Are You Getting Enough Protein as a Vegetarian or Vegan?

Starting with the Basics

Many people, whether they have a vegetarian, vegan, or animal based diet, do not know what a complete protein is. A complete protein is a protein source that contains all nine essential amino acids necessary in the human diet. The body breaks the protein sources we eat down into amino acids which are the building blocks of protein. The body then combines the broken down amino acids to build new proteins in the body like tissue, muscle, hair etc. The body can synthesize some of the 20 different types of amino acids itself. However, the nine essential amino acids are called essential because you have to consume them in the diet because the body cannot synthesize them. 

What are the Nine Essential Amino Acids Found in?

I’m glad you asked. The nine essential amino acids are found only in animal sources. Examples of single-source complete proteins are red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, and quinoa. Plant sources of protein are not complete proteins. Even though beans, brown rice, and nut all have protein in them, they do not contain the nine essential amino acids needed for protein synthesis in the body. Quinoa is the only plant based source that contains all essential amino acids, and soy beans are very close as well.

So, What Do I Do to Get Complete Proteins if I am Vegetarian or Vegan?

If you are vegetarian or vegan, it is completely possible to get all nine essential amino acids at one meal. The way to do it is to pair proteins! Plant based foods are called complementary proteins meaning that if you eat one plant source has some of the nine essential amino acids and other plant source has the rest of the nine essential amino acids to make both plant sources complete proteins. Also, pairing plant based proteins with an animal based protein immediately makes the plant based protein complete. So, if you are vegetarian and eat eggs, cheese, yogurt, or drink milk, you can pair any plant based source with those listed, and it will be complete.

Complementary Proteins

Food	Complement	Example
Beans	Grains, Nuts, Seeds	Black beans and rice
Grains	Legumes	Whole wheat bread and peanut butter
Nuts/seeds	Legumes	Salad with beans and nuts
Vegetables	Grains, nuts, seeds	Tofu and stir fry vegetables with rice
Corn	Legumes	Corn and pea soup