How Healthy Are Non-Traditional Dietary Proteins? The Effect of Diverse Protein Foods on Biomarkers of Human Health

Ultra-processed vegan foods: Healthy alternatives to animal-source foods or avoidable junk?

Animal-source foods (ASFs), namely, meat, milk, eggs, and derived products, are crucial components of a well-balanced diet owing to their contribution with multiple essential nutrients. The benefits of the consumption of ASFs in terms of hedonic responses, emotional well-being, and mood are also widely documented. However, an increasing share of consumers decide to exclude ASFs from their diets. Some of these vegan consumers are inclined to consume so-called "meat" and/or "dairy analogs," which are produced from plant materials (soy, wheat, and oat, among others). In order to simulate appearance, texture, and flavor of ASFs, these industrial vegan foods are designed using an intricate formulation and industrial processing, which justifies their identification as ultraprocessed foods (UPFs). While the introduction of these processed vegan products is becoming popular in developed countries, the consequences of the sustained intake of these products on human health are mostly ignored. Contrarily to common belief, which emphasizes their role as "healthy" alternatives to ASFs, these plant-based UPFs may enclose certain threats, which are reviewed in the present paper. The remarkable differences between vegan UPFs and the genuine ASFs (meat/dairy products) from sensory, nutritional, hedonic, or health perspectives precludes the designation of the former as analogs of the latter. Understanding the basis of these differences would contribute to (i) providing consumers with grounds to make reasoned decisions to consume meat/dairy products and/or the vegan alternatives and (ii) providing food companies with strategies to produce more appealing, nutritive, and healthy industrially processed vegan products.

Effect of Sustainably Sourced Protein Consumption on Nutrient Intake and Gut Health in Older Adults: A Systematic Review

Diet is integral to the healthy ageing process and certain diets can mitigate prolonged and deleterious inflammation. This review aims to assess the impact of diets high in sustainably sourced proteins on nutrient intake, gut, and age-related health in older adults. A systematic search of the literature was conducted on 5 September 2023 across multiple databases and sources. Studies assessing sustainably sourced protein consumption in community dwelling older adults (≥65 years) were included. Risk of bias (RoB) was assessed using 'RoB 2.0' and 'ROBINS-E'. Narrative synthesis was performed due to heterogeneity of studies. Twelve studies involving 12,166 older adults were included. Nine studies (n = 10,391) assessed habitual dietary intake and had some RoB concerns, whilst three studies (n = 1812), two with low and one with high RoB, conducted plant-based dietary interventions. Increased adherence to sustainably sourced diets was associated with improved gut microbial factors (n = 4640), healthier food group intake (n = 2142), and increased fibre and vegetable protein intake (n = 1078). Sustainably sourced diets positively impacted on gut microbiota and healthier intake of food groups, although effects on inflammatory outcomes and health status were inconclusive. Future research should focus on dietary interventions combining sustainable proteins and fibre to evaluate gut barrier function and consider inflammatory and body composition outcomes in older adults.

Active peptides with hypoglycemic effect obtained from hemp (Cannabis sativa L) protein through identification, molecular docking, and virtual screening

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L) seeds are rich in proteins of high nutritional value, which makes the study of beneficial properties of hemp seed proteins and peptides, such as hypotensive and hypoglycemic effects, increasingly attractive. The present results confirm the good processability and stability of the hemp protein hydrolysate obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of non-dehulled hemp seed meal (NDHM). Six peptides with potential hypoglycemic activity were obtained by ethanol-graded precipitation, Nano LC-Q-Orbitrap-MS/MS mass spectrometry, and computerized virtual screening. Further, validation experiments for in vitro synthesis showed that TGLGR, SPVI, FY, and FR exhibited good α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, respectively. Animal experiments showed that the hemp protein peptides modulated blood glucose and blood lipids in hyperglycemic rats. These results indicate that hemp protein peptides can reduce blood glucose levels in hyperglycemic rats, suggesting that hemp proteins may be a promising natural source for the prevention and treatment of hyperglycemia.

The effect of mycoprotein intake on biomarkers of human health: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Mycoprotein is a fungal source of protein that is increasingly consumed as an ingredient in meat analogs.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to systematically review and meta-analyze the effects of mycoprotein intake on selected biomarkers of human health.

METHODS

This study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022308980). We searched the PubMed, Scopus, and Embase databases to identify randomized control trials in any language until 16 August, 2022. Trials were included if they administered a mycoprotein intervention against a nonmycoprotein control arm and if reported outcomes included blood lipids, blood glucose, insulin, blood pressure, or body weight. Eligible trials were assessed for risk of bias using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials. An inverse-variance-weighted, random-effects meta-analysis model was used to assess the effects of intake across each biomarker.

RESULTS

Nine trials that included 178 participants with a mean follow-up of 13 d were included, with 4 reporting on blood lipids and 5 reporting on postprandial blood glucose or insulin. The overall reduction of total cholesterol was -0.55 mmol/L (95% CI: -0.85 to -0.26; P < 0.001) in the mycoprotein group compared to control, but no clear effects on HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, or TGs were found (all P > 0.05). There were no reductions in postprandial blood glucose concentrations at 30, 60, 90 or 120 min. Postprandial blood insulin concentration was reduced by -76.51 pmol/L (95% CI: -150.75 to -2.28; P = 0.043) at 30 min, with no detectable effects at 60, 90, or 120 min.

CONCLUSIONS

Mycoprotein intake may have important effects on blood lipids, but the evidence base is limited by the small sample sizes and short intervention periods of the contributing trials. The protocol for this systematic review has been registered in PROSPERO as CRD42022308980.

Believe It or 'Nut': Why It Is Time to Set the Record Straight on Nut Protein Quality: Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) Focus

There are growing public health movements to transition towards diets that are plant-based. However, confusion exists with concerns that plant-based proteins (including nuts) may be inferior with respect to protein quality. The present publication evaluates the evolution of protein quality concepts and explains the protein science related to pistachios. Pistachio nuts are a plant-based complete protein providing all nine EAAs in addition to an array of nutrients and phytochemicals. They have a PDCAAS of 73 and 81%, (raw and roasted pistachios, respectively), higher than that of many other tree nuts. From an environmental perspective transitioning towards plant-based diets (including nuts) could have potential to reduce total/green water footprints. Dietary guidelines are evolving yet nuts such as pistachios do not always have a clear place within these. Now appears to be a pertinent time to look at protein quality from the perspective of whole daily diets and dietary patterns, factoring in both health and environmental outcomes. Given updated modes of thinking, nuts such as pistachios have an important role to play in terms of providing ready-to-eat, good-quality, plant-based protein within daily diets.

Fungal-Derived Mycoprotein and Health across the Lifespan: A Narrative Review

Mycoprotein is a filamentous fungal protein that was first identified in the 1960s. A growing number of publications have investigated inter-relationships between mycoprotein intakes and aspects of human health. A narrative review was undertaken focusing on evidence from randomized controlled trials, clinical trials, intervention, and observational studies. Fifteen key publications were identified and undertaken in early/young adulthood, adulthood (mid-life) or older/advanced age. Main findings showed that fungal mycoprotein could contribute to an array of health benefits across the lifespan including improved lipid profiles, glycaemic markers, dietary fibre intakes, satiety effects and muscle/myofibrillar protein synthesis. Continued research is needed which would be worthwhile at both ends of the lifespan spectrum and specific population sub-groups.