October 22, 2016
Protein and a Vegan Diet
Many proteins are found in animal products as meats, organs, eggs and milk. What does that mean for people who are on a vegetarian or even vegan diet?
Proteins are important in our nutrition. The make up 20% of our body weight and are responsible, next to carbohydrates and fats for our energy.
They are additionally component of our muscles, hair, nails, skin, eyes and internal organs as the heart or brain. And they play an important role for our immune system, building antibodies to protect for infections and inflammations.
Proteins are complex molecules with a combination of 22 naturally occurring amino acids.
Amino Acids itself are even more important in terms of a healthy nutrition. They provide structure and the communication between individual cells and the entire organ systems.
Most of the essential proteins and amino acids are abundant available in meat, eggs and diary foods. They are also called as complete proteins.
But doesn’t mean that all Vegetarians and especially Vegans have a deficiency. The healthy macro nutritions are also found in small amounts in plant food like legumes, vegetables, nuts and grains.
The DRI (Dietary Reference Intake) of protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight.
The RDA (Recommented Daily Allowance) says an average women should get about 46 grams of protein per day, and men about 56 grams.
If you want to know your exact RDA protein intake depending on your body weight, age and gender, you can calculate your daily protein intake <u><a href=”http://www.globalrph.com/protein-calculator.htm” target=”_blank”>here</a></u>
For Vegan and Vegetarian is just important that they have to know better of where to get the proteins, which one and how much to take to avoid any protein deficiency.
Especially the amino acids lysine, methionine and tryptophan are often lower than the necessary doses.
To create a complete protein combination we should combine grains with some beans or seeds.
For example “brown rice with Azuki beans” or “millet with sunflower seeds”. If you eat one meal per day of it, it can be enough to keep a healthy balanced protein level.
Important is to combine also other protein ingredients to get all important nutritions. Each ingredient has its own beneficial amino acid that’s important for us.
Other protein combinations:
Grains: rice, wheat, millet, wheat germ, quinoa, amaranth, oats
Legumes & vegetables: corn, soybeans, peas, leafy greens, beans, tempeh, tofu, spinach, broccoli
Seeds & nuts: peanuts, sesame, coconut, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds
Get creative. You don’t need to combine classical two of these proteins on a plate with a third component. You can create deserts, sweets, soups, snacks and other delicious things like pizza, pasta or burgers with it.
