Originally published October 18 2005
Nutritionist takes a long look at veggie burgers
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Karen Collins compares the nutrition of veggie burgers versus beef burgers and even gives advice on how to find a tasty veggie burger near you.
Veggie burgers are now standard all-American fare, served at fast food restaurants, sports arenas, amusement parks and schools.
But are they really more healthful than a burger made of extra lean ground beef or turkey?
HealthWashington, D.C. - American Institute for Cancer Research - infoZine -One of the best reasons for choosing a veggie burger is to cut saturated fat.
Depending on its size, a regular hamburger's four to seven grams of saturated fat are a significant part of the recommended daily limit of 15 to 25 grams, which varies according to a person's calorie needs and blood cholesterol level.
A burger made of extra lean ground beef (90% lean) reduces saturated fat, but only to three to five grams.
The size of a veggie burger affects its nutrition content, and its size is another reason why it is a healthy choice.
A quarter-pound of uncooked ground beef will yield a hamburger of this size, and it will have about 200 calories.
To eat a healthier regular burger, you could reduce its size.
A 2.5-ounce regular hamburger contains about 170 calories, while the same size burger made of any kind of lean meat carries about 150 calories.
Veggie burgers with soy contain soy protein that can help reduce blood cholesterol, but not all the protein is from soy.
If you want to eat soy for isoflavones (natural phytochemicals that might lower the risk of cancer or help with symptoms of menopause), you should eat soymilk, tofu and soy nuts.
A serving of these foods supplies about 25 milligrams (mg) of isoflavones, while a veggie burger may have 6 mg at most.
If you eat plenty of meat, fish, poultry, or vegetarian protein, a mushroom "burger" is fine.
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