Is the Protein Talk Overhyped?
Your body can assimilate only so much protein in a given meal anyway
Takeaways
A 100% varied plant diet provides adequate protein intake
The claim that certain plant foods lack specific amino acids is false
Overeating protein in a meal = increase your fat storage
Legumes like beans, peas, and lentils are high in protein
Protein adequacy can be achieved through protein-rich plant-based foods, such as legumes, nuts, and seeds, for adults following vegan or vegetarian diets. A 100% plant diet provides adequate protein intake, including amino acids like lysine.1
🗺️ Human societies have thrived on a plant-centered diet for centuries, but we still hear the predatory trait of Homo sapiens louder. What if we were more gathers than hunters after all?
⚒️🔎 Archeologists have pointed out the ubiquitous presence of high-protein plants in our early days’ diets. A neat example was the discovery of a settlement chamber in Iraqi Kurdistan stocked up with lentils dating back to around 10 thousand years ago.2 What amazes me the most? Different cultures worldwide were fueled - and still thrive - by eating cereals and legumes. Legumes were a significant source of protein before meat's higher accessibility around the globe. Indeed, the staple food in my home country is 🍚 rice and 🫘 black beans (Brazil). In other countries, it would be 🍚 rice and 🫛soybeans (China) or 🌽 corn and 🫘 beans (Mexico). At this point, I was unsurprised to discover that the best athletes from ancient times, like Roman gladiators and the famed Roman army troopers, ate predominantly plant-based diets. In their case, it was 🌾 barley and 🫘 beans (ancient Rome).3
🍽️ Yes, you got it. The commonplace question, “Where do you get your protein from?” is seriously old-fashioned.😯
👩🎓Experts agree today that a more important question is, “What about the quality of the protein you are ingesting?” Personally, I believe this question applies to all diet types, and it is a topic of its own. I’ll cover it next week. Stay tuned!
Switching to a plant-based diet provides the number one benefit of increased recovery time. According to Brendan Brazier, an ultramarathon champion, this translates into training more and improving quicker (The plant-based athlete).
Daily protein requirements
🫵 The next step to feeling confident when eating a plant-centered diet is understanding your daily protein needs.
Rule of thumb:
💡 0.8 g of protein per body kg is what adults (> 18 years old) engaged in modest physical activity require to keep their tissue repair, protein turnover, and metabolic adaptation in check. This means 48 g of protein per day for a 60 kg female or male, which is frankly easy to get. This number can increase to 2 g per body kg for athletes (sport- and goal-dependent).
Amino acids and their distribution in plants
The claim that certain plant foods are “missing” specific amino acids [these are the building blocks of proteins] is demonstrably false. All plant foods contain all 20 amino acids, including the 9 essential ones [which are not produced by the human body].4
Professors Gardner (Stanford University) and Mariotti (Université Paris-Saclay) have published a comparison table to help us visualize the distribution of amino acids in common foods (find it here). The bottom line? Your protein requirements will be fine as long as food variety is on your plate and your caloric intake is met. 🙃
Protein assimilation by the body
🤯The last but not least point to remember is the body's assimilation of proteins. You may see scientific studies discussing plant proteins' lower digestibility than animals'. But what if you have been already eating way too much protein? For instance, American men exceed the daily recommendation by 31 % and women by 12 %.5 Perhaps the worry here should be, “What if you have been overeating protein in a single meal, thinking you will build muscles but have been gaining fat instead?” Yup! It's totally possible. Why?
“We can only process and absorb so much protein at a given time- usually about 30 g per meal.”6
💥 One reason athletes eat many times a day, by the way, is to assimilate the whole protein content of each meal. Otherwise, if not eliminated from the body, the surplus protein of a given meal will be stored as fat! Who wants to store fat? 😬
🎯 By now, you should ask, “What would a 30 g protein plant-based meal look like?” Here you go:
Protein breakdown:
¼ recipe sunflower seed sour cream – 7 g (see recipe here)
½ cup (cooked) kasha (toasted buckwheat) – 9.5 g
½ cup (cooked) black beans – 7.5 g
½ cup corn – 2.5 g
½ cup red peppers – 3 g
½ small avocado – 1 g
½ cup sweet potato – 1 g
🌈 To help you relate to the protein content of common plant foods, see the table below. Want to check a specific food yourself? Rendez-vous on the USDA website (here).
A shift towards a plant-based protein diet can be viewed as virtually risk-free for insufficient protein intake by substituting animal protein with a combination of legumes, nuts, and seeds.
⚡️Any thoughts? Don’t shy away; leave a comment.
Inspiration corner
🤸♀️This burger is what I call ‘comfort food’ after a 2 hours run.
🍔 And guess what? It is a sweet potato patty. To increase its protein content, I added mung bean sprouts, mushrooms, and hummus to the toppings.
Nutrition hint: Besides being high in vitamins A and C and antioxidants with anti-inflammatory properties, sweet potatoes are also rich in magnesium and potassium, which can help regulate blood pressure. It is a staple food for athletes post-workout (according to Matt & Robert, authors of Plant-based Athlete).👩🍳Want the sweet potato patty recipe? Let me know in the comments.
Until the next post, stay plant-curious!
PS: You may also like my previous post, Reversing Aging: The Plant-based Diet Approach
Mariotti F. and Gardner C.D., Dietary Protein and Amino Acids in Vegetarian Diets—A Review, 2019 (link)
Prof. Michael Greger press article: what is the gladiator diet and how do vegetarian athletes stack up, 2023 (link)
I want the sweet potato patty recipe! Looks yummy
Thanks for sharing this, Fernanda. Tempe is actually one of my favorite proteins. Growing up in Indonesia---this was a primary source of protein. Too bad it isn't as common here in the US (and when it is available, it's not properly prepared and seasoned). :)