Is Quorn Good For You?

Quorn is a mycoprotein produced by the fungus Fusarium graminearum, which grows on any carbohydrate to produce fungal hyphae that are 45% protein. It is extremely nutritious and can be used as a base to form meat-like products.

Compared to meat, it has a lot of advantages. First of all, as well as being high in protein like meat, it is very low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Meat is high in both and this causes problems for people with high cholesterol. Elevated cholesterol levels can lead to atherosclerosis and heart disease.

It is also high in fibre, high in minerals and some vitamins and it is relatively cheap to produce.

On the down side, it seems that some people are allergic to the mycoprotein in the product, just as some people are allergic to dairy products and fish protein. They can suffer unpleasant gastric upsets a few hours after eating Quorn and then need to avoid eating it in the future.

So, unless you are allergic to the product, Quorn is a very good and health substitute to meat – but if you are allergic to it, its definitely not on the menu.