Performance Eating
A Protein Primer: Part 4 of 4—Vegetarians
By H.K. Jones
A Protein Primer. Part 4 of 4: Vegetarians
By H.K. Jones
This is the fourth in a four-part series on protein, an essential building block behind muscle growth and human health. Get started with an introduction to protein and poultry in particular in A Protein Primer: Part 1 of 4-Poultry, and then check out Part 2 of 4—Red Meat for information on four-legged sources of protein. Next, see Part 3 of 4—Fish for information on underwater eats. Now on to some delicious plant-based protein!
Vegetarianism Defined
Sure, we all know that vegetarians are people who don't eat meat, poultry, or fish. But not all vegetarians are created equal. Non-meat-eaters can be broken down into three categories:
People cite many reasons for "eating green," including ecological and religious concerns, a compassion for animals, as well as social and economic motivations. But what many people don't know is that a well-balanced vegetarian diet can also provide many health benefits, including a reduced risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, hypertension (high blood pressure), and diabetes. Vegetarian diets have also been shown to reduce the risk of some types of cancer. That means if you ditch meat in favor of fruits, veggies, whole gains, and legumes, you're likely to stay healthy and live longer. Oh, and the pigs, chickens, and fish will love you.
The Vegetarian Protein Myth Debunked
Getting enough protein—an important nutrient required for the building and repair of tissues in the body; and the right kinds of protein—unlike meat, almost no plant foods contains all essential amino acids—poses the biggest challenge for vegetarians. But it's a challenge that vegetarians can easily overcome. Although plant foods contains less of the essential amino acids than do similar quantities of animal food, a plant-based diet provides ample amounts of amino acids when a varied diet is consumed on a regular basis.
What are amino acids? They are simply the building blocks of protein. While the human body manufactures 12 of these amino acids, the other nine (called "essential") must be obtained from food. Animal sources of protein (such as meat, fish, poultry, and dairy) are called "complete" proteins because they contain all nine of these essential amino acids. Flesh eaters can satisfy their body's amino acid needs with one piece of animal protein, so they generally have no problem getting the gamut of essential amino acids. Vegetarians, on the other hand, must eat a variety of plant sources of protein (such as beans, peas, and grains), because, with the exception of soy, each is an incomplete protein that lacks one or more of the essential amino acids.
Simple Solution: Eat a Varied Vegetarian Diet
Sounds like a lot of work, right? It's not. By simply combining plant foods that have complementary essential amino acid mixtures, incomplete plant proteins form complete proteins that deliver all of the essential amino acids found in animal products. Examples of complementary plant proteins include black beans and rice, pita and hummus, and beans and tortillas. While in the past nutrition science thought that vegetarians needed to combine such complementary plant foods at every meal to ensure they consumed the right mix of complete proteins, current research suggests that if you simply eat a variety of grains, legumes, dried beans or peas, fruits, and vegetables within a 24-hour period, you will meet your protein and essential amino acid requirements. In fact, science has shown that if a man eats a broad selection of plant-based foods and consumes adequate calories—so that if one food is low in a particular essential amino acid, another food will make up this deficit —he is highly unlikely to be protein deficient.
What to Look For
To ensure you meet your body's protein needs and get all nine essential amino acids, be sure to eat a wide variety of whole foods that include beans, whole-grains, soy (the only complete plant protein), fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, along with products made from these natural foods, such as tofu, tempeh, and meat analogs (manufactured vegetarian food products that look and taste like meat).
The key that many inexperienced vegetarians miss is to eat a varied diet. Don't subsist on pasta alone—be sure to eat a variety of these types of proteins regularly to meet your body’s protein needs:
Nuts: Provide protein, fiber, B-vitamins, calcium, and minerals. Almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, chestnuts, pistachios, walnuts, cashews, pecans, and macadamias offer the most nutrition with the least saturated fat. But be warned, nuts are also high in carbohydrate and oils (and calories), so don't eat them in excess or you'll pack on unwanted pounds.
Beans: Offer fiber and protein with little or no fat or sodium, along with plenty of vitamins and minerals and a plethora of phytochemicals, compounds found only in plants that help your body fight damaging free radicals. Watch out for canned beans, which can be high in sodium, and refried beans, which can be high in fat.
Soy: The only plant food that is a complete protein, meaning that it contains all the essential amino acids that the body can't produce. Soy is also a rich source of unsaturated fats, fiber, B-vitamins, folic acid, potassium, calcium, zinc, and iron. Eating soy products regularly will ensure you get all the protein you need. Popular varieties include tofu, also known as bean curd, which is made from soybean milk, water, and nigari (a natural coagulant); tempeh, a fermented soybean product; and soy milk, a nutrient-rich soy beverage made by pressing the extract, or milk, out of presoaked soybeans. Want a delicious snack? Grab a handful of edamame—boiled soybeans
When buying these and other plant products, always look for organic varieties, which haven't been showered with pesticides and often contain fewer unnecessary and unhealthy additives. Locally grown produce is also often a good choice, although the term "locally grown" in not regulated like the "organic" label, so ask around and do your homework.
What to Watch Out For
Vegetarians who include protein-rich dairy foods in their diet need to steer clear of artery-clogging, full-fat dairy foods such as whole milk and cheeses. Opt for low-fat dairy options instead. Also watch out for high sodium in products like salted nuts, high sodium soy products, and the like.
About H.K. Jones: H. K. Jones is a registered dietitian, freelance writer, and nutrition professional based in Washington, D.C.
Vegetarianism Defined
Sure, we all know that vegetarians are people who don't eat meat, poultry, or fish. But not all vegetarians are created equal. Non-meat-eaters can be broken down into three categories:
- Lacto-ovo vegetarians avoid meat products, but eat dairy foods and eggs.
- Lacto-vegetarians avoid meat and eggs, but include dairy foods in their diet.
- Vegans abstain from eating all animal products and consume only plant foods.
People cite many reasons for "eating green," including ecological and religious concerns, a compassion for animals, as well as social and economic motivations. But what many people don't know is that a well-balanced vegetarian diet can also provide many health benefits, including a reduced risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, hypertension (high blood pressure), and diabetes. Vegetarian diets have also been shown to reduce the risk of some types of cancer. That means if you ditch meat in favor of fruits, veggies, whole gains, and legumes, you're likely to stay healthy and live longer. Oh, and the pigs, chickens, and fish will love you.
The Vegetarian Protein Myth Debunked
Getting enough protein—an important nutrient required for the building and repair of tissues in the body; and the right kinds of protein—unlike meat, almost no plant foods contains all essential amino acids—poses the biggest challenge for vegetarians. But it's a challenge that vegetarians can easily overcome. Although plant foods contains less of the essential amino acids than do similar quantities of animal food, a plant-based diet provides ample amounts of amino acids when a varied diet is consumed on a regular basis.
What are amino acids? They are simply the building blocks of protein. While the human body manufactures 12 of these amino acids, the other nine (called "essential") must be obtained from food. Animal sources of protein (such as meat, fish, poultry, and dairy) are called "complete" proteins because they contain all nine of these essential amino acids. Flesh eaters can satisfy their body's amino acid needs with one piece of animal protein, so they generally have no problem getting the gamut of essential amino acids. Vegetarians, on the other hand, must eat a variety of plant sources of protein (such as beans, peas, and grains), because, with the exception of soy, each is an incomplete protein that lacks one or more of the essential amino acids.
Simple Solution: Eat a Varied Vegetarian Diet
Sounds like a lot of work, right? It's not. By simply combining plant foods that have complementary essential amino acid mixtures, incomplete plant proteins form complete proteins that deliver all of the essential amino acids found in animal products. Examples of complementary plant proteins include black beans and rice, pita and hummus, and beans and tortillas. While in the past nutrition science thought that vegetarians needed to combine such complementary plant foods at every meal to ensure they consumed the right mix of complete proteins, current research suggests that if you simply eat a variety of grains, legumes, dried beans or peas, fruits, and vegetables within a 24-hour period, you will meet your protein and essential amino acid requirements. In fact, science has shown that if a man eats a broad selection of plant-based foods and consumes adequate calories—so that if one food is low in a particular essential amino acid, another food will make up this deficit —he is highly unlikely to be protein deficient.
What to Look For
To ensure you meet your body's protein needs and get all nine essential amino acids, be sure to eat a wide variety of whole foods that include beans, whole-grains, soy (the only complete plant protein), fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, along with products made from these natural foods, such as tofu, tempeh, and meat analogs (manufactured vegetarian food products that look and taste like meat).
The key that many inexperienced vegetarians miss is to eat a varied diet. Don't subsist on pasta alone—be sure to eat a variety of these types of proteins regularly to meet your body’s protein needs:
Nuts: Provide protein, fiber, B-vitamins, calcium, and minerals. Almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, chestnuts, pistachios, walnuts, cashews, pecans, and macadamias offer the most nutrition with the least saturated fat. But be warned, nuts are also high in carbohydrate and oils (and calories), so don't eat them in excess or you'll pack on unwanted pounds.
Beans: Offer fiber and protein with little or no fat or sodium, along with plenty of vitamins and minerals and a plethora of phytochemicals, compounds found only in plants that help your body fight damaging free radicals. Watch out for canned beans, which can be high in sodium, and refried beans, which can be high in fat.
Soy: The only plant food that is a complete protein, meaning that it contains all the essential amino acids that the body can't produce. Soy is also a rich source of unsaturated fats, fiber, B-vitamins, folic acid, potassium, calcium, zinc, and iron. Eating soy products regularly will ensure you get all the protein you need. Popular varieties include tofu, also known as bean curd, which is made from soybean milk, water, and nigari (a natural coagulant); tempeh, a fermented soybean product; and soy milk, a nutrient-rich soy beverage made by pressing the extract, or milk, out of presoaked soybeans. Want a delicious snack? Grab a handful of edamame—boiled soybeans
When buying these and other plant products, always look for organic varieties, which haven't been showered with pesticides and often contain fewer unnecessary and unhealthy additives. Locally grown produce is also often a good choice, although the term "locally grown" in not regulated like the "organic" label, so ask around and do your homework.
What to Watch Out For
Vegetarians who include protein-rich dairy foods in their diet need to steer clear of artery-clogging, full-fat dairy foods such as whole milk and cheeses. Opt for low-fat dairy options instead. Also watch out for high sodium in products like salted nuts, high sodium soy products, and the like.
About H.K. Jones: H. K. Jones is a registered dietitian, freelance writer, and nutrition professional based in Washington, D.C.
maninmass wrote:
I'm 41 years old, 6', 170lbs with a 31.5" waiste and have very little grey hair. I've been a vegetarian for 20 years and rarely eats dairy and eggs, but in truth cannot call myself a vegan. Though I do workout, I do not do it extensively and attribute my good health & weight mostly to my diet.
As for soy products, they don't agree with me and make me feel lousy. So I get my protein from variety of plant-based foods (including nuts and whole grains) and the occassional protien shake (always soy and dairy free). When I do eat dairy (cheese is tempting) I gain weight and develop mucus problems. Giving up milk was the best, health-based decission I ever made.
Nice to see you guys talking about vegetarianism. I truly believe it's the best diet for almost everyone and believe it would alieviate many of our common health and psycological problems...not to mention it supports a more peaceful world.
Dec 31 12:56 AM
xhinhua wrote:
this article has been really helpful. i've been a vegan for 15 years now and counting-- not for any social or political reasons but for necessity. i can't digest a number of things and have seizures when exposed to others. and rather than take the meds i used to take as a kid, i just changed my lifestyle for the better.
i do have to say that anyone who relies solely on soy for their protein rather than varying their intake with other vegetable proteins is still asking for trouble. while there is no conclusive evidence that it raises estrogen levels or diminishes testosterone, i have heard from numerous medical practitioners that it can put you at risk of clumping in the intestines if you consume too much (Sorry run on sentence-- you'd never know i was an english minor, lolol).
and while none of those things have been proven true conclusively, remember variety is the spice of life, eh?
Aug 10 4:49 PM
DiscoPope wrote:
re: AlexinRio,
Here are some links:
http://www.leaonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/S15327914NC41-1%262_5?cookieSet=1&journalCode=nc
http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FNRR%2FNRR13_02%2FS0954422400000718a.pdf&code=b2b8e1d7b3a49bb8bb451e4f5abcf862
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/132/3/570S
A survey of the scientific data shows no conclusive proof that soy intake has a detrimental effect on male hormone levels, whether estrogen or testosterone. Additionally, many studies looked at protein isolates, not whole soy products; protein isolates have different effects within the body and different concentrations of nutrients. As a vegan who also trains extensively at the gym, I have never had problems with gaining or maintaining muscle mass, or with energy levels. In fact, my body seems to run more efficiently when fueled on a well-balanced, consciously-chosen vegan diet. I understand your concerns, but for those of us with ethical, moral, or religious reasons for avoiding animal products (like myself), I find that the 'preachy carnivore' is far more prevalent and confrontational than the stereotypical 'preachy vegan.'
May 17 2:03 PM
AlexinRio wrote:
Soy protein has been recently proven to raise estrogen levels in men.
Higher estrogen means lower testosterone, as well as other health risks.
Also to eat some amino acids at one meal and then the missing amino acids at another later on does not work.
All amino acids need to be present at one meal for the liver to utilize them. The liver is extremely picky.
Vegetarians better watch their diets very very carefully or cancer risks are actually higher than the meat eaters...
By the way - my question is - who decides what life forms are more important than another? An ant - or a cow?
They are both life forms. Ants have an extremely high intelligence level. Even a plant for that matter is a life form that we kill to feed ourselves. A form of conciousness that does react to the environment around them - proven scientifically.
We are in human bodies and part of the food chain - or circle of life.. Aint much we can do about it except avoid all the hormones and chemicals that are being stuffed into the animal proteins we eat nowadays.
Apr 21 6:54 PM
Alexander89 wrote:
PS I am also training to be a chef so how would vegetarianism effect that?
Apr 18 12:22 PM
Alexander89 wrote:
I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for a good seven months but one of my moms kept hurrassing me telling me i didn't appreciate her food so i eventually gave in and started eating meat again. Thus i gained back a few pounds and i yet again got to feel guilty about eating something that had to be slaughtered in order to be consumed. I don't live with her anymore and am in college now. HOw do i go back to eating the way i did should i set a date on when i restart my lifestyle? And what about when i go to family gatherings or a friends house and the main dish is as usual meat?
Apr 18 12:18 PM
fernandotalkalot wrote:
Great finding this article. I find it very hard to be a vegetarian for that very reason. I've been reading a lot of negative research on soy. Especially for men, soy can bring hormonal imbalance, being that it contains estrogen. Also, I've read in inhibits thyroid metabolism, meaning people you can gain weight. Watch for that if your an overweight vegetarian. Lastly, soy is GMOprocessed even in its raw state; forget about tofu, tempeh,...How many of you can find organic,gmo free soy products, and consider the implications the plant brings to one already. Just food for thought. I am pretty much a macrobiotic vegan who eats a little fish and dairy. I just try really hard to eat raw, fresh, organic, and balanced. Whatever quest your on, seek balance and educate yourself. fernando lemus
Apr 17 9:39 PM
benos wrote:
Sorry... But by experimenting many years with these diets and not feeling healthy at all, I have broth back meat into my diet an feel healthier then ever... So,I dont think that it works for everybody and true specialists should know that. I have suffered heart problems because of avoiding salt and my cholesterol levels were so low that I was killing myself. Doctor's order : eat salt and bring back the cholesterol! These effects only came after years of avoiding meat-salt-cholesterol... and trying to eat like the - specialists of today try to tell to do so. I Feel better then ever now! I eat red meat,eggs,nuts,fish,poultry and I try to follow the blood type diet that goes with my blood type. And by experience, I know that I need the meat.
I choose healthy fats and avoid the processed foods.
Apr 14 11:14 PM
TOFUSTUD wrote:
I've been a vegetarian since 1993. I try to eat tofu almost every day, hence my screenname.
Apr 14 7:23 AM
kc415 wrote:
Wait - people still eat meat? weird.
Apr 14 6:40 AM
phill wrote:
thanks for the article. i have been a vegan for about 4 years.
Apr 13 4:09 PM
Krampack wrote:
Hello, vegan for 15 years. I want to throw some other vegetable sources of the essential amino acids into the fray... "soy, hempseed, amaranth, buckwheat and quinoa" Yes, the source is wikipedia, but if you research them yourself you will see they are complete. Thank you for the article and Edamame ROCKS!!! WOOOHOOO!
Apr 13 6:47 AM
realsoccerjock wrote:
Also been a veggie for 20 years. It rocks!!
Apr 13 3:50 AM
TheTowerThatAtePeople wrote:
Vegans rule!
Apr 13 1:41 AM
kilroy wrote:
Right on...I eat fish on the rare occasion, otherwise, nothng with eyes...except potatoes! Just found out my triglycerides are high...have to cut back on starches and sugar, including natural fruit sugars...and chocolate. bummer.
Apr 13 12:43 AM
tanktop wrote:
I've been ovo-lacto vegetarian since 1987. Thanks for the excellent article. I think the most important point to make is that you can get protein from the amino acids in plant sources with almost none of the fat you get with animal sources, and in that respect, plants are a better source of protein than any animal products. On the average, more Americans get too much protein and fat in their diets, and over a lifetime, the excess is as detrimental to their physical conditioning as any small deficiency would be, so for almost any athlete, more plants and less meats is better for their long-term prospects.
Apr 12 2:56 AM
jeffinsf wrote:
Hi Egoshizo. I think you can steam them as well, but boiling in salt water is the typical way I've seen them prepared: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/edamame
That said, steaming probably maintains more of the nutrients than boiling, so...
Apr 11 6:31 PM
egoshizo wrote:
I'm fairly certain that edamame is steamed soybeans, not boiled.
Apr 11 5:48 PM
zyberman wrote:
Great article, thanks, I wonder how many vegetarian jocks are on this site?
Apr 11 4:18 PM
sfnicolas wrote:
I've been a vegetarian since 1988--it works for me!
Apr 11 5:21 AM