A new study has revealed that fake “meat” products such as Bill Gates’s lab-grown “beef” are linked to cardiovascular diseases and heart failure-related deaths.
The results of the study are a major blow to the narrative that vegetarian and vegan diets help to lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
According to a new UK Biobank study, which analyzed the diets of more than 118,000 participants, scientists found that meat-free “foods” carry a huge risk of heart disease if they are ultra-processed.
The study, published in Lancet Regional Health – Europe, notes that this excludes natural produce such as fresh fruit and vegetables.
However, ultra-processed products that are plant-derived, insect-based, or lab-grown, carry an increased risk of heart failure and death.
Scientists found that ultra-processed food (UPF) products, such as lab-grown “beef” or insect-based “beetleburgers,” are linked with a 15 percent higher risk of suffering heart attacks and strokes.
The researchers found that these dangers are even present in plant-based UPFs, which have long been hailed as a “healthy” option to meat.
The research, which involved experts from Imperial College London, utilized data from more than 118,000 UK citizens.
The participants, aged 40 to 69 years, had their diets assessed over at least two days.
Scientists split food into plant-based products, such as fruit, vegetables, grains, and bread, as well as cakes and candy, and animal-based products such as fish, poultry, red meat, eggs, and dairy.
The two groups were then further divided into either ultra-processed food (UPF) or non-ultra-processed.
This data was then linked to hospital and mortality records to obtain information on cardiovascular diseases.
People who ate a lot of plant-based ultra-processed foods had a 7 percent greater risk of suffering conditions like blocked heart vessels.