My partner is in Nepal doing a breath workshop in a place where they cook 100% vegan food. He (and actually everybody else) needs to eat very well balanced meal. That means a meal, which includes good quality protein.
If not his blood sugar moves up and down too fast and the moment when it drops too low he feels weak and shaky.. (more about hypoglycaemia in my article here). The problem is that food they serve in this particular center is good and tasty but does not contain enough protein..
Why is protein so important?
⭑ Protein is a structural material.
⭑ Protein helps to build and repair muscle tissue in the body.
⭑ Hair and nails are made of protein too
⭑ Protein in the food slowes down the blood sugar level, which can rise fast because of simple carbohydrates in the meal
⭑ In a short, a healthy body and mind really need it!
How much protein do we need?
There are two ways to calculate it:
- 0,8g of protein /1kg of weight /day
- 10 – 15% of total kcal eaten in a day
I prefer to count it as a percentage of total food eaten that day because then we can talk about balanced meal..
Tip
It is good to add extra protein after excercise.
If you have a problem with blood sugar level then add more of it also in the breakfast.
What is good quality protein?
There are three ways of assessing protein quality:
- the amount of protein in the food
- the amount of essential amino acids in the protein
- the digestibility
Usually most of us know, what is the amount of protein in the food and which food has more or less of it… But what are these essential amino acids?
There are 22 amino acids that are the basic building blocks of protein. Our body naturally produce 13 amino acids. The rest of 9 essential amino acids the body is unable to synthetise from other amino acids and therefore depends upon dietary intake for supply.
Good quality „complete“ protein means that it has 9 essential amino acids.
Animal proteins are the richest food source for complete protein but there are many other important sources of protein. Beans, peas, nuts and seeds also contain high amount of protein but they mostly do not have all the essential amino acids that body needs for using the protein.
BUT..
You can combine foods to make what is called complimentary proteins. Two incomplete proteins can be combined to obtain all the essential amino acids. For example lentils do not have enough of all essential amino acids so the ability of the body to use the whole protein is therefore limited.
COMPLEMENTARY PROTEINS
Grains + legumes or
+ seeds, nuts = complete protein
So we combine them with other food group ideally complex carbohydrates like brown rice to have a simple dish of lentils and rice.
Tip
Complementary proteins do not need to be consumed at the same meal but in the same day. For example this means you can eat nuts and seeds as a snack alone but for the main meal you will have some grains also. Just do no forget that every meal shoud contain some protein food.
Types of protein food:
Animal protein food
- Meat and fish have all essential amino acids so they have complete protein. There are other things to take into account when eating meat:
- Non organic meat will contain pesticides and antibiotics
- The fact that eating meat is connected to more aggresion, which was needed to kill the animal
- Other reasons like ethical, moral or ecological
2. Eggs have all essential amino acids
3. Dairy – milk, cheese, yogurt
Dairy is a good quality (complete) source of protein but:
- Dairy is mucus forming
- There is a high chance of intolerance to protein in dairy so it is better to choose goat or sheep products and in an organic quality
Plant protein food
- Legumes do not have all essential amino acids
- BUT combination of grains + legumes = right balance of amino acids (good quality protein)
- Ideal ratio is 2:1 (grains : legumes )
- Needs to be cooked for long time with herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregane, sage or bay leaves to avoid gas
- Gas can be eliminated by sprouting = bringing beans “back to life“
- Easier to digest are the smallest types of legumes like mung beans and lentils
2. Nuts and seeds dont have all essential amino acids
- Good to combine with grains too or vegetable or fruit
- They need to be in a good quality and fresh or very well stored as they are prone to rancidity
- Ideally put them in the water overnight – easier to digest
- Can be lightly roasted without oil and salt – heat makes them more usable and therefore increases nutritive value
3. Soy products are the richest sources of complete protein in a plant group and can be prepared in a different ways, which makes the soy beans much more digestible for us:
- Tofu – soybean curds
- Tempeh – fermented soy beans
- Edamame – immature soybeans
4. Grains are not really a protein food. They are carbohydrate food but some of them contain complete protein (quinoa, buckweat and amaranth)
- The amount of this complete protein is low so it is also better to combine them with legumes, nuts and seeds
Is possible the get good quality protein in vegetarian and vegan diet?
A diet free of animal products requires planning to ensure that you eat enough of complete protein. This can be a challenge and encourages you to think about your diet. This is also a benefit that gives you undestanding of how your body works.
Just Be careful when..
» Low energy level can be because of poor protein intake
» Intensive growth –infancy, adolescence, pregnancy need more good quality protein
» High stress lifestyle – good quality protein is needed to renew muscle tissure and partly provide healthy immune response
» Protein powders – they are not a „whole“ food which is the main part you should eat but it is practical support for busy times and traveling when is not easy to find vegan food with enough protein. If you decide to take protein powder make sure its a good quality and does not contain added sugar, sweetener or artificial flavouring
We are all different and for somebody these types of diets are good and for somebody not.
Remember, there is not one type of diet which suits everybody!
Plant based complete protein food
Food with approximate amount of protein in 100g:
Tofu 17g
Edamame 11g
Tempeh 21g
Quinoa 4g
Buckwheat 13g
Amaranth 14g
Hemp seeds 25g
Pistachios 20g
Chia 18g
Do you need an advice on how to get enough protein in your diet?
Book a consultation…
Do you have a center or a restaurant for vegetatans and vegans and you want to make sure that food you offer is balanced?
Please contact me here!
Sources:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321474#plant-vs-animal-protein
http://www.nutritiontable.com/nutritions/?q=tempeh
Course Material School of Health
