Guest: Professor Hans Stein, Ph.D.
Plant-based burgers often promise protein comparable to their animal-based counterparts, but the way protein is expressed on current nutrition labels – a single generic value expressed in grams – can be misleading. That’s because the human body does not use “protein” per se. Instead, it needs essential amino acids, which are present in proteins, but the concentration and digestibility of amino acids are different among protein sources.
To account for these differences, a new standard for protein quality, the digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS), was developed by the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) about a decade ago. It specifically focuses on the digestibility of essential amino acids, and aims to put more accurate tools in the hands of nutritionists and food assistance programs the world over.
A new study from the University of Illinois and Colorado State University leverages the DIAAS system to understand protein quality in beef and pork burgers and plant-based burgers from Impossible™ and Beyond Meat®.
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About the Guest
Hans H. Stein is a professor of Animal Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he is conducting research and providing outreach programs in the area of intestinal physiology and feed ingredient evaluation. Previous jobs include positions as assistant and associate professor at South Dakota State University, jobs in the feed industry, and jobs in primary agricultural production. He obtained a PhD degree in monogastric nutrition from the University of Illinois, and a Masters degree from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Copenhagen, Denmark. Dr. Stein was born and raised on a small livestock operation in the southern part of Denmark.
Show Notes:
[00:04:16] Study comparing a plant-based burger to a meat-based burger was conducted to test the hypothesis that these (completed products) plant-based burgers deliver the same amino acid value as beef or pork-based burgers.
[00:05:31] The method to evaluate the amino acid profile of the product is called DIAAS (Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score).
[00:05:48] Not all proteins are created equal, it's important that proteins are selected that have all the amino acids and that they are digestible. There are several amino acids that humans cannot synthesize.
[00:06:13] Different proteins have different compositions of amino acids.
[00:06:38] Important to select proteins or protein combinations with all the essential amino acids.
[00:06:53] The DIAAS goes beyond the protein comparison and compares different products based on contribution of digestible amino acids.
[00:07:52] In the study the absorption of protein/amino acids were measured by what went into a pig and what came out of the intestines of the pig. The difference indicates what was being absorbed.
[00:09:01] The beyond burger and the impossible burger were compared to pork and beef burgers, and how they each have a different core protein. The carrier protein in the plant burgers is primarily soy and pea protein.
[00:10:02] Soy compares well to animal protein as far as leucine contents goes, but there are 9 indispensable or essential amino acids and they are all equally important.
[00:11:31] The heat treatment (toasting) of soy food products eliminates the digestive inhibition (trypsin inhibitor) problem.
[00:12:51] Soy also contains some carbohydrate components called oligosaccharides, which induce flatulence.
[00:13:25] Fermentation eliminates oligosaccharides.
[00:14:24] The following treatments were used in the study:
· 2 Different beef patties with 2 different amounts of fat, 80% lean and 93% lean.
· Pork patties
· Impossible burger patties
· Beyond burger patties
· Bread buns
· All were fed separately to pigs as well as in combination with bread buns
[00:15:49] Fat slightly increases the digestibility of amino acids.
[00:16:59] The outcome:
· The three animal-based patties had greater amino acid quality than the plant-based patties.
· The amino acid profile in the plant-based patties, with or without the buns, was way below what is needed to fulfil the requirement of humans.
· Lysine was the number 1 limiting amino acid, but many others fell short as well.
[00:28:37] Comparing the amino acid profile:
· an individual would need to eat at least 15% more of the impossible burger compared to eating a pork or beef burger
· around 25% to 30% more if they eat the beyond burger.
· The person would thus need to consume more calories to equate the amino acid uptake of an animal-based burger.
[00:29:14] If a child does not get enough digestible amino acids into their diet, it will result in stunted growth and reduced development and in worst cases reduced brain development.
[00:35:26] Plant-based diets must consist of a combination of high-quality amino acid sources.
[00:35:42] The recommended RDA of 50 grams of protein per day is too low.
[00:36:04] Protein requirements should ideally be measured as digestible amino acid requirements
[00:43:25] Carl shared a few very interesting facts on the adverse effect certain foods have on him, and how there’s no cookie cutter diet for anyone out there. Download – you'll be glad you did!
