Five reasons why seitan, also called “wheat meat” or vital wheat gluten is an unhealthy food that harms gut health. Consumers should be on the lookout for this stealth ingredient in sprouted bread and other “health” foods.
It never ceases to amaze me how manufacturers so brazenly play bait and switch with the food labels for their products. The latest ingredient game that educated consumers need to know about is seitan.
This is especially true for those who may be unknowingly eating it in the form of sprouted bread such as the very popular brand Ezekiel.
Seitan is “Wheat Meat”
In a nutshell, seitan is wheat meat. Wheat meat? Yes, people actually call it that! How can plant food be “meat”, you might ask? Let’s take an in-depth look at this immensely popular food ingredient with the groovy name.
So, what is this stuff? Seitan goes by many names that are all essentially the same thing:
- wheat meat
- vital wheat protein
- textured wheat protein
- wheat gluten
- organic wheat gluten
- vital gluten
- vital wheat gluten
It seems food manufacturers are springboarding off the immense success of hiding MSG in processed foods using dozens of aliases to confuse the consumer.
Masterful Marketing of a NonFood
You can see why branding gluten as seitan makes sense. It sounds rather hip, cool, whole, and healthy.
If you say “vital wheat protein” as you serve dinner, your guests may flee.
But if you say, “oh, this is just a little dish of seitan,” well, you are going to be the star!
This is especially slick marketing since gluten-containing grains aren’t all that in demand these days. Especially with the well-deserved reputation of toxic conventional wheat.
But seitan is anything but hip, cool, whole, or healthy.
Unfortunately, this ingredient is becoming more popular, especially among vegans and vegetarians who have to search high and low for sufficient dietary protein. This is especially true for plant-based diet fans who are allergic to soy. (1)
Those who espouse traditional diets are also eating it, mostly unknowingly. More on this below.
The Origins of Seitan
The Japanese word seitan is pronounced, “say-tan”.
Mmmm. Sounds a lot like the Western word “satan”.
Freudian slip on the part of manufacturers? You be the judge after reading this exposé.
The word was coined in 1961 by George Ohsawa, an advocate of the macrobiotic diet (a diet associated with extreme Vitamin D deficiency).
In 1962, wheat gluten sold as “seitan” began in Japan pioneered by Marushima Shoyu K.K.
It was introduced to the West in 1969 by the American company Erewhon.
History of Wheat Gluten as a Protein Source
Where and when did this stuff start? Interestingly, a rather long time ago, as early as the 6th century in China.
What was the main motivation? Religious groups, especially Buddhists, seeking to avoid meat were searching for a protein option to put on the table that was in line with their beliefs.
Besides being a non-meat source of protein, seitan’s other main attraction is its texture. Most meat substitutes don’t have a “meaty” texture at all. But seitan does.
Tofu, tempeh, and textured vegetable (soy) protein all make at best acceptable or endurable meat substitutes.
But seitan is different from these. It makes a rather good meat substitute, and thus, makes it all the more appealing to the unsuspecting masses.
Seitan is currently the most favored form for “mock meats.”
It is so good at being fake meat that when you look at pictures of foods made from good quality seitan, you may be hard-pressed to tell which are made from wheat and which are made from real meat. (2)
5 Reasons Seitan “Wheat Meat” is Unhealthy
So, we now know what it is, but is it good? First, seitan is basically pure wheat gluten.
For anyone with gluten/wheat issues, seitan is the satan of all foods.
It represents the purest and most potent form of gluten for those who are sensitive.
I wonder if its growing popularity at certain restaurants (especially vegan, vegetarian, and Asian) raises significant issues or problems with possible cross-contamination for those who are sensitive or allergic to gluten?
Second, this stuff is highly processed with a capital “P”. You can’t just isolate the gluten fraction of wheat with ease.
This processing also means many brands of seitan contain lots of other stuff, like very large amounts of added sodium, MSG, and other food additives.
Third, while it is high in protein, it is an incomplete and unbalanced source of this important macronutrient.
Seitan is very low in lysine and ultimately considered a source of low-quality protein even by the most forgiving of critics.
Being low in this amino acid is especially problematic and concerning if you are eating seitan as your primary source of protein with few other protein-rich foods in your diet. (3)
Fourth, if it is made from conventional wheat, it thus has been exposed to all the pesticides, herbicides, and other Big Ag chemicals that modern wheat production depends on.
Organic seitan would be better in this regard, but that doesn’t undo the issues listed above.
Finally, seitan made Shape magazine’s list of the top seven foods even nutritionists won’t eat. (4)
Wow, if nutritionists won’t eat this stuff most who still think a frankenfood like margarine is healthy, that is saying something!
No wonder food manufacturers are so desperate to hide its presence on the label using a myriad of other names!
Vital Wheat Gluten: Where it Hides in Your Food
In closing, let’s consider who is consuming this low-quality wheat by-product whether consciously or unwittingly.
A lot of bread makers use seitan even health food store brands. Many modern breads add additional “vital gluten” to improve the rise, texture, and elasticity of the bread.
It also gives the loaf integrity while shipping long distances and for stacking in warehouses.
Watch out for Sprouted Breads!
This is especially true, and maddeningly so, for expensive sprouted bread.
The popular brand Food For Life’s Ezekiel bread is guilty of this bait and switch perhaps more than any other commercial bread. (5)
Ezekiel markets its bread as “healthier” by using sprouted flour (which breaks down gluten to make it more digestible), charges an arm and a leg for a loaf, and then turns around and adds back the wheat gluten.
Talk about one step forward and three steps back!
The scam is reminiscent of the fake sourdough bread that seems to be everywhere too.
Watch out for “vital wheat gluten”, “organic wheat gluten”, or anything “gluten” in the ingredients of “healthy” bread choices.
If you are looking for a REAL sprouted loaf with NO wheat gluten, I recommend this sprouted loaf from a family bakery that will ship to your door.
Ultimately, wheat gluten as a food ingredient should have no appeal, organic or not, to consumers educated about traditional foods and gut health.
Reading food labels very closely is necessary to avoid it as it is increasingly appearing in pseudo-traditional foods that those in the health food community think are the real thing and are bringing into their homes.
(1) What is Seitan?
(2) What the Heck is Seitan, Really?
(3) Seitan vs Meat
(4) 7 Foods a Nutritionist Would Never Eat
(5) Food for Life (Ezekiel Bread) Containing Wheat Gluten
First – doesnt concern 93% of the population.
Second – there is no such thing as processed with a P unless it’s your name. It’s a simple process and most foods are processed. Processed food is one of the main reasons for the rise of our species. That’s why we eat bread and not plain wheat.
Third – missing one amino acid doesnt classify it as a negative source of food. The absence of something cannot be considered an argument against any food. Water doesnt contain any protein and yet it is still recommended to drink water
Forth – actually that’s not the case at all. The way it is so highly processed, the process gets rid of most pesticides. The same is not true for animal protein. All those pesticides the animals are forced to eat come with every steak you order
Fifth – Just no
Thank you.. your response was highly encouraging, as well as your experience & knowledge put a light to my suspicions while reading the ‘article’..
This post feels like you are attacking veganism.
First there are people, in excellent health, who have been vegan all their life and live well into their 90s . Just Google seventh day Adventist in Loma Linda for example .
Second, gluten is not highly indigestible. I need a source of your information. Some gliadins proteins are not but, that’s just it. Gliadins are a small part of glutens and they are used by our microbiome.
As long as one doesn’t rely on seitán and keep varying their protein source, they should be good.
There are a few complete vegetable protein such as soy, quinoa and many other combination add the missing protein to the body: 4 ounces of tofu, 6 ounces of broccoli and 3.5 ounces of quinoa makes a meals that has 20 g of protein without other additives such as chia seeds that can increase the amount of protein in the meal.
Yes, it is hard to get enough protein from plants but, it is doable and beats eating meat that is bad , especially red meat, and using casein that has been shown to proliferate cancer cells
You should Google the effect of livestock greenhouse gas has on the environment!
Vegan or vegetarian? Seventh Day Adventists certainly used to be vegetarian, not vegan. Big difference. Vegetarians can be healthy. Vegans have to supplement to stay healthy, which right there tells you that it’s not a natural human diet.
There is no such thing as a natural food. Everything, and I mean everything humans eat has been highly modified over thousands of years from its original, “natural” state. Mankind has totally transformed the planet and our food sources. Google wild bananas or broccoli to see what I mean. Gluten intolerance is a real issue for some people of course, but this article is just nonsense for most people. I was a spectacularly unhealthy vegetarian/vegan, largely because I also ate crap tons of carbohydrates. Once I cut out all the sugar (including tropical fruits) stopped drinking carbs (beer) eating pasta, bread, rice, cereal…I dropped fifty pounds over six months, with essentially no effort. I reversed my type 2 diabetes, my triglycerides, cholesterol and blood pressure are now under control. My asthma is still there, but a shadow of its former self, I haven’t taken a hit off my inhaler in six months. Of course exercise helps too, but I don’t do much of that to be honest, I hike a little, walk 30 minutes a day and do some light (emphasis on the light) strength training. I still eat tofu, which is allegedly bad for me, and seitan which according to this article will apparently be the death of me. In addition I went back to eating eggs and cheese. Yum. I literally feel, act and look twenty years younger. Your mileage may vary, but we homo sapiens are highly adaptable animals, stuffing our faces full of soluble carbs is, I think, the main issue for most Americans/Westerners.
You’re a vegetarian, not a vegan. Vegetarians on a good diet can be very healthy.
My experience after 5 years vegan is that Seitan is one of the worst things you can eat. The first years without meat and dairy/eggs our bodies are cleaning up all the mess we created over all the years and we sill can eat Seitan because it does not have that much of an impact. But after a few years vegan and intensive yoga and spiritual work i can only say that Seitan has a much bigger effect on my body. After eating Seitan i feel lazy, ill, sad and sleepy. – My conclusion is that the more we clean up our bodies the more we can feel all the bad foods and therefore having those effects listened above. Stay spiritual, stay clean, keep your hands away from Seitan.
:/ So you are saying that all vegetarian practicing Hindus and Buddhists ….. You basically saying that sizable proportion of Indians and South East Asians are malnutrition and weak…. I am not vegan but this whole conversation here is starting to sound like a pro / anti meat hipster thread…. I have friends and colleges that have never had any form of meat, be it fish, shellfish, worm, cricket, cow, pork and they are most certainly healthier than you or I ever will be.
I have a family member who is Buddhist … they are not primarily vegan. They are vegetarian … they consume dairy and eggs … some even consume bone broth. In addition, the Indian Jains are not vegan either even though many vegans claim that to be so. Jains eat dairy!
Kill yourself, scum. Fuck off into hell and died with your propaganda! In great social future, there will be only camps of death for meat eatering savage. Ten plagues unto your ancestors.
LOL. You are clearly SEVERELY low in B12. No reasonable, healthy person with a good diet where the brain is being nourished properly would ever respond this way. Interesting how so many vegans have such a problem with anger and unbalanced emotions (hallmark of B12 deficiency and lack of proper fats nourishing the brain). No, avocados won’t remedy the situation either. You need some egg yolks my friend.
When you make seitan you add stuff to the dough to make it a complete protein. You aren’t eating just the dough and water. thats gross…
It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.
The last conference of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly known as the American Dietetic Association) had McDonald’s, Coke, and Pepsi as sponsors.
BOOM.
No thinking person takes what your organization has to say about anything seriously. You are bought and paid for.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/ct-xpm-2013-06-17-chi-food-policy-dietetic-association-should-not-take-money-from-mcdonalds-cocacola-pepsi-and-other-junk-20130617-story.html
I’m 31 and have been a vegetarian my whole life. I have great health. I read consistently about the health issues from eating meat. So, you’re saying, you loose either way?
I’m not sure why, but vegans always seem to assume that those of us who eat meat eat conventional meat from animals that were abused and loaded up with antibiotics, steroids and ate GMO feed.
There is a middle ground where you can eat meat that doesn’t harm health and that traditional cultures thrived on with no problems. This is pastured meats from small, local farms. This is the type of meat vegans are transitioning to after their health starts to decline rapidly or they experience the inevitable dental issues from abstaining from animal foods.