r/byndofficial

The sodium content is 20% of the RDA, about a fifth of a teaspoon of salt per patty. You get 20 grams of protein, 270 calories. That's a fantastic deal. Very favorable. I make the contention that that sodium content is in fact not particularly high for what the food is.

If you wanted to get 20 grams of protein from "natural" vegan food (aside from soy, granted), you would have to eat a physically large quantity of food. If you don't salt it (the "gotcha!" to Beyond Meat), the food will be very bland. It is unlikely you will get to 20 grams of protein with just 270 calories and only 20% sodium, again unless you're willing to eat a lot of bland food out of fear for your long term health.

Most "natural" vegan foods are not a good source of protein compared to Beyond Meat. It would take about three servings of lentils to equal one Beyond patty. If you don't salt the lentils, they will be bland as all hell, and a chore to eat. If you do, then you could easily get to 20% RDA or even more.

The numbers don't work out for Beyond Meat being a "sometimes food". Unless there's some super secret "bad for you" thing in it, the sodium content can easily fit into a daily diet.

Let's say you ate 3 Beyond Burgers. You'd have had 60 grams of protein, and would still have 40% of your RDA of sodium left over. The sodium content of Beyond Burgers is ridiculously overblown.