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By Jillian Kubala, MS, RD
Impossible Burger is a vegetable alternative to traditional meat burgers. It is said that it mimics the flavor, aroma and texture of the beef.
Some claim that the Impossible Burger is more nutritious and environmentally friendly than beef burgers. Others argue that some ingredients of the Impossible Burger may not be optimal for your health.
This article explains what is the impossible burger, what it is made of and is nutritionally superior to beef burgers.
What is the Impossible Burger?
Impossible Burger was created by Impossible Foods, a company founded by Patrick O. Brown in 2011.
Brown is a scientist and professor emeritus of Stanford University in California. He holds a degree in medicine and a PhD. and worked as a research scientist for many years.
Through lectures, Brown has attempted to raise public awareness of how the use of animals for food purposes harms the environment. However, this has had little impact and he has therefore created a company producing plant alternatives to popular animal products.
Its flagship product – the Impossible Burger – aims to perfectly mimic the taste of beef.
Burger Impossible Ingredients
Using carefully selected ingredients, Impossible Foods has created an herbal burger that some say is perfectly similar to the taste, aroma and texture of beef.
The original Impossible Burger contains the following ingredients:
Water, textured wheat protein, coconut oil, potato protein, natural flavors, 2% or less Leghemoglobin (soy), yeast extract, salt, konjac gum, xanthan gum, protein isolate soy, vitamin E, vitamin C, thiamine (vitamin B1)), zinc, niacin, vitamin B6, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin B12.
In 2019, the company introduced a new recipe with the following changes:
- uses soy protein instead of wheat protein, which makes them gluten-free
- contains a herbal culinary binder called methylcellulose to improve texture
- replaced some of the coconut oil with sunflower oil to reduce the saturated fat content
The heme, or leghemoglobin of soy, is the ingredient supposed to differentiate the impossible burger from other herbal burgers. It adds to the flavor and color of the hamburger and makes it "bleed" as an ox burger does when it's cut.
This is also perhaps the most controversial ingredient of the Impossible Burger.
Unlike the heme present in beef, the heme in Impossible Burger is genetically modified by adding soy protein to genetically modified yeast (1).
Although generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), some worry about its potential health effects (2).
Currently, Impossible Burger is only available at select restaurants and fast food establishments in the United States, Hong Kong and Macau. The company also plans to sell the impossible Burger in American grocery stores starting in 2019.
summary
Impossible Burger is an herbal burger option meant to replicate the flavor, texture and aroma of beef.
Impossible Burger Nutrition
There are nutritional differences between Impossible Burger and beef burgers.
The table below compares a 113-gram serving of the Impossible burger to an equal portion of a 90% lean beef burger (3, 4).
Impossible burgers contain much less protein than beef burgers, but they contain more fiber. Impossible hamburgers are also high in fat and contain carbohydrates, while beef burgers do not contain carbohydrates.
In addition, the Impact Burger beats beef in many categories of vitamins and minerals such as folate, B12, thiamine and iron.
However, it is important to note that these nutrients are added to the product, unlike the nutrients found in beef.
Impossible Burgers also contains a high amount of added salt, containing 16% of the daily sodium value in a 4 ounce serving (113 grams).
summary
Impossible Burger contains more vitamins and minerals than beef burgers because they are added during processing. Impossible hamburgers are also rich in salt and carbohydrates.
Impossible Burger Benefits
Impossible Burgers offer several health benefits.
Rich in important nutrients
The Impossible Burger contains an impressive amount of nutrients, as vitamins and minerals such as iron, thiamine, zinc, niacin, riboflavin and vitamin B12 are added during treatment.
Some of these nutrients, such as vitamin B12, iron and zinc, are especially important for those who follow a plant-based diet, including vegans and vegetarians.
Vegans and vegetarians are at a greater risk of developing nutrient deficiencies than people who consume products of animal origin (5, 6, 7).
What really distinguishes the Impossible Burger from other vegan and vegetarian foods fortified with iron, is that it provides heme iron. Heme iron is better absorbed by your body than non-heme iron obtained from plant foods.
In addition, soy leghemoglobin has a bioavailability equivalent to that of iron in meat, making it a potentially important source of highly absorbable iron for those who do not consume products of animal origin (8).
Iron in Impossible Burger has been approved by the FDA for use in foods, although its long-term safety remains unknown.
Suitable for herbal diets
Impossible Burger is a good choice if you like the taste of beef burgers, but want to limit your consumption of animal products.
In addition to being suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets, it contains nutrients that are lacking in many herbal diets, such as vitamin B12 and heme iron.
Since Impossible hamburgers are on offer in some restaurants and fast food establishments, this is a tasty and easy-to-take meal choice for people who are dieting herbal.
Can be a more environmentally friendly choice
The Impossible Burger website says that producing this herbal burger requires about 75% less water, generates 87% less greenhouse gases and requires 95% less land than minced beef production conventional from cows (9).
Indeed, research shows that livestock farming is the main factor of greenhouse gas emissions and ammonia in the livestock industry (10).
Emissions of greenhouse gases from livestock contribute to global warming. This leads many climatologists to recommend that people eat more herbal so as to lessen the pressure on the environment (11, 12).
summary
Impossible Burger is an environmentally friendly food that is bursting with nutrients that are often lacking in vegan and vegetarian diets, such as iron and vitamin B12.
Burger Precautions
Although the Impossible Burger offers some advantages, there are also some disadvantages to consider.
Concerns about the heme of plant origin
Although the FDA has estimated that soybean leghemoglobin – the heme used in Impossible Burgers – complied with the GRAS standard, its long-term safety is still unknown.
Current studies on soy leghemoglobin have only been conducted in animals and for short periods.
For example, a 28-day study in the rat revealed that those who had received the equivalent of 750 mg / kg per day of soy leghemoglobin, or more than 100 times the estimated daily consumption at the 90th percentile in the 39, had no adverse effects (13).
However, it is currently unclear whether it is safe for humans to consume this compound made by humans over longer periods of time.
Contains potentially allergenic ingredients
The original Burger Impossible recipe contains wheat and soy, two common food allergens.
In fact, 1% of the world's population has celiac disease, which is an immune response to cereals containing gluten.
In addition, it is thought that 0.5 to 13% of the general population has a sensitivity to non-celiac gluten – a gluten intolerance that causes unpleasant symptoms such as headaches and intestinal problems (14).
While the new Impossible Burger recipe has replaced gluten-containing wheat protein with soy protein, the burger still contains ingredients that some people can not tolerate.
For example, a soy allergy, although less common than an allergy to milk or wheat, is considered to be one of the eight most common food allergens in adults and children (15).
Concerns about GMOs
Impossible Foods does not hide the fact that Impossible Burger contains genetically modified ingredients (GMOs) such as soy leghemoglobin and soy protein.
Most scientists agree that genetically modified foods are safe. However, some are worried about the use of GM crops resistant to commonly used herbicides such as glyphosate and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) (16).
Glyphosate has been associated with potentially harmful effects on humans, plants and animals, which has led many experts to require further research into the dangers that this herbicide could present to humans and humans. environment (17, 18, 19).
For example, it has been shown that glyphosate impairs hormonal function and some studies have associated with some cancers such as leukemia (20, 21).
In addition, some studies have linked 2,4-D exposure to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer (22).
summary
Impossible Burger has several disadvantages, including its content of potentially allergenic ingredients and the use of genetically modified ingredients such as soy leghemoglobin.
The impossible burger is it healthy?
If taste and convenience are your only concerns, Impossible Burger can be a good choice. However, if you want to eat a more nutritious herbal hamburger, consider a more complete veggie burger.
There are healthier herbal burger options
The Impossible Burger contains mainly soy or wheat proteins, as well as preservatives, salt, flavors and added fillers to enhance its taste, shelf life and texture.
Although these ingredients are considered natural, they are not necessary for a healthy diet and some people prefer to avoid them.
Another disadvantage of the Impossible Burger is that any restaurant can make its own contribution, which means that other ingredients – in addition to those listed on the official website – may be present in the final food product .
Other veggie burgers on the market usually contain similar ingredients. However, some contain more ingredients based on complete foods such as lentils, quinoa, hemp and black beans.
Fortunately, you can prepare healthier and healthier veggie burgers at home. Delicious plant-and-nutrient-rich hamburger recipes are available online and are often based on vegetable proteins such as beans, cereals and nuts.
In addition, many recipes contain fresh vegetables such as sweet potatoes, onions, cauliflower, leafy greens and spices to elevate the nutritional benefits of the final dish.
Heme iron in Impossible Burger is more bioavailable than non-heme iron in foods of plant origin.
Fortunately, if you follow a plant-based diet, you can meet your iron needs by eating nutritious whole foods such as legumes, nuts, seeds and grains. Alternatively, you can take iron supplements.
In addition, the combination of herbal iron sources and foods rich in vitamin C, as well as the soaking, germination or fermentation of cereals and legumes before consuming them are simple ways to naturally enhance the absorption of non-heme iron (23, 24).
summary
Even though the Burger Impossible may be a good option for vegans and vegetarians on the go, you can prepare healthier burgers at home.
The final result
The Impossible Burger made the headlines for its impressive similarity to beef burgers.
It contains high levels of protein, vitamins and minerals, including a genetically engineered source of heme iron known as Leghémoglobin Soya.
However, some of its ingredients are of concern. These include soybean hemoglobin and potentially allergenic protein sources such as gluten and soy.
Even though the Impossible Burger may be a tasty and convenient take-out option, you can prepare at home more nutritious herbal burgers from full ingredients.
Republished with the permission of our Healthline Media Associate.
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