A friend of mine has high blood pressure and is getting a bit overweight at the age of 51. His doctor says he needs to lose 30 pounds.
My friend — who eats out frequently at fast food restaurants — has been considering trying out some of the vegan options on the menu at Burger King and others.
Two alternatives to the hamburger — The Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger — have captured his imagination. Could switching to these alternative burgers put him on the path to a plant-based world of healthier eating?
Perhaps not.
It turns out that consuming plant-based burgers still doesn’t avoid another important trap: processed foods.
Processed foods — including these burger alternatives — tend to be higher in salt (sodium), as well as certain types of saturated fats.
I’m not an expert on the particulars of which type of burger or non-burger is best for a person, but my friends over at Forks Over Knives have done a nice write up on the subject:
Are ‘Plant-Based’ Veggie Burgers Actually Healthy? | Forks Over Knives
Their article talks about the pros and cons of choosing the Impossible Burger or Beyond Burger over a traditional beef hamburger. They also offer some recipes for homemade plant-based burgers.
Fast food will always be fast food, and although you may find healthier alternatives within the fast food realm, there’s no substitute for homemade food with fresh ingredients.
Burger image by Julia Nowak from Pixabay