Plant-Protein Diversity Is Critical to Ensuring the Nutritional Adequacy of Diets When Replacing Animal With Plant Protein: Observed and Modeled Diets of French Adults (INCA3)

Marion Salomé (1) , Erwan De gavelle (1) , Ariane Dufour (2) , Carine C. Dubuisson (2) , Jean-Luc Volatier (2) , Hélène Fouillet (1) , Jean-François Huneau (1) , François Mariotti (1)

1 PNCA - Physiologie de la Nutrition et du Comportement Alimentaire
2 ANSES - Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail

Background: There is a current trend in Western countries toward increasing the intake of plant protein. A higher plant-protein intake has been associated with nutritional and health benefits, but these may depend on the pattern of plant-protein sources. Objective: We hypothesized that the diversity of plant foods could be important to nutrient adequacy when increasing plant-protein intake in the diet. Methods: Using data on 1341 adults (aged 18–64 y) from a representative French national dietary survey conducted in 2014–2015 (the third Individual and National Study on Food Consumption Survey—INCA3), we studied the links between plant-protein intake, dietary diversity (using various dimensions), and nutrient adequacy [assessed using the PANDiet (Probability of Adequate Nutrient Intake) scoring system, comprising adequacy (AS) and moderation (MS) subscores]. We simulated substituting plant-protein foods for animal-protein foods using different models of plant-protein diversity. Results: We found that overall diet quality was weakly associated with total and protein diversity and more strongly with plant-protein diversity. Plant-protein intake was inversely associated with animal-protein intake, and positively with the PANDiet and MS, but not with the AS. Plant-protein intake displayed little diversity, mostly taking the form of grains (61% of plant-protein intake), and this diversity was even less marked under a higher plant-protein intake. Finally, modeled substitutions showed that reducing animal-protein intake increased the MS (by 32%) in a similar manner whichever plant protein was used for substitution, whereas it decreased the AS (by 20%) unless using a highly diversified plant-protein mix. These simulated improvements in overall adequacy included marked decreases in adequacy regarding certain nutrients that are typically of animal origin. Conclusions: We conclude that in French adults the current pattern of plant-protein intake is hindering the nutritional benefits of a transition toward more plant protein, indicating that the consumption of plant-protein-based foods other than refined grains should be encouraged.

Mots clés: plant protein; animal protein; diet quality; nutrient adequacy; dietary diversity; food substitution

Domaines: Alimentation et Nutrition; Santé publique et épidémiologie

Marion Salomé, Erwan De gavelle, Ariane Dufour, Carine C. Dubuisson, Jean-Luc Volatier, et al.. Plant-Protein Diversity Is Critical to Ensuring the Nutritional Adequacy of Diets When Replacing Animal With Plant Protein: Observed and Modeled Diets of French Adults (INCA3). Journal of Nutrition, 2019, 150 (3), pp.536-545. ⟨10.1093/jn/nxz252⟩. ⟨hal-02366514⟩