How to get enough protein as a vegan or vegetarian

In our culture we have been inundated with the idea that the only way to stay healthy and strong is by consuming animal products. This simply isn’t true. Westerners in general consume many times over the protein needed by the human body. That protein isn’t stored for later use; it’s wasted. Over consumption of protein is harmful and has been directly linked to increased cancer and heart disease risk, leaching of calcium from the bones, kidney stress, and obesity. Fun stuff.

Getting enough protein as a vegan is ridiculously easy, and as a vegetarian it is even easier. The biggest obstacle facing those making the shift to a vegetable based diet is the mental and emotional barrier. We have been raised to believe that if we don’t eat flesh we will become weak and feeble. It’s scary to leap out into the unknown and defy the conventions of society. However, after crossing over, most people are surprised to find that they actually feel better without meat and dairy in their diet.

Amino Acids and protein: Complete proteins and protein combinations

In order to get enough protein with a vegan or vegetarian diet it is important to understand what protein is. In spite of the fact that most food in the grocery store is labeled with a single listing of protein content, not all protein is created equal. Protein is made up of combinations of amino acids each in varying quantities depending on the food type. There are 20 amino acids that the human body needs in order to stay healthy. 8 of those amino acids are essential, meaning that they cannot be produced by the body and must be obtained through food. A complete protein is a protein that has balanced levels of each of these amino acids, thereby allowing the body to get the maximum amount usage from it.

Vegetable based foods usually need to be eaten in combinations in order to create complete proteins. An example of a complete protein combination would be beans and rice, or hummus and tahini sauce. Interestingly, most cultures of the world naturally established dietary staples that provided complete protein combinations long before the word amino acid was conceived. Beans and tortillas in Mexico and Chick peas and rice in India are just a couple of examples. Animal based proteins tend to be complete when eaten alone, but having the total protein concentrated in one food is irrelevant. It is important to eat a variety of foods in order to maintain good overall health, and it is virtually impossible to become protein deficient if you eat a balanced vegan diet.

We could get technical and explain the precise proportions of amino acids present in different food types, but you don’t need a calculator to shop vegan. Essentially it comes down to this: In order to get enough protein as a vegan you need to consume legumes, grains, and or nuts. You don’t even need to eat these foods in the same meal; the body is capable of maintaining amino acids in the body for several days at a time until the balancing amino acids are present. It’s that easy. If you are interested in a more detailed explanation of amino acids and protein I recommend "Diet for a small planet" by Frances Moore Lappe.