Plants under pressure: How meat analogue processing affects health

Plant-based meat analogues are often dismissed because they are "ultra-processed" and therefore assumed to be unhealthy. In her PhD thesis, Jolien de Boer investigated whether that assumption holds up, by looking at how meat analogues made from plant proteins are actually processed, and what that means for our health. 

She focused on two key steps: how much the plant ingredients are refined into protein-rich powders, and how they are shaped into meat-like structures using a technique called extrusion. Extrusion is one of the reasons these products are classified as ultra-processed, raising questions about its effect on nutritional quality. Using lab digestion models, gut fermentation experiments, and dietary modelling

simulations, she found that the extrusion process itself barely affects protein quality or nutrient uptake. What matters far more is which ingredient is used and how refined it is. Less refined plant-based products retain more fibre, have a smaller environmental footprint, without compromising nutritional adequacy. Processing alone shouldn't be the health verdict.