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Leaving aside for a moment the morality of eating meat and dairy - is there actually any (health) benefit to the heavily (and I mean heavily) processed dairy al

Leaving aside for a moment the morality of eating meat and dairy - is there actually any (health) benefit to the heavily (and I mean heavily) processed dairy alternatives compared to just eating regular cheese?

La1n 6y ago
Not all vegan cheeses are heavily processed, the cashew based type mentioned in the article tends to be not processed more than a normal cheese would be.
- nxpnsv 6y ago
  With a cashew cream & agar agar base its not so hard to make a cheese approximation by yourself. Really not a lot of advanced processing needed. It gets harder if you want a more accurate emulation though
- jandrese 6y ago
  It should be noted that cheese is almost all process. It's just what it is. Unprocessed cheese is just milk.
Accacin 6y ago
I'm vegan, and probably not. I've heard that most vegan substitutes are processed heavily so not really more healthy (and probably less healthy than non-vegan options). However, I do still eat them on occasion. Sometimes after a 30km run, all I think about is burgers so when I get home and sit and have vegan burger with vegan cheese. It may not be as good as the 'real thing' but it hits the spot :)
- barbazoo 6y ago
  After 2 years or so of eating vegetarian I don't think that meat burgers are actually better. First of all, a burger is all about toppings and condiments. And vegetarian patties have come such a long way, texture and flavor wise, it blows my mind. Compared to the boring and ever the same taste of meat it doesn't even come close for me.
  - delecti 6y ago
    Agreed. I've accidentally gotten a few beef burgers since I stopped intentionally eating meat, and at this point I prefer impossible burgers over beef. I still haven't found a sufficiently satisfying ham (always just tastes like bologna) or breakfast sausage (too dry) yet though.
  - qudat 6y ago
    This is also true for buffalo wings. They aren't actually good, they are just a vehicle for buffalo sauce. Fried cauliflower with buffalo sauce is just as good if not better than wings.
    - xeromal 6y ago
      Veggie Grill makes some great boneless buffalo wings
    - barbazoo 6y ago
      Fried cauliflower is so good, thanks for reminding me about that!
  - celtain 6y ago
    My standard workday lunch used to be a chicken salad sandwich with all the toppings. When I replaced that with a mushroom melt I realized I didn't actually care that much about the chicken itself. A lot of the meat I was consuming was just a matter of treating meat as the default option, not because it was actually adding significant value. That style of eating comprised at least 75%-90% of my meat consumption, and cutting that out turned out to be extremely easy. The last 10%-25% has been much harder though, especially when my wife and most of my friends like eating meat so much.
  - AlgorithmicTime 6y ago
    If the burger is all about toppings and condiments, you are not eating good burgers, sir.
andor 6y ago
Animal fat and protein cause inflammation, while plant-based fat and protein don't. Dairy contains all sorts of hormones and other stuff (e.g. real estrogen, antibiotics) that people should not consume regularly. Milk alternatives on the other hand can actually be anti-inflammatory because they contain antioxidants. Whether that still holds true for processed versions of it... probably depends! The other big risk factor in cheese is saturated fat. I don't know if plant-based cheese is generally healthier in that respect.
- srswtf123 6y ago
  Citations needed for all of this?
  - hombre_fatal 6y ago
    The first paragraph is just things you’ll hear on NutritionFacts.org with some research papers you can review for yourself. Which was weird to hear in a culture where meat and even dairy are heralded for their supposed nutritional (like protein) superiority. I think his “Evidence Based Weight Loss” video touches on these points all in one place if you are interested. There might be an accompanying article with simpler links to the papers he cites, but too lazy to check on mobile.
Pfhreak 6y ago
Milk has quite a bit of sugar, many of the milk replacements are higher in protein and lower in sugar, or have different macronutrient profiles. Also, I like the flavor and mouthfeel of things like oatmilk. I'm also not convinced that milk is not a 'heavily processed' commodity. You are just using a pregnant cow to do a lot of the processing.
- raffraffraff 6y ago
  Which vegan cheeses have higher protein? In my experience they're all lower. Philadelphia lightest has 11% protein, 2.5% fat, 4.9% carbs. Violife slices are 0% protein, 23% fat (20% saturated) and 20% carbs. Pure trash.
  - Pfhreak 6y ago
    I haven't been able to find cheeses. I was talking about vegan milks.
- css 6y ago
  > Milk has quite a bit of sugar Sugar content without regard to glycemic index [0] is meaningless. Cow milk contains lactose, which has a very low glycemic index. Most milk replacements use maltose, which has almost double the glycemic load, making them significantly less healthy than actual milk (since they are all basically sugar and canola oil [1]). [0]: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mnfr.201901082 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mnfr.201901082 [1]: https://every.to/almanack/oatly-the-new-coke-821556 https://every.to/almanack/oatly-the-new-coke-821556
RacfeelBudkind 6y ago
Well, there's no cholesterol at least. Edit: Also keep in mind that cheese is a processed food too. I think it's somewhat subjective whether oil mixed with starch and yeast is more processed than milk coagulated with an enzyme (rennet, usually from mold), strained, and fermented. Processed food isn't inherently unhealthy, but both cheese and vegan cheese definitely are.

La1n 6y ago

Not all vegan cheeses are heavily processed, the cashew based type mentioned in the article tends to be not processed more than a normal cheese would be.

nxpnsv 6y ago
With a cashew cream & agar agar base its not so hard to make a cheese approximation by yourself. Really not a lot of advanced processing needed. It gets harder if you want a more accurate emulation though
jandrese 6y ago
It should be noted that cheese is almost all process. It's just what it is. Unprocessed cheese is just milk.

Accacin 6y ago

I'm vegan, and probably not. I've heard that most vegan substitutes are processed heavily so not really more healthy (and probably less healthy than non-vegan options). However, I do still eat them on occasion. Sometimes after a 30km run, all I think about is burgers so when I get home and sit and have vegan burger with vegan cheese. It may not be as good as the 'real thing' but it hits the spot :)

barbazoo 6y ago
After 2 years or so of eating vegetarian I don't think that meat burgers are actually better. First of all, a burger is all about toppings and condiments. And vegetarian patties have come such a long way, texture and flavor wise, it blows my mind. Compared to the boring and ever the same taste of meat it doesn't even come close for me.
- delecti 6y ago
  Agreed. I've accidentally gotten a few beef burgers since I stopped intentionally eating meat, and at this point I prefer impossible burgers over beef. I still haven't found a sufficiently satisfying ham (always just tastes like bologna) or breakfast sausage (too dry) yet though.
- qudat 6y ago
  This is also true for buffalo wings. They aren't actually good, they are just a vehicle for buffalo sauce. Fried cauliflower with buffalo sauce is just as good if not better than wings.
  - xeromal 6y ago
    Veggie Grill makes some great boneless buffalo wings
  - barbazoo 6y ago
    Fried cauliflower is so good, thanks for reminding me about that!
- celtain 6y ago
  My standard workday lunch used to be a chicken salad sandwich with all the toppings. When I replaced that with a mushroom melt I realized I didn't actually care that much about the chicken itself. A lot of the meat I was consuming was just a matter of treating meat as the default option, not because it was actually adding significant value. That style of eating comprised at least 75%-90% of my meat consumption, and cutting that out turned out to be extremely easy. The last 10%-25% has been much harder though, especially when my wife and most of my friends like eating meat so much.
- AlgorithmicTime 6y ago
  If the burger is all about toppings and condiments, you are not eating good burgers, sir.

andor 6y ago

Animal fat and protein cause inflammation, while plant-based fat and protein don't. Dairy contains all sorts of hormones and other stuff (e.g. real estrogen, antibiotics) that people should not consume regularly. Milk alternatives on the other hand can actually be anti-inflammatory because they contain antioxidants. Whether that still holds true for processed versions of it... probably depends! The other big risk factor in cheese is saturated fat. I don't know if plant-based cheese is generally healthier in that respect.

srswtf123 6y ago
Citations needed for all of this?
- hombre_fatal 6y ago
  The first paragraph is just things you’ll hear on NutritionFacts.org with some research papers you can review for yourself. Which was weird to hear in a culture where meat and even dairy are heralded for their supposed nutritional (like protein) superiority. I think his “Evidence Based Weight Loss” video touches on these points all in one place if you are interested. There might be an accompanying article with simpler links to the papers he cites, but too lazy to check on mobile.

Pfhreak 6y ago

Milk has quite a bit of sugar, many of the milk replacements are higher in protein and lower in sugar, or have different macronutrient profiles. Also, I like the flavor and mouthfeel of things like oatmilk. I'm also not convinced that milk is not a 'heavily processed' commodity. You are just using a pregnant cow to do a lot of the processing.

raffraffraff 6y ago
Which vegan cheeses have higher protein? In my experience they're all lower. Philadelphia lightest has 11% protein, 2.5% fat, 4.9% carbs. Violife slices are 0% protein, 23% fat (20% saturated) and 20% carbs. Pure trash.
- Pfhreak 6y ago
  I haven't been able to find cheeses. I was talking about vegan milks.
css 6y ago
> Milk has quite a bit of sugar Sugar content without regard to glycemic index [0] is meaningless. Cow milk contains lactose, which has a very low glycemic index. Most milk replacements use maltose, which has almost double the glycemic load, making them significantly less healthy than actual milk (since they are all basically sugar and canola oil [1]). [0]: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mnfr.201901082 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mnfr.201901082 [1]: https://every.to/almanack/oatly-the-new-coke-821556 https://every.to/almanack/oatly-the-new-coke-821556

RacfeelBudkind 6y ago

Well, there's no cholesterol at least. Edit: Also keep in mind that cheese is a processed food too. I think it's somewhat subjective whether oil mixed with starch and yeast is more processed than milk coagulated with an enzyme (rennet, usually from mold), strained, and fermented. Processed food isn't inherently unhealthy, but both cheese and vegan cheese definitely are.