Is tofu healthier than TVP

I read this article https://veganfoodlover.com/tvp-vs-tofu-vs-tempeh-best-protein/ Stating that tofu is healthier than TVP because TVP is highly processed. My thought to this was that obviously most highly processed foods are bad, but the fact that something is processed doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. I also think that TVP may have one advantage over tofu because the oil is removed so it doesn't contain as much omega 6. What are your thoughts?

Answer

Processed does not equal bad, and I think this article’s reasoning for choosing what is healthiest here sounds pretty biased.

They said TVP is really great protein per ounce of it, but wouldn’t ‘live off the stuff’. I would argue that for all of them really, or any other food. These are all mostly pure soy, I think they’re all fine in moderation and I wouldn’t really say any of them are much healthier than the other if you don’t have any specific health complications.

Answer

TVP is a very isolated food part. That means the ratio of macro and micronutrients are going to be quite skewed. If you are trying to provide your body with balanced nutrition, you’ll have to do some heavy correcting to overcome the imbalance. Too much protein in the diet will ultimately turn to stored fat. TVP can be part of a balanced diet, but you’ll have to make sure you’re the one balancing (as opposed to a whole food plant based diet which has most of the balancing done if you eat enough calories). Tofu has more of the bean and requires less balancing since the ratio of nutrients are less skewed.

I don’t think either are inherently bad, but try to have a varied and diverse diet. Eating TVP everyday may limit other nutrients (that you would otherwise get from, say, black beans or lentils).