Nutritional and health benefits of a partial substitution of red and processed meat with non-soy legumes: a 6-week randomized controlled trial in healthy working-age men
Bäck S, Päivärinta E, Pellinen T, Itkonen ST, Lehtovirta M, Erkkola M, Kaartinen NE, Männistö S, Pajari AM
European journal of nutrition · 8 citations
Review labels
Neutral facts our review recorded about how this study was done. They describe method, never whether we like the result.
How it was studied
- Design
- Randomized controlled trial (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
- Intake measured by
- Food diaries or recalls
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- University or hospital
- Helsingin Yliopisto
- University or hospital
- University of Helsinki
Based on 2 listed funder(s) and full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2025-08-19 · Eur J Nutr · vol. 64 · issue 6 · p. 259
- Publisher
- Springer Science+Business Media
- Cited
- 13 citations · more than 99% of similar papers · 11.8× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 40 works
- Access
- Open access (hybrid journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Nutritional Studies and Diet · Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact · Proteins in Food Systems
- Keywords
- Food science, Red meat, Soy bean, Medicine, Substitution (logic), Randomized controlled trial, Soy protein, Health benefits, Environmental health, Biotechnology, Biology, Traditional medicine, Surgery
- MeSH
- humans, fabaceae, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, type 2, diet, nutritional status, nutritive value, meat, adult, middle aged, male, young adult, biomarkers, red meat
9 authors
From FI
- Sari BäckUniversity of Helsinki
- Essi PäivärintaUniversity of Helsinki
- Tiina PellinenUniversity of Helsinki
- Suvi T. ItkonenUniversity of Helsinki
- Mikko LehtovirtaUniversity of Helsinki; Finland University; Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland
- Maijaliisa ErkkolaUniversity of Helsinki
Abstract
Purpose
Legumes are recommended as a sustainable alternative protein source to red and processed meat (RPM). We studied the effects of a partial substitution of RPM with non-soy legumes on nutrient intakes and status, anthropometric measurements, and biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes risk in healthy working-age men.
Methods
In a 6-week clinical trial, 102 men (mean age 38 years, range 21-61) were randomized to either the MEAT group, consuming 760 g/week of RPM (25% of total protein intake (TPI)) or the LEGUME group, consuming 200 g/week of RPM corresponding to the maximum of the Planetary Health Diet (5% of TPI) along with legume-based foods containing protein equivalent to 560 g/week of red meat (20% of TPI). TPI target was 18 E%. Four-day food records, blood, and 24-h urine samples were collected at baseline and endpoint.
Results
At the endpoint, the LEGUME group had higher intakes of fiber (g/MJ, P = 0.006), polyunsaturated fatty acids (E%, P < 0.001), and iron (mg/MJ, P < 0.001) compared to the MEAT group, but lower intakes of saturated fatty acids (E%, P = 0.012) and vitamin B12 (µg/MJ, P < 0.001). The LEGUME group had lower vitamin B12 status (holotranscobalamin, P = 0.022), iodine status (24-h urinary iodine excretion, P = 0.041), total and LDL cholesterol (both P < 0.001), and BMI and weight (both P = 0.009).
Conclusion
Implementing a moderate dietary shift by consuming more legumes and less RPM may beneficially affect biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases and weight in healthy working-age men while maintaining nutritional adequacy of iodine, iron, and vitamin B12 in the short term. Trial Registration Clinical trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT04599920 in October 2020.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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