How healthy is fake meat?

Question

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like fake hotdogs, an burgers an nuggets an things like that. i eat them several times a week cause its meatfree an easy. but they have like a bajillion ingrediants, are they just as bad as processed meals?

Answer 1

They are processed foods, so they are not as good for you as beans and rice, etc. On the other hand they are a lot better for you then the real meat products they replace. My main concern with fake meats is the high salt content in them.  

Answer 2

It's got to be better than regular meat.  I like it because it's full of protein.  It tastes great too!  We buy the smart dogs, faux lunch meat, faux pepperoni, and faux canadian bacon.

Answer 3

They're usually made from soy, so they're usually full of protein and overall, fairly healthy (more so than real hotdogs and hamburgers) because there is less fat and cholesterol.

Answer 4

There are good things and bad things about fake meat. Good things are they're usually very low fat (or fat free), low in cholesterol, less likely to cause foodborne illness (no such thing as undercooked veggies), and high in fiber and protein. Bad things are they are usually very high in sodium, have artificial preservatives, and a lot of times have other dangerous chemicals like MSG (sometimes labeled as "yeast extract"). Compared to real meat, it's much healthier, and usually have much fewer calories. But fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, etc. are the healthiest foods.

Answer 5

They aren't bad for you but they are processed and have a lot of packaging, which of course isn't great for the environment.  I like to eat that stuff on special occasions rather than daily or even weekly.  You kind of answered your own question when you mentioned all the ingredients.  Of course it's not as bad as processed meat but it's not super healthy either.  Plus, it's a lot of soy in your diet.  Try portobello mushrooms or seitan for meat subs.  Beans are great too and tacos are sooo easy.  Try to wean yourself off the soy--I'm sure you have tofu and soymilk too--try to incorporate more veggies.  

Answer 6

Up against the items they are replacing they are usually much healthier with less calories, less fat, more nutrition vitamins and mineral wise, with fiber (something meat doesn't have) and without cholesterol (something plants don't have).

There are some that are better than others though. Many of the biggest companies use soy protein isolates developed by another huge company (it started with animal feed and ironically are being added to most meats these days especially burgers, sausages, and dogs -- and Special K protein water) so are not whole foods.

http://www.allbusiness.com/manufacturing...

Stick with some of the smaller companies that use whole foods such as Tofurkey (has a bunch of different foods which I understand are the best -- I didn't like hot dogs and such much even before I went veggie but my daughter and now her friends rave about them), Field Roast, Amy's, Dr. Praeger's, and Sunshine all have meat alternatives made of a variety of ingredients including whole soy, wheat, veggies, seeds, nuts, and more.

You can also make your own out of an even larger variety of ingredients. I've seen patties made with pumpkin, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, lentils, bulgar, and much more. Blenders and food processors can do just about anything these days.

But most of all, the alternatives have much less chance of salmonella, trichinosis, mad cow, tape worms and other parasites, e coli contamination, and they don't cause your kitchen to be a hazardous waste site.

Answer 7

Well, i got food poisoning from a veggie hotdog once. I don't recommend eating them...

Answer 8

i dont no

Answer 9

Most fake meats are fairly healthy for you. They are also delicious :)

Answer 10

Fake meats are so overprocessed, but so delicious.  There should be a balance though.  Fake meats, I believe are slightly healthier than regular meat but they should only be eaten one or two days per week.  When you do buy fake meats, try to buy organic and/or non-GMO brands.  

Healthy or not, at least they're cruelty free.

Answer 11

yes ....  If you can't pronounce the ingredients, or have no clue what they are, they're probably preservatives and other garbage that's in there......so, basically, you have vegetarian mystery "meat"

Answer 12

Well, I'll take a veggie dog anyday over a hot dog made from a variety of unidentified parts from dead animal carcasses. That way I am sure that I will not contract the human strain of Mad Cow disease also known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Please see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creutzfeldt...