Archives

Journal Article – “Body Composition Metrics as a Determinant of Trastuzumab Deruxtecan Related Toxicity and Response”

Yaacobi Peretz, S., Kessner, R., Bar, Y. et al. Body composition metrics as a determinant of trastuzumab deruxtecan related toxicity and response. npj Breast Cancer 11, 38 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41523-025-00754-7 This scientific article explores the connection between a patient’s body composition and their experience with the drug trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) for metastatic breast cancer. Using computed tomography scans to measure muscle and […]

Journal Article – “Lifetime Health Effects and Cost-Effectiveness of Tirzepatide and Semaglutide in US Adults”

by Jennifer H Hwang, DO; Neda Laiteerapong, MD; Elbert S. Huang, MD; David D. Kim, PhDJAMA Health Forum: 2025 Mar 7;6(3):e245586. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.5586. Published March 14, 2025 This research evaluates the cost-effectiveness of four different antiobesity medications compared to lifestyle modification alone for US adults. Using a microsimulation model, the study projected the lifetime health benefits and costs of these treatments for […]

News Article- Obesity drug coverage could lead to ‘substantial’ increase in Medicare spending

by Michael Monostra Fact Checked by Richard Smith from Endocrine Today/Healio NewsPublished April 25, 2025 According to findings from a microsimulation model, covering obesity medications under Medicare Part D is projected to significantly increase federal spending, estimated at $47.7 billion over ten years. While these drugs may reduce healthcare costs associated with obesity-related conditions, these savings are currently not […]

News Article – Maximizing Your Healthspan

American Heart Association by Laura Williamson, American Heart Association NewsPublished: January 14, 2025 The American Heart Association discusses healthspan, defining it as the number of years one lives free from significant chronic disease or disability, and contrasts it with life expectancy. It highlights the concerning trend of shrinking healthspans in the U.S. despite recent rebounds in […]

PGxAI Unveils AI-Driven Genetic Tool to Personalize GLP-1 Treatment

What You Should Know:  – PGxAI, a leader in AI-powered pharmacogenomics released a new report aimed at personalizing treatment regimens for patients taking semaglutide (commonly known by brand names Ozempic and Wegovy) and other widely used weight-management drugs.  – Utilizing advanced artificial intelligence models, the report analyzes patient-specific genetic data to identify and quantify genetic […]

Plant-Based Meats and Puberty, Obesity, and Fracture Risk

What are the effects of plant-based meats on premature puberty, childhood obesity, and hip fracture risk?
As noted in an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association on plant-based meats, if you look only at the nutrition facts information for a conventional burger versus a Beyond Meat or Impossible Burger, as seen here and at 0:20 in my video Plant-Based Meat Substitutes Put to the Test, you wouldn’t necessarily be able to predict the health consequences without further studies.

We’ve had plant-based meats in the marketplace for more than a century, though, as you can see in this ad for “good eating” Protose, below and at 0:35 in my video. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg filed a patent for Protose, what he called “the modern vegetable meat,” in 1899.

Of course, products like tempeh and tofu have been eaten throughout Asia for centuries, but I think of those as separate foods in their own right, as opposed to products intentionally designed to mimic the taste and texture of meat. With such a rich history, harkening back to the days of pass-the-Proteena—another great ad here and at 1:06 in my video—you’d think there’d be some studies of consumers—and indeed, there are. 

Researchers have found, for example, that girls who eat meat may start their periods six months earlier than girls who don’t. Is the earlier menstruation because the meat-eating girls were eating a lot of protein and fat? No, because vegetarian girls who instead ate meat analogs, like veggie burgers and veggie dogs, were able to delay menstruation by nine months. Of course, it’s hard to tease out how much of that is just from avoiding meat, but compared with girls who ate meat a few times a week, those who ate meat a few times a day had a significantly earlier age of first menstruation. This may help explain why childhood meat consumption is linked to breast cancer later in life, since the earlier you start your period, the higher your lifetime risk. 
Now, obesity itself may contribute to the early onset of puberty in girls, so that could be another factor. Studies have suggested that “vegetarian children tend to be lighter and leaner than nonvegetarian children,” but veg kids aren’t smaller in general, though. Vegetarian boys and girls may measure to be about an inch taller than their classmates; they just aren’t as wide. So, the fact that girls who eat plant-based meats may be less likely to experience premature puberty may, in part, be because they were leaner.
Indeed, as shown here and at 2:48 in my video, childhood obesity research found that meat consumption seems to double the odds of schoolchildren becoming overweight, compared to plant-based meat. Now, whole plant food sources of protein, such as beans, do even better and are associated with halving the odds of kids becoming overweight.

This is why I consider plant-based meats like the Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat more of a useful stepping stone towards a healthier diet, rather than the endgame ideal. The same amount of protein in a bean burrito would be better in nearly every way, as you can see here and at 3:05 in my video. 

Similarly, in terms of hip fracture risk, in the Adventist Health Study–2, which followed tens of thousands of men and women for years, researchers found that daily intake of plant-based meats appeared to reduce the risk of hip fracture by nearly half, but daily intake of legumes—beans, split peas, chickpeas, and lentils—may drop the risk of hip fracture by even more—by nearly two-thirds.
This is the fourth in a nine-part series on plant-based meats. If you missed the first three, see the related posts below.
Stay tuned for: 

The Health Effects of Mycoprotein (Quorn) Products vs. BCAAs in Meat
What About the Heme in Impossible Burgers?
Does Heme Iron Cause Cancer?
Heme-Induced N-Nitroso Compounds and Fat Oxidation
Is Heme the Reason Meat Is Carcinogenic?