Intervention
pork sausages
At the beginning of each study phase, pre-frozen study foods (14 × 240 g packs; equating to 240 g/day for 14 days) were provided to participants, with instructions for appropriate storage, preparation, and cooking. The study foods and instructions were packaged externally and transported in concealed boxes. The boxes were assigned A or B, depending on the study arm, with the participants randomly assigned to receive either A or B in the first study phase, followed by the alternative in the second phase. In this way, the investigators were blinded to diet order. Randomisation was carried out using an online sequence randomisation generator, with To promote compliance, products were provided based on a 7-day rotation and included the following: beef steak, pork sausages, ham slices, gammon steak, bacon, beef mince and hot dogs. For the Mycoprotein phase, the equivalent Quorn™ products were included: peppered steak, sausages, deli ham slices, gammon steak, bacon, mince, and hot dogs. During intervention periods, participants were asked to maintain their usual diet, but to avoid consuming any other meat or mycoprotein products other than the supplied study foods as well as additional high protein, fibre or probiotic supplements. As stated, the study foods were matched for weight (240 g uncooked); however, the total energy content of meat and mycoprotein products were closely matched to avoid introducing additional effects from energy intake between the diets. The nutritional composition of the study foods and differences in nutrients are included in Supplementary Material, Table1i and 1ii. 1-day food records were collected at baseline and during each study phase, from which energy and macronutrient intake were calculated using Nutritics nutrition analysis software (version 5.66 Education) [