Are Vegan Protein Sources Actually Complete or Not?

Introduction

In this article we will be looking at: How much protein is needed for the average person, the 9 essential amino acids, a variety of complete vegan protein sources and how to combine vegan protein sources to ensure you are meeting all your protein needs.

How Much Protein Do You Need?

Many people worry about not getting enough protein in their diets, so I thought it’d be helpful to start with the Recommended Protein Intake (RNI) for adults!

In the UK, adults are advised to eat 0.75g of protein for each kilogram they weigh, based on the Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI).

What are ‘Complete Proteins’?

Proteins are made of many smaller units called Amino acids. There are 20 different types of Amino acids, 11 of them can be made by your body on their own and there are 9 essential amino acids.

These are:

• Histidine
• Isoleucine
• Leucine
• Methionine
• Phenylalanine
• Threonine
• Tryptophan
• Valine

These 9 essential amino acids cannot be produced by our body, therefore they need to be consumed in our diet. They help serve biological functions such as building and repairing muscle, regulating immune function, regulating moods, regulating metabolism and so forth.

Many vegan protein sources are not complete proteins.

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8 Complete Vegan Protein Sources

1. Tofu: 100g of extra firm tofu contains 13g of protein
2. Tempeh: 100g of tempeh contains 19g of protein.
3. Quinoa: 100g of cooked quinoa provides: 4g of protein
4. Edamame: 100 grams of edamame contain around 11g of protein.
5. Pistachios: 100g of raw pistachios contain 20g of protein.
6. Buckwheat:100g of dry buckwheat contains 13g of protein.
7. Chia seeds: 100g containing about 18g of protein.
8. Hemp seeds: 100g of hemp seeds contain up to 25g of protein.

However, this can be amended by pairing different protein sources with each other, such as rice and beans are often combined – they offer complementary amounts of different amino acids to make complete proteins.

A great rule of thumb to follow, if you are worried if you’re ingesting complete amino acid profiles in your food is to combine legumes such as:

• Chickpeas
• Navy beans
• Soybeans
• Peanuts
• Pinto beans
• Black beans
• Adzuki beans
• Alfalfa
• Lentils
• Peas
• Kidney beans

and combine them with grains, nuts and seeds, such as:

Grains

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• Buckwheat
• Bulgur
• Corn
• Quinoa
• Rice
• Wheat

Nuts

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• Almonds
• Brazil Nuts
• Monkey Nuts
• Pistachio
• Walnuts
• Cashews
• Pecans
• Hazelnuts
• Peanuts

Seeds

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• Chia Seeds
• Flax Seeds
• Sesame Seeds
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Hemp Seeds
• Sunflower Seeds

Do You Need To Be Concerned About The Amino Acid Profile Of Your Food?

For the most part no… Assuming you are eating enough calories throughout the day and include a variety of whole foods in your diet you will be absolutely fine!

There’s a lot of hysteria in the media about vegans/vegetarians not getting their necessary intake and there is some merit to it.

Like with any diet, you need variety and balance in your meals.

The Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that vegan diets can be more difficult to maintain but with careful management and some supplementation, a vegan diet ‘can achieve the needs of most athletes satisfactorily‘.

Conclusion

To Answer the question, some vegan protein sources are complete such as Tofu, Tempeh, Quinoa, Edamame, Pistachios, Buckwheat, Chia seeds and Hemp seeds. However, there are a lot of other popular vegan protein sources that aren’t. This can easily be resolved by combining these protein sources with other foods, such as legumes, nuts and grains.

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