Month: November 2021

Redefine Meat (https://www.redefinemeat.com/) is an Israeli company that has developed a process to use 3D printing to produce plant meat alternatives, including lamb and beef-like steaks. The company is doing this to help the environment, as the environmental impacts of the meat industry are well documented.

This is very new and the products are only available is a very small number of restaurants in Europe and Israel. Those restaurants in Europe are Michelin-starred, so this is a trend to watch over time. Some of the ground and sausage products are available in limited grocery stores in Israel.

Looking at the nutritional facts for the ground beef alternative, which is easy to compare to the Impossible and Beyond burgers, the Redefine meat is lower in saturated fat but still way up there in sodium content. Better than real meat, but if you have some health issues, like high blood pressure, pay attention to the nutritional facts.

For now, we in North America can’t get too excited but, if Redefine Meat is successful, there will be even more options for those who want to go plant based but still crave the taste and texture of meat.

Keep an eye on this company!

There is a new (to me) company selling kelp burgers and kelp jerky. Check out Akua at https://akua.co/. Their burgers are expensive at $49.99 for 12 and there are not many restaurants serving them, yet, but this is yet another sign that plant based alternatives are growing.

When we try one of the burgers, we’ll let you know what we think, so stay tuned!

Polypharmacy, commonly described as the use of five or more prescribed medications. It is a prevalent health issue among seniors because of the potential adverse side effects due to medication interactions.

A study conducted at Loma Linda University and reported in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine in October 2021, investigated the association between dietary patterns and number of medications used.

Data was taken on 328 participants, aged 60 years or older, collected through questionnaires and measurements at the Loma Linda University Drayson Center in Loma Linda, CA, between 2015 and 2016.

The number of pills taken versus several diet or health factors, such as BMI was tracked.

The authors suggest that “a vegan diet reduces the number of pills by 58% compared to non-vegetarian. Increases in age, body mass index (BMI), and presence of disease suggest an increased number of pills taken, but a vegan diet showed the lowest amount of pills in this sample. Body mass index also had a significant positive association with the number of pills”.

Read this article in Veg News about a Burger King in Spain that is offering an entirely meatless menu. I am adding the Veg News link because I could find nothing on the Burger King website about this: https://vegnews.com/2021/10/burger-king-in-spain-meatless?fbclid=IwAR3w8_4DRskakRA7gcb6hy2qWiIODYOclSVJ7xt4lqv3sCSVEsyYLOYK7_I

Veg News is a great resource if you are interested in a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.

One thing to remember is a restaurant may use plant based meat alternatives but might have mayo or sauce that is not vegan. Of course, you can always ask to leave out the sauce if desired.

The second thing to consider is this is still fast food, heavily processed. It may be “better” by some measures, but it is still worth trying to avoid or reduce the processed foods in your life.