Improving Heart Health: Swap Red Meat for Quorn Protein

High cholesterol is mainly caused by diets high in saturated fat, carrying excess fat around your waist and not exercising enough, and is described, alongside high blood pressure, as one of the ‘silent killers’ that are often symptomless and only identified through a medical emergency.

Elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, often referred to as ‘bad’ cholesterol, can lead to the build-up of fatty plaques in a person’s arteries, which restrict blood flow and increase their risk of a heart attack or stroke. Currently, high LDL cholesterol is associated with a quarter (115) of the 460 heart and circulatory disease deaths recorded in the UK every day.

Maintaining a healthy waist circumference is also known to be important for preventing future heart attacks and strokes. A larger waist typically indicates that there’s excess fat around and inside organs and when this happens in the liver, for example, it pushes out too much fat and sugar into the blood, increasing the risk of coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This is a particular risk when excess fat is carried around the lower torso in the abdominal area.

Researchers from the University found that participants who ate Quorn products — the popular mycoprotein-based meat substitute — over just a two-week period, saw a significant 12% drop in ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol and a 7% fall in total cholesterol, compared to those who ate similar products made from red and processed meat. In addition, they also reduced their waist circumference by close to 1cm (0.95cm) on average over the 14 days.

Such a drop in total cholesterol levels could, according to medical research, reduce a person’s risk of dying from a cardiovascular disease, such as a stroke or coronary heart disease, by as much as 9% . Waist circumference is a good measure of abdominal fat and a key marker of cardiovascular health, with a near 1cm reduction in the mycoprotein group, achieved within a short period, suggesting potential benefits for heart health and body composition.

The investigator-blind trial — which involved 20 healthy male adults who were randomly assigned to consume 240 grams per day of red and processed meat or an equivalent amount of Quorn over two 14-day periods — also revealed further heart health benefits from consuming mycoprotein, the unique ingredient in all Quorn products. Researchers identified a clinically meaningful trend toward lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the mycoprotein group, potentially contributing to improved cardiovascular health.

“At a time when millions of people have high cholesterol and excess tummy fat, this study is the latest of several human dietary intervention trials where mycoprotein has demonstrated significant cardiovascular benefits.

“It’s important as it highlights how making a simple dietary change to consume mycoprotein can deliver impressive heart health benefits in a very short period of time, cutting the risk of a person dying from cardiovascular disease by as much as nine per cent according to some models. It also demonstrates how mycoprotein could play a key role in supporting weight loss and long-term weight management.

Sources:

Dominic N. Farsi, Jose Lara Gallegos, Tim J. A. Finnigan, William Cheung, Jose Munoz Munoz, Daniel M. Commane. The effects of substituting red and processed meat for mycoprotein on biomarkers of cardiovascular risk in healthy volunteers: an analysis of secondary endpoints from Mycomeat. European Journal of Nutrition, 2023; DOI: 10.1007/s00394-023-03238-1

Northumbria University. “Swap red meat for Quorn protein to improve heart health and reduce waist circumference, study finds.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 October 2023. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231002124316.htm>.

Materials provided by Northumbria University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

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