This is probably the number one question I get when it comes to the topic of a plant-based diet.
For some reason people are highly concerned about this one macronutrient.
I wonder why no one ever asks people who eat the typical meat and potatoes diet, “where do you get your phytonutrients?” or “where do you get your antioxidants?”
Kidding aside, it is true that protein is one of the three macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fat) that our bodies need to survive so it is important for everyone – not just those on a plant-powered diet – to make sure they’re getting enough.
Here are some answers to the most common questions around protein:
How much do I need?
Probably not as much as you think.
There seems to be this idea floating around that, when it comes to protein, more is better. This is not the case.
Your body will only use the amount of protein that it requires. So, when you ingest more protein than your body needs, it has to get rid of all that protein in some way. It does this through your kidneys. Healthy kidneys can probably handle this just fine, but anyone with any level of kidney disease needs to be careful with too much protein.
Excess protein can also cause dehydration as your body uses water to flush the protein out. The more protein you ingest, the more water you need to be drinking.
As with most things, your particular protein requirements depend on many factors, including your age, weight, activity level and the type of activity you’re doing.
Here is a good guide for determining how much protein you need:
Children – 1.1g/kg per day
Adults – 0.8g/kg per day
Pregnant Women – 1.1-1.3g/kg per day
Math getting you down? If you measure your weight in lbs instead of kg, just take your weight in lbs and divide by 2.2 to get kgs.
So, if you weigh 160lbs, your weight in kgs is 72.7 and if you’re an adult who is moderately active, you should be aiming for 58g of protein a day. See? Easy peasy!
What if I’m working out a lot?
Endurance athletes, or people working out more than about an hour a day should aim for 1.2 – 1.4g/kg per day.
So, if you weigh 150lbs and you are an endurance athlete or work out more than about 7 hours a week then you want to aim for 89g of protein a day.
What if I want to increase lean muscle mass?
People doing a lot of strength training who are aiming to build muscle should aim for 1.2 – 1.7g/kg per day and should make sure that they’re specifically getting Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA).
BCAAs are three essential amino acids (isoleucine, leaucine, and valine) that are responsible for the repair and rebuilding of muscles after exercise. They’re important for everyone, but absolutely necessary for anyone trying to build muscle.
So, if you weigh 180lbs and are regularly doing strength training to build lean muscle mass, you want to aim for about 122g of protein a day.
What foods contain BCAAs?
If you’re looking to build lean muscle mass and want to make sure you’re getting enough Branch Chain Amino Acids (isoleucine, leaucine, and valine) here are a few foods that you’ll want to make sure you’re including in your diet:
- Split peas
- Lima beans
- Tempeh
- Cashews
- Pumpkin seeds
- Hemp seeds
- Chia seeds
- Brazil nuts
- Brown rice
Do I need to combine plant foods to get a “complete” protein?
No. This was an idea that started decades ago and which has since been disproved.
The idea was that because many plant protein sources do not contain the full complement of essential amino acids, that you needed to run around trying to pair up foods that would, when put together, offer all the essential amino acids together.
What we’ve discovered since is that, the body is very good at mixing matching amino acids as they need them. It can take three from your breakfast and combine them with two from your lunch and one from your dinner and put them together to patch up that scrape you got on your knee during your evening run.
But, if you are concerned about getting all the essential amino acids at once, here are a few foods that contain them all in one pretty package:
- Hemp seeds
- Chia seeds
- Quinoa
- Tempeh
- Edamame
What are the best sources of plant-based protein?
There are lots of great sources of protein in the plant kingdom. Here are just a few examples:
- Tempeh – 24g/cup cooked
- Lentils – 18g/cup cooked
- Adzuki beans – 17g/cup cooked
- Pumpkin seeds – 10g/one quarter cup
- Almonds – 8g/one quarter cup
- Chia seeds – 2g/tbsp.
- Quinoa – 9g/cup cooked
- Buckwheat – 11g/one half cup
- Spinach – 5g/cup cooked
- Broccoli – 4g/cup cooked
Do I need to include an extra protein powder to get enough?
This is totally up to you. I prefer to get my protein from whole foods, but there are many reasons why a protein supplement might be a good choice for you.
If you’re an endurance athlete, or working on building lean muscle, you may find it easier to add a protein supplement to get to the amount of protein your body needs.
Or, if you’re travelling and can’t be sure that you’ll be able to find adequate sources of plant-based protein, a supplement product might be good to take along.
Just remember what I said earlier about more not being always better. If you’re getting enough protein in your diet, and then adding on scoops of protein powder because you think more is better, you could actually be doing more harm than good.
This is just one of the top[ics covered my FREE ebook Going Meat Free: An Easy Getting Started Guide where you find answers to lots of FAQs, a 7-day Meal Plan, Recipes and more. Get your copy today!
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