Research
Micronutrients & recovery
Plant-based meat alternatives generally provide lower bioavailability of key micronutrients (B12, Iron, Zinc) compared to animal meat, even when fortified, due to food matrix effects and anti-nutrients.
When eating plant-based meats, be aware that you might not absorb as much B12, Iron, or Zinc as you would from animal meat, even if the label says they are equal. To mitigate this, pair these foods with Vitamin C (to help iron absorption) and consider getting your B12 and Zinc status checked if you rely heavily on these products.
GoodRefutesHIGH confidence
zinc absorption from fortified plant foods, at equal zinc content of beef, is lower than that for beef... The majority of B12 in plants are biologically inactive corrinoids... that may compete with transport of biologically active B12... heme iron is 5-10-fold more bioavailable than non-heme iron.
Why this rating
Supported by multiple citations regarding bioavailability studies.
Source
Plant-Based Meats, Human Health, and Climate Change
Stephan van Vliet et al. · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · 2020
DOI 10.3389/fsufs.2020.00128
narrative_reviewCited 204×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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