The most frequent question I get about consuming a whole foods plant based diet is how can you possible get enough protein?
I will hazard to say that the question itself is a real problem. One issue with trying to understand nutrition is a perverse need to place everything into neat categories. The fact is nutrition is a fantastic dynamic and doesn’t necessarily fit into little boxes. When we practice reductionist thinking, and focus on in this case just one macronutrient, it very quickly becomes like the infamous story of an elephant being defined by several blind men. By looking at it through a constricted lens we greatly diminish it’s full definition.
Be that as it may, I shall go on.
Understanding Protein
Most people think of protein only as necessary for muscle growth and wound repair. During digestion proteins are broken down in amino acids, which then float around in our bloodstream. They then combine to create the necessary tissues to fulfill those growth and repair needs. Just like the building materials in a house, they are the building blocks of our system creating muscles, tendons, collagen, blood, organs, etc.
There are many types of amino acids. Depending on how they are strung together will dictate what it will become. So it’s important to have all the various amino acids available at any time. Our bodies naturally have the ability to produce the majority of amino acids on its own, but there are 9 amino acids that we must consume, better known as Essential Amino Acids. I think that it is at this point where the misunderstanding starts.
Mother Nature in all her wisdom has stashed amino acids in all sorts of foods. Which means that as we eat different foods the various amino acids become added to the pool. We know that some plants such as beans and some grains have more amino acids than others, and some, such as Chia, quinoa, hemp, amaranth, soybeans, tofu and tempeh are complete proteins. This makes sense in terms of ancient feeding methods. If you can’t hunt down a wild boar every night then the foods that you forage will be there for you.
Thanks to some heavy marketing we have come to believe that meats and dairy are the best and only real sources of complete protein. Along with that message came the insinuation that if you weren’t feeding your family animal products you were therefore not providing them with adequate nutrition. A falsehood on both counts.
We need to shift our thinking away from protein as a hunk on a plate.
We do ourselves a disservice if we only think of protein as a separate food type, instead we need to think of gathering amino acids to create proteins. If we look only to animal products for protein and disregard the amino acids in plants we are robbing ourselves of vitality and optimal health. Your body doesn’t care if the amino acids come from a pork chop or rice and beans. As long as those building blocks make it into your system, all is well.
What you body does care about though is getting enough vitamins, minerals and fiber- which we get from plants. When we skew our nutrition so strongly away from plants we set ourselves up for imbalance which can lead to illness. As we have shifted into a higher animal protein way of eating it’s not surprising that we are seeing higher rates of cancer, diabetes and heart disease. So why not opt for the double positive whammy you get with plants?
How much protein do we actually need?
The average American woman consumes approximately 100 grams of protein a day. This is not a woman on a special diet, but just the average human. Greek yogurt for breakfast, chicken on salad, cheese for snack, grilled fish for dinner. All this, along with a few sides of vegetables, can easily top 100 grams.
The daily need for the average person is calculated by multiplying .36 X weight in pounds. Assuming a weight of 150 pounds the protein need would be 55 grams/day- or half the average consumed. So you can see that the push for more and more protein is just not necessary.
To demonstrate how protein configures into the average diet I created two 1500 calorie menus. One represents a fairly typical day for a healthy omnivore, and the other for a plant eater. I logged both menus unto My Fitness Pal and compared them. By looking at the omnivore menu would you think there was that much protein?
For the plant eater the nutritional breakdown is right on target. Fiber is off the charts, fat is low, calcium needs are met and iron is stellar. Amazing right? Not that hard at all to get spectacular nutrition, even at 1500 calories, including iron and calcium.
So how does a plant eater get enough protein? You can see from my breakdown above that it’s not really all that tough. Just by eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Beans and grains together will create a complete protein. The good news is that they need not be consumed at the same meal. As long as you are eating both within a 48 hour period you are covered. So rice with lunch and perhaps hummus as a snack will have you fulfilling your needs.
Changing the approach to meal planning
As a whole foods plant eater I find meal planning, and preparation, much easier. I now start my meals by first choosing the vegetables that are in season or whatever appealed to me at the market. As an example, last night I sauteed some eggplant, cauliflower, peppers, onions and tomatoes in a pan, with a healthy splash of herbs. Into that I added some lentil and brown rice pasta, and made a “sauce” with some miso and water to tie it all together. Alternatively, I could have easily added some beans to that pan and then served it all over some quinoa, or rice. You can see from the menu above, and the description of my dinner, that the dishes do not need to be complicated at all.
Veggies first, then complex starches. BOOM.
Too much of a “good” thing?
What happens if you consume more than the necessary 50 grams? Is it really horrible to consume 100+ grams of protein a day?
Research has shown that the body can only absorb about 20 grams of protein during a digestion cycle. The rest of those building blocks either get stored or excreted. It turns out that over consuming protein, especially animal protein can have some negative affects. The extra amino acids are either putting strain on your kidneys, or getting stored on your hips. Another aspect is that animal products also carry along with it saturated fats, even with the leanest cuts of meats.
Let’s let that sink in for a moment. More protein is not the benefit that we like to think. It’s not clean and free as some lead us to think. It may even be undermining your weight loss efforts and costing you come serious future health risks. PLUS, if you are dieting and sticking to a 1500/day calorie intake then chances are you are pushing out power packed grains and vegetables. It is therefore a surety that you are not getting nearly enough nutrients and fiber, which further compounds future health issues.
Why Whole Food Plant Based rocks
As you can see it’s not difficult at all to get the protein you need from eating just plants. What you also get at the same time is some killer fiber, boatloads of antioxidants, minerals, healthier digestion and a well fortified body. This is important in this stressful world we live in.
So the next time someone you know freaks out about getting enough protein in a plant based diet, you can rest assured. Not only can one easily meet all needs by consuming plants, but also end up far healthier.