Mycoprotein versus Legumes for Protein

Mycoprotein is considered by many to be a meat replacement. Nutritionally this is disingenuous because although mycoprotein contains high amounts of protein, it is low in many of the nutrients in meat including haem iron, carnitine and creatine. The main advantage of mycoprotein over other non-meat sources of protein is that the texture of the mycoprotein can be made to be somewhat similar to meat. However, beyond this advantage there is little benefit to mycoprotein when compared to other high protein foods including legumes. Legumes are also high in protein, and when compared to mycoprotein are cheaper and require less energy to grow, and therefore they are superior to mycoprotein when considering environmental impact. Legumes are low in the amino acid methionine, but any grain in the diet removes this deficit. Further, a handful of studies attest to a small number of health effects for mycoprotein, whereas a large amount of literature show a wide range of health benefits for legumes.  

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RdB

Moo-Young, M., Chisti, Y. and Vlach, D. 1993. Fermentation of cellulosic materials to mycoprotein foods. Biotechnology Advances. 11(3): 469-479

About Robert Barrington

Robert Barrington is a writer, nutritionist, lecturer and philosopher.
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