I previously touched on protein basics in this post here. Check it out before reading this post to get an understanding of how much protein you need, and how to incorporate it into your lifestyle.
This is one of the great debates of our time: Animal versus plant protein. This post is solely informational, and I will make my best recommendations below.
What is the difference between animal and plant protein?
Animal protein is a complete protein – which means it has all the amino acids including the 9 essential amino acids that can only be created from the foods we consume.
Plant protein is an incomplete protein – which means it does not contain all the amino acids, and must be achieved by food combining.
What are some animal protein sources?
Meat, poultry, eggs, fish and dairy contain all 9 essential amino acids. Eggs are a wonderful and easy source of protein that can be added in your diet. Diary also has its place here – however, I recommend that the least as it causes inflammation when eaten too often.
What are some plant protein sources?
Plant protein that is a complete protein: Soy (tofu, tempeh & edamame), quinoa, rice + beans together, chia seeds, flax seeds, amaranth, and pistachios. Soy is one of the most easily digestible proteins, similar to animal protein: “Soy protein is a high-quality protein with a protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) of 1.00, which is close to some of the proteins from animal sources, such as meat and dairy.” – study in the Journal of Agriculture, and Food Research.
Some high protein vegetables that are not complete: green peas, spinach, Brussel sprouts, artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower and nuts (almonds, cashews +etc). Though they are incomplete they must be eaten with other foods to make them a complete protein.
How to incorporate it into your lifestyle?
- Mix up your protein sources every week – don’t just stick to one. Our bodies need variety, and we often do not give our bodies enough of this. I rotate between pork, chicken, fish, tofu, shrimp, and eggs, I do not eat beef at home, so that is a rare treat when I want to eat it.
- Plan your meals ahead of time, focusing on what is the protein in each of the meals, and build around the protein source. Prep what you can ahead of time, to make the processes quick and easy.
- Always balance your protein with vegetables (which can also include protein naturally), healthy carbs, and healthy oils/fats.
- Buy protein and vegetables frozen, or freeze them. It allows you to keep protein and veggies on hand, ready to go, easy to defrost and cook.
- If you’re on the go, or are primarily plant-based you’ll end up missing a lot of your protein needs, and in the long run it can be detrimental to your overall health including and not limited to bones, and muscles. To help fill in the gaps, I recommend using a high quality protein powder. I personally use a plant-based protein every day. Super easy fix!
- Everyone is different, but the important thing to keep in mind, is that our body needs protein every day, it cannot store amino acids. In the long run – if we are depleted of protein for too long, our body will start to break down, so that’s why I recommend switching your proteins between animal and plant, and not just solely one or the other.
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