balanced diet and low in fat, experts say.

‘Generally the mince or the straightforward chunks that you can chuck into a stir fry, are low salt, low fat options and they are nothing to be concerned about,’ Dr Mellor said. 

Mr Hobson agrees that sticking to plain pieces of fake meat such as Quorn can be a cheap source of plant-protein that’s also low in salt, fat and sugar. 

He said: ‘Quorn would be classed as a UPF but not because of the processing involved to produce it from fungi but because it contains other ingredients you wouldn’t find in your kitchen like firming agents (calcium chloride and acetate) and barley malt extract.

‘I would not deter people from eating Quorn as I think it is a really quick and easy to use source of plant protein, as well as containing a great source of fibre in a minerals like zinc. Quorn also doesn’t contain much salt, sat fat and sugar.’

For example, per 75g portion of Quorn chicken style pieces, it only contains 2g of fat, 0.5g of saturated fat and just 0.44g of salt. 

However, once it’s been covered in bread crumbs, pastry or deep fried, it’s not as healthy. 

The Quorn Crispy Nuggets contains more than three times the fat of a regular Quorn piece with 6.4g of fat, 0.6g of saturated fat and 0.90g of salt. 

Mr Hobson said: ‘Some Quorn products are a lot more processed like nuggets, sausages and scotch eggs so I would stick to the mince or pieces that you can use to make healthy dishes with and eat less of the other products in the range.’

Yes, baked beans are UPFs… but they’re healthy 

Some of the healthiest plant-based meat replacements, which are classed as UPFs, are made from pea protein or made with lentils or nuts.

Products that contain these ingredients are more likely to be nutritious and be a good source of fibre, experts say.

‘The healthy ones are more likely to have higher amounts fibre so look out for ingredients like beans, lentils, peas, nuts and seeds and of course vegetables,’ Mr Hobson said.  

‘These ingredients are also likely to give you other nutrients in the food including minerals like magnesium, zinc and iron. What sets these apart from other UPFs is this nutrient profile,’ he added. 

Beans on toast made with a tin of beans and supermarket bread is another example of a plant-based UPF that isn’t particularly unhealthy.

In fact, the cheap and easy dinner contains fibre, protein, amino acids and calcium. 

‘Baked beans and supermarket bread are both UPFs, but they are not unhealthy food. There is a lot of stigma about pre-made bread, but it is a healthy meal,’ Dr Mellor said. 

‘Many people rely on this foods as a budget meal so I don’t think it is very helpful to making people feel they are being unhealthy by eating them,’ added Mr Hobson. 

‘They are UPFs because they contain modified starches, and spice and herb “extracts”, the no added sugar variety also contains artificial sweetener. 

‘However, I would say they are a healthier UPF as they contain a really good sources of fibre from the beans used and this is nutrient people do not eat enough of in their diet. 

‘The fibre and protein in this foods also help to manage blood sugar levels.’

Should you really worry about additives? 

If something contains unrecognisable colourings, sweeteners and preservatives it’s most likely a UPF.

‘Some contain more additives than others, such as vegan cheese which is often made with coconut oil and contains things like modified starches, thickeners and colourings that you may not recognise the names of,’ Mr Hobson warns. 

‘Some fake meats may contain protein isolates, maltodextrin, thickeners like guar gum and artificial flavourings to give them a smoky flavour. If you’re trying to avoid additives then these are not the foods for you,’ he added. 

However, not all unrecognisable ingredients you can’t find in your kitchen cupboard are necessarily bad for you. 

Plant-based UPFs that are fortified with B12, calcium, iron and proteins provide more nutrition than plant-based products made from jack fruit for example, which do not contain the same nutrients as meat, Dr Mellor explains.

He said: ‘If you are adding things like B12, which can sound really scary if you call it Cyanocobalamin, but that is just its chemical name. There might also be potassium iodide added in. 

‘So, some plant-based products are not unhealthy because they are UPFs, but because they are not nutritionally equivalent to meat.’