WILL I GET ENOUGH PROTEIN ON A PLANT–BASED DIET?
Contrary to popular belief, you CAN get enough protein when following a Plant-Based Diet.
However, protein consumption SHOULD be something that’s prioritized if you’re trying to lose weight, build muscle, and be healthier. What we call “protein” is actually a combination of different amino acids. There are 20 or so amino acids that we use to build muscle and keep our organs functioning.
Nine of these amino acids our body can’t produce itself, so we need to get them through food.
Getting all nine is important, because these amino acids do everything from build and repair muscle tissue (which is HUGE for strength training), run our metabolism, and even help our genes function correctly.[11]
All nine are found together in all forms of meat. When you eat a piece of chicken, you are getting all nine.
When it comes to non-animal sources, most plants will generally be missing one or two of these nine essential amino acids.[12]
Soy might be the best way to get all nine together in one plant; however, soy doesn’t seem to provide the same biological functionality as dairy or eggs.[13]
You can overcome this small challenge easily by varying your dietary choices.
Let’s look at the most common example:
- Beans are low in the amino acid methionine, while high in the amino acid lysine.
- Conversely, rice is low in lysine but high in methionine.
Eat them together, and you’ve covered any amino acid deficiency![14]
To recap: if you eat some kind of unprocessed starch (rice, corn, potatoes, beans), combined with some fruits and vegetables during the day, you’ll be covered.[15] The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics explains “Protein from a variety of plant foods, eaten during the course of a day, supplies enough of all indispensable (essential) amino acids when caloric requirements are met.[16]
Did you catch that caveat?
As long as you are meeting your calorie requirements from “plant foods,” you’ll get all your necessary amino acids. But this only works if your calories are coming from plants, not cookies.
I’ll say it again: EAT REAL FOOD.
Eating a variety of foods will help build up a diversified nutrient profile, including amino acids. Oats with one meal, lentils with the next, and rice with dinner, for example.
This would be a better strategy than just living off soy.
And DEFINITELY better off than living off of Soylent Green…
To recap this section: vegetarians can get plenty of protein. It just really depends on what they are eating.
So why are we focusing so much on protein?
Because, muscles.