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A vegan diet may not be as nutritious as first thought, according to expert dietitians

Kelly Burke
Could a cut of steak be more nutritious than its faux counterpart? One dietitian thinks so.
Could a cut of steak be more nutritious than its faux counterpart? One dietitian thinks so. Credit: GettyImages

The diets of people who regularly consume processed vegan products may be less healthy than those of their meat-eating peers, expert dietitians warn.

From tofu a-la-fish to I-can't-believe-it's-not-chicken (we made that bit up), the ever-growing variety of prepackaged faux meat products crowding supermarket shelves and freezers may be doing us more harm than good.

RELATED: 7 Vegan Foods That Are Shockingly Unhealthy

The New Zealand-based global burger chain BurgerFuel has become the latest fast food giant to introduce a plant-based "meat" patty to its menu, made by California-based company Beyond Meat.

But an analysis by a leading NZ nutritionist slammed the product, saying it was excessively high in sodium and saturated fat and lacked essential vitamins.

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'A lean cut of beef would be far more nutritious'

Nicole Dynan, an accredited practising dietitian and spokeswoman for the Dietitians Association of Australia, said the belief that all meat-free products were automatically better for you was a flawed premise.

"Just because it's vegan doesn't mean it's healthy," she told 7NEWS.com.au.

"As a general rule, the prepackaged products you find in stores are ultra-processed.

"The sodium content can be extremely high because it is used to preserve the food as well as for flavour... and a lot of the products use coconut oil, which is high in saturated fats.

"Some of these products have more than 20 ingredients, a good indication of just how processed they are.

"A lean cut of beef would be far more nutritious."

Vegetarianism on the rise

According to Roy Morgan research, the number of Australian adults whose diet is all or almost all vegetarian rose from 1.7 million to almost 2.1 million between 2012 and 2016.

An IbisWorld report released in April, said surging demand for vegan products was posing a very real threat threat to the Australian meat and dairy industries.

While a plant-based diet has been shown to lower the risk of high cholesterol, heart disease and some cancers, evidence shows that this only applies to whole foods, that is, dishes that are made from fresh unprocessed ingredients.

Nasty added ingredients

In addition to sodium and saturated fats, processed vegan food invariably comes with a lot of nasty extras, including preservatives, starches, gums and pectins.

The food is also likely to lack elements naturally found in meats such as protein, vitamin B12 and minerals like iron.

Dynan's advice to vegans: Read the labels of prepackaged meat replacement products before buying and treat the consumption of them as you would any fast food.

"Use them on occasion, just like if you have a carnivorous diet, you wouldn't buy packaged foods every day.

"Meals prepared from scratch are best."