Your Guide to Plant- Based Protein

Protein is an essential macronutrient, along with fats and carbohydrates. Proteins are essential to growth, to creating hormones and enzymes, and to transporting oxygen throughout the body. Proper protein requirements not only involve the quantity, but the quality of protein as well. The latter speaks to the digestibility and the amino acid concentrations with your food source. This article will unpack plant- based food sources that will ensure you meet all of your protein requirements. Regardless if you are a flexitarian, pescatarian, vegan, vegetarian, or meat- eater- the following complete recommendations are available to all!

Quantity calculator:

 It is extremely important to get enough protein in your diet to ensure your body functions properly. Protein requirements can be anywhere from 0.8 to 1.8 grams per kilogram of body weight, dependent on how activity levels.¹ So that means if you are a 150 pound female (around 68 kgs) you should shoot for around 70 grams of protein per day. You may need more if you are extremely active.

Plant-based benefits:

What most believe is in order to meet their protein requirements, they need to increase their meat intake; but this is not always the answer. As a matter of fact, you can create meals with complete protein (all 9 essential amino acids) sans animal products of any sort. And these plant sources can be even higher in amino acid concentrations and better absorbed than their meat and animal byproduct counterparts. Moreover, these swaps can be extremely beneficial to your health in the long run.

Some reasons to include more plant- based proteins in your diet:

1. There is a widespread practice of adding antibiotic and hormones to some meats
2. Red meats should be minimized to once a week due to their high saturated fat and cholesterol content
3. Fish should also be minimized to twice a week due to the mercury content
4. Meat can take a long time to prepare and cook properly, which can be a burden with a busy lifestyle
5. Meat and dairy can be hard for your body to digest
6. Meat does not last very long in the refrigerator and it may not be feasible to get to the grocery store every few days
7. Smoked meats or bacon can have a high nitrate and nitrite content, which can increase your cancer risk and damage arteries

In fact, an editorial posted in the American Heart Association journal said:

“A vegetarian diet based on any single one or combination of these unprocessed starches (eg, rice, corn, potatoes, beans), with the addition of vegetables and fruits, supplies all the protein, amino acids, essential fats, minerals, and vitamins (with the exception of vitamin B12) necessary for excellent health. To wrongly suggest that people need to eat animal protein for nutrients will encourage them to add foods that are known to contribute to heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and many forms of cancer, to name just a few common problems.”²

The editorial also states, that a full diet of 5 servings of fruit and vegetables and 5 servings of whole grains will provide all necessary quantities of amino acids, as well. ² So that means, eating plenty of whole grains, vegetables, legumes, and fruits will get you to your daily protein requirements, without a problem.

The alternative is swapping out some meals for purely plant- based ones. This is not meant to sway or debate on what diet is healthiest. Any diet can be healthy if you have the right knowledge and mindset; but large quantities of meat and dairy can be a cause for concern, as shown above. Meat absolutely does not have to be a part of every meal and health- wise, should not be. There are plenty of ways to get quality protein without meat products.

Quality Protein Assurance with your Essential Amino Acids³:

In terms of quality protein, all nine essential amino acids need to be in your diet. These nine are histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine and they are the building blocks for our cell’s to make the other 11, for a grand total of 20 amino acids. ¹The following are rich plant-based foods in each of the nine amino acids:

• Histidine: nuts, pumpkin seeds, whole grains, navy beans, green peas
• Threonine: wheat germ, most any seeds & nuts, beans, lentils, parsley
• Isoleucine- amaranth, seaweed, peas, beans, spinach, oat, wheat, seeds, legumes
• Leucine- legumes, pumpkin seeds, beans, chia/hemp/ flax seeds
• Lysine- avocado, beets, potatoes, peppers, beans, chickpeas, lentils, seeds, nuts, amaranth, buckwheat
• Methionine- brazil nuts (handful) gets you 50% days, hemp/ pumpkin/ chia/ sesame/ sunflower/ flax seeds, beans, whole wheat, wild rice, avocado, spinach, peas
• Phenylalanine- lentils, peas, beans, brown rice, spirulina, parsley, mushrooms, wheat germ
• Tryptophan- pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, whole oats, beans, spearmint, peanuts
• Valine- beans, peas, sweet potatoes, spinach, seeds, oatmeal, broccoli, avocado

A diet rich in legumes, whole wheats, seeds/ nuts, and vegetables will be able to get you all of your amino acids.

If you would like to make sure each meal has complete proteins you can do the following combinations:

Grain + Legume

Whole wheat bread + Peanut butter

Whole Wheat bread + Chick peas (hummus)

Brown Rice + beans

Leafy Greens + Potatoes or beans

Spirulina + oats or whole grain

There are also plant- based food that are complete proteins, which means you can get all nine essential amino acids by a single food sources. These include:

• Soy products: soybeans, Tofu, soymilk, Tempeh, and miso
• Quinoa
• Buckwheat
• Ezekiel (sprouted grains) bread
• Hemp seeds
• Chia Seeds

A 100+ gram protein sample diet:

Breakfast- Protein oats >35 grams of protein:

Multigrain oat cereal with berries, banana, flax seed, chia seed, and peanut butter

Snack- Trail mix >15 grams per serving:

Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, brazil nuts and some dried fruit

Lunch- Veggie grain bowl >35 grams of protein:

Quinoa, leafy greens, avocado, roasted soybeans, and some fresh herbs sautéed in olive oil

Snack- Veggie dip >10 grams of protein:

Hummus and sliced veggies

Dinner- Veggie chili >20 grams of protein per bowl:

Variety of beans and veggies in a tomato base

In conclusion, there are infinite ways to get your proteins, and your nutrients in general. Current research says that it is extremely beneficial to incorporate in plenty of plant proteins, regardless of your diet type. The best ways to ensure a healthful, protein- packed diet is examining the quantity and quality your body needs. You can find your optimal protein quantity by body weight and activity calculations. A quality protein diet will have full amino acids profiles and bio-available/ digestible foods.

Thanks for reading! xoxo

references:

1. “Amino Acids: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia.” MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002222.html

2. McDougall, John. “Plant Foods Have a Complete Amino Acid Composition.” Circulation, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 25 June 2002, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12082008.

3. “My Food Data.” Myfooddata, www.myfooddata.com/