Salt debate: Are we really better off with a beef burger? What does the data say?
In a Daily Mail article, published on 16th March and written by Zac Campbell, plant-based meat alternatives are criticised for containing too much salt. This high salt content is said to be due to attempts "to enhance flavour and make the alternative taste more like a genuine meat product." The article makes that claim, but without offering a comparison with beef burgers. While monitoring salt intake is important, we need data for both products to compare their nutritional profile. So what does the data say?
The misleading rating is mainly driven by the lack of balance provided by the article. The headline is particularly misleading, as the article is about salt content, not plant-based diets, with growing evidence showing that a healthful plant-based diet can provide benefits to reduce blood pressure and stroke risk factors.
We live in a fast-paced world where we can easily feel bombarded with information. It might then come as no surprise that in general, 80% of people do not read past headlines. That is why it is so important to be aware of their potential to distort our perception of popular issues, and even of what an article is about.
Comparing food products with packets of crisps can be helpful to draw attention to the prevalence of salt in our food. However, context is also needed to avoid growing feelings of fear and overwhelm when thinking about nutrition.
Beware of potential bias, which can lead to cherry-picking the data and distort the big picture.
Claim 1: Even “seemingly healthy” bread loaves can be high in salt.
FACT-CHECK: This is true, although the claim lacks context. According to Action on Salt, a group that campaigns for the food industry to reduce unnecessarily high quantities of salt added to our foods, bread is the biggest source of salt we eat in the UK. This is not because bread is particularly salty, however, but rather because it is such a staple part of our diet. The example given here is that of one slice of Hovis Granary Wholemeal sliced bread, containing 0.46g of salt, which, as the journalist notes, is more than a packet of crisps. While this is true, and monitoring one’s salt intake is important, that slice of bread will also contain other nutrients such as fibre (3.2) or protein (5g). Depending on the loaf selected, other ingredients like seeds might also add to its nutritional value. Being aware of nutritional information can be empowering: it can help us make healthier choices (how often we might choose to consume bread; what loaf we choose; what we add to our sandwiches, etc.). However, broad categorizations and comparisons with packets of crisps might be more intimidating than empowering when they are not contextualized.
Claim 2 : “Meat alternatives frequently contain high amounts of salt in an attempt to enhance flavour and make the alternative taste more like a genuine meat product.”
FACT-CHECK: As plant-based alternatives are becoming more popular, it’s natural to compare their nutritional value with that of the products they aim to replace. In this article, while attention is drawn to the salt content of plant-based meats, no comparison is offered with their meat counterparts.
- Vegan Burgers vs. Beef Burgers: The first item on the list of everyday foods that contain more salt than a packet of salted crisps is the Vegan Burger. The reference used is a packet of Walkers Ready Salted Crisps, containing 0.44g of salt. By comparison, a Beyond Burger is reported as containing 0.75g of salt per 100 grams. While this is true, it doesn’t quite give us the full picture, as the salt content of beef burgers is not mentioned. Two comparisons are possible here. First, we could look at supermarket beef burgers, which are a popular choice due to their convenience and price. For example, Sainsbury's Quarter Pounder British Beef Burgers contain 0.95g of salt per 100 grams, 0.20g more than Beyond Burgers. The second comparison option is homemade beef burgers: according to the UK Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset, a homemade beef burger, when grilled, contains 0.285g of salt per 100g. It is also important to note that cooking methods can vary, as noted by a Stanford School of Medicine study on the health effects of plant-based meat compared to animal-based meat, which found no significant difference in overall sodium intake, or indeed in the participants’ blood pressure.
- Richmond Sausages: The article then compares the salt content of Richmond Meat Free sausages (1.3g for 2 sausages) and of packets of crisps, but it does not provide a direct comparison with their meat counterparts. When checked, two Richmond thick meat sausages contain 2g of salt, which, when adjusted for weight is still higher than the salt content in the meat-free version (1.9g and 1.5g/100 grams, respectively).
These findings do not support the claim that, on the basis of salt content, “a beef burger can be healthier than going vegan”, which compares a single product to an entire diet. If we look at the latter, studies have shown the benefits of plant-based diets to reduce blood pressure, which can be negatively affected by high salt intake. The bottom line here might be that processed products, whether they are animal-based or plant-based, tend to be higher in salt. To monitor salt intake, it is therefore important to consider one’s diet as a whole: how do we cook these products, what do we eat alongside them, and what is their proportion in our diet?
Final Take Away
The idea that “seemingly healthy” products are in fact bad for us is frequently expressed in the media. By making broad statements about the health implications of vegan diets, the article contributes to the broader narrative that plant-based foods are not as healthy as they appear. This could deter people from incorporating more plant-based products into their diet (beyond the occasional plant-based burger).
The comments section reflects a broader issue of distrust towards nutritional advice, with readers expressing skepticism about the seemingly ever-changing nature of dietary recommendations:
“So this week salt is bad for you, next week..…”
“According to the experts, everything is bad for us…”
This skepticism might be partly fueled by sensational statements which can often lack context.
If you are looking at reducing your salt intake, Action on Salt and Action on Sugar have collaborated with The George Institute for Global Health to create a free application called FoodSwitch, which you can use when shopping to be easily informed of a product’s nutritional information and of suggestions for healthier alternatives.
Sources
Action on Salt: https://www.actiononsalt.org.uk/
Baden, M. et al. (2021). Quality of Plant-Based Diet and Risk of Total, Ischemic, and Hemorrhagic Stroke. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000011713.
Campbell T. (2017). A plant-based diet and stroke. https://doi.org/10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2017.05.010
Crimarco, A. et al. (2020). A randomized crossover trial on the effect of plant-based compared with animal-based meat on trimethylamine-N-oxide and cardiovascular disease risk factors in generally healthy adults: Study With Appetizing Plantfood-Meat Eating Alternative Trial (SWAP-MEAT). https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqaa203
Hovis: https://www.hovis.co.uk/granary-wholemeal
Sainsbury’s: http://www.sainsburys.co.uk
UK Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset: https://quadram.ac.uk/UKfoodcomposition/
Tesco: https://www.tesco.com/
Tomé-Carneiro, J., et al. (2023). Plant-Based Diets Reduce Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review of Recent Evidence. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-023-01243-7
UK Flour Millers. Flour & bread consumption. https://www.ukflourmillers.org/flourbreadconsumption
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