To those of you who work out, how do you meet high protein requirements as a vegan? Do you supplement with protein powder? Track macros?
I don’t think I get the optimal amount of protein by body weight from natural sources alone and it’s not a topic I know much about.
Feel free to share your favorite recipes and tips for increasing protein intake.
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The importance of combining proteins | Amino acid | mg/kg per day | mg/g proteinb | mg/kg per day | mg/g proteinb | |---------------------------------±--------------±--------------±--------------±--------------| | Histidine | 10 | 15 | 8-12 | 15 | | Isoleucine | 20 | 30 | 10 | 15 | | Leucine | 39 | 59 | 14 | 21 | | Lysine | 30 | 45 | 12 | 18 | | Methionine + cysteine | 15 | 22 | 13 | 20 | | Methionine | 10 | 16 | - | - | | Cysteine | 4 | 6 | - | - | | Phenylalanine + tyrosine | 25 | 38 | 14 | 21 | | Threonine | 15 | 23 | 7 | 11 | | Tryptophan | 4 | 6 | 3.5 | 5 | | Valine | 26 | 39 | 10 | 15 | |---------------------------------±--------------±--------------±--------------±--------------| | Total indispensable amino acids | 184 | 277 | 93.5 | 141 |
| Amino acid | WHO requirement (mg) | 612g of whole rice | 522g of canned chickpeas | |---------------±---------------------±-------------------±-------------------------| | Histidine | 700 | 1236 | 1274 | | Isoleucine | 1400 | 2056 | 1984 | | Leucine | 2800 | 4021 | 3294 | | Lysine | 2100 | 1854 | 3095 | | Methionine | 700 | 1095 | 606 | | Phenylalanine | 1800 | 2509 | 2479 | | Threonine | 1100 | 1781 | 1717 | | Tryptophan | 280 | 618 | 444 | | Valine | 1800 | 2852 | 1942 | The insufficient amino acid is called the “limiting” amino acid: for rice it’s lysine and for chickpeas it’s methionine. Consuming the specific quantity for long periods of time might result in deficiency of the amino acid.
In the above example, the combination of both whole rice and canned chickpeas has no limiting amino acids, that means that only consuming rice and chickpeas, in these specific quantities of 306g/day and 261g/day respectively, for long periods of time, would not result in any of the essential amino acid deficiency, at least to the extent they are metabolized at the time.
Complementary protein combinations make for delicious recipes - they are combinations that formed the basis of the world’s traditional cuisines. We use them naturally in our cooking without even being aware of it. The three most common complementary protein combinations are: Grains (rice, corn, wheat, barley, etc.) + legumes (peas, beans, lentils) Grains and milk products Seeds (Sesame or sunflower) + legumes