​​​Protein abundance in the plant-based diet

July 9, 2021
Picture
Plant-proteins allow the body to benefit from easier and faster digestion, resulting into a much higher availability of amino acids for the body.
By Ruha Veerasenan, MCMA (UK),
​Nutritionist (IRL),
Master Herbalist (UK), Health Researcher
Nutrition Coach, Nutrition Consultant,
Author of the book “Naturally Dietstyle”
​​​The subject of “proteins” and, more specifically, of “protein content in our food” has always been fuelling big arguments and disagreement between the omnivore and the plant-based communities. In fact, the fear of lack of proteins, is the #1 deterrent for most people to switch to a healthier plant-based diet.

There are two main questions that generally go unanswered, creating a lot of confusion out there. The first is, are plant-proteins as good for our body as the animal-proteins? And, can a plant-based diet deliver enough proteins? We are going to make some light here, today, in a very much counter-intuitive way.

Let’s start from the beginning: what are proteins? Proteins are chains of amino acids. Imagine a necklace made of a number of pearls, and tied together on a thread. Or imagine a child’s Lego construction, made of a number of little bricks put together in an organised manner. The building block of the protein is the amino acid. On this whole planet of ours, there are just about 20-21 amino acids. Both the plant-proteins and animal-proteins are made of the very same amino acids.
 
The difference between an animal-protein (an egg, a chicken, a cow) and a plant-protein (broccoli, legumes, mushrooms) is just about the different combination of amino acids, and the size and complexity of the whole structure. In other words, we can take some pearls of different size and colour (the different amino acids), and we can choose to make a necklace, or a bracelet, or  a pair of earrings - different pearls (amino acids) different type of product (protein). In the plant-protein, the amino acids are organised in smaller chains and are glued together via simple bonds; on the contrary, in the animal-protein, these chains are longer and more complex.

Our digestive system
So, which type of protein does our body need? Neither! Our body does not need any proteins from the plant world, nor from the animal world. This is an important concept to understand. Imagine to place on a table three different puzzles. One is the picture of a plant; another is the picture of an animal; the third is the picture of a child. Can you take out any pieces from the child-puzzle and replace them with any other pieces from the plant-puzzle or the animal-puzzle? No, because they belong to different puzzles, and they just don’t fit.

That is to say, even if the three types of proteins are made of the same building blocks, still the human-protein is different from the animal-protein, which is again different from the plant-protein. Neither plant nor animal proteins would fit directly in a human body. This is where our digestive system comes into play: it will receive the proteins that we deliver to our body via our food, it will break them down to the single amino acids and use these amino acids to build “human” proteins – human tissues, human skin, human muscles, human organs and so on.

Our digestive system is all about balancing inputs and outputs, costs and benefits. Just like for any business, the body invests energy into the digestion process, and it expects to yield the highest amount of nutrients – amino acids, in this case. The animal-proteins, we already mentioned, have a complex structure. This results for us into a less efficient digestion, and a lower amino acid availability for the body. Plant-proteins have a simpler structure, and the body finds it easier to break them down. Less energy spent for digestion, more amino acids available in our system.
​
With this, we have replied to the first question above (are plant-proteins as good for our body as the animal-proteins?): plant-proteins and animal-proteins are made of the very same building block, the amino acids; with the difference that thanks to their simpler structure, the plant-proteins allow the body to benefit from easier and faster digestion, resulting into a much higher availability of amino acids for the body, and less undigested food – the same undigested food that can rot and turn into toxic waste within the body, giving way in the long term to inflammation and disease.

The other question was: can a plant-based diet deliver enough proteins? Well, yes! And there are three main reasons behind this: in the first place, because our body needs not proteins but amino acids, and plant-based food can make a great deal of amino acids easily available for our body; second, because there are many different types of plant-based food that are packed with proteins; and third, contrary to all the bad advertising out there, our body actually needs much less proteins that we think. Really, how much proteins do we need? Basically, as little as 0.8 grams of proteins, per kilogram of body mass, per day. The formula is the following:
 
Protein Daily Requirement (grams) = [Body Weight (kg)] x 0.8
With this formula, we can calculate that a person that is 60 kg in weight, will need approximately 48 grams/day of protein (60 x 0.8). And a person that is 75 kg in weight will need approximately 60 grams/day of protein (75 x 0.8). Is it possible to find all that protein, in our food? Where and how? If we just take a look at the tables below, we can see how much of protein is available for every 100g of the various foods we usually consume. At the bottom of each table, for each category of foods, we have stated the average content of proteins for the single category.

After all, it is all about knowing our food, and choosing the right food for our diet. Nuts and seeds (which we should consume in very small amounts due to the high fat content) on average can deliver the same proteins as animal products; legumes can deliver even more proteins than animal products; and one thing that most people do not know is, that mushrooms are really packed with proteins, and can deliver up to 50% more proteins, in weight, compared to any other animal products.

In practical terms, talking about the food on the table, we can see that 300 grams worth of meat will deliver approximately 54 grams of proteins – our daily requirement! But if we switch to plant-based products, we can find the same amount of protein in a 250-gram portion of legumes; or in less than 200 grams worth of mushrooms. In other words, if we can eat in a day, over one or more meals,  a small bowl of brown rice, a mix of fresh vegetables, a fistful of legumes and mushrooms – we have already satisfied our daily requirement for nutrients, not only in terms of proteins, but also vitamins, minerals, water and fibre, for a healthy, balanced, system-friendly diet.
 
These are just few of the many reasons why we should embrace fully the plant-based diet. But if you feel that you are not ready yet to give up completely the animal products in your diet, that is OK. Still, try to reduce the amount of animal products in your diet (which contain more fat, less nutrients, less water and less fibres), to increase the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables (rich in water, fibres, vitamins, minerals, as well as good carbs, good proteins and good fats).
 
More knowledge on holistic nutrition, food and healthy lifestyle choices can be found in the book “Naturally DietStyle – fundamentals of holistic nutrition made practical and easy”. In this book, the Authors highlight that in order to win back our health, prevent and reverse disease, we do not need any crazy diets, expensive food, super-workout at the gym, nor do we need any supplements or health-products. All we need, is to learn and understand how our body works and what it really needs, both in terms of food and lifestyle choices. All it takes is a simple...DIETSTYLE!

Visit today www.naturallydietstyle.com, read the testimonials and order your copy of the book, with free-delivery worldwide. Do not forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram at “Ruha Nutrivolutionist”, to find more info about health and nutrition, to discover simple healthy recipes, or to find out more about our seminars and workshops!

EXPLORE FURTHER