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Great post!
I wanted to add that this isn't quite how proteins work. Those protein-rich legumes aren't what you would call 'complete proteins.' There's a number of amino acids our bodies use as proteins and while legumes are a good source of many of them, there's a couple proteins you won't get enough of from just the beans. Fortunately, brown rice- while not as rich in protein- gives you the proteins that the beans are lacking. That's why beans and rice are a match made in heaven.
Herbivorous animals are just better at metabolising proteins from plants and of course they're capable of eating much more than us. That's why they're able to live off of grass.
This just stuff I read up on a few years ago so if I've gotten something wrong please say so
It's extremely unlikely that anyone with an even vaguely normal diet isn't getting all the essential amino acids as those complementary to legumes are found not just in rice but in all grains and seeds. So it's not just rice, any kind of bread, pasta, oats, barley/spelt/etc. or nuts will do. And soy is pretty much a complete protein.
Yours and other comments have been insightful and have made me reconsider some assumptions I did not realize I had made, so thank you.
I'll concede that a sedentary person of normal weight doesn't need to worry much about getting all their essential amino acids. If I was interested in gaining muscle on a plant-based diet, would you say that I would still be wasting energy by stressing about eating all the proteins? Wouldn't that make my only issue getting the right amount of calories?
I'll look for some literature when I have the time but if you have any off-hand knowledge you could share then I would appreciate it.
It's very much possible. Look up Noah Hannibal, Nimai Delgado, John Thomas, Brian Turner, Lifting Vegan Logic, Lakshay Naidu, Patrik Baboumian.
They all eat Tofu and other soy products like edamame regularily, often for decades and can't exactly be called feminized.
So tofu is really your friend. Many benifits like high calcium content, isoflavones preventing specific cancers and the most complete protein in the plant world, IIRC. Quinoa and hempseeds have a pretty good amino acid profile too but are more cumbersome to consume than tofu. It tastes bland on itself but it can transform into many delicious dishes if prepared right.
If you want to learn more about the body building aspects you find a ton of information on the respectice YT channels of above mentioned body builders.
I'd refer to these channels if you want to learn how to cook good whole food plant based dishes:
https://www.youtube.com/@thenarddogcooks https://youtube.com/@pickuplimes https://youtube.com/@healthyveganeating https://www.youtube.com/@RainbowPlantLife https://www.youtube.com/@YEUNGMANCOOKING https://youtube.com/@cheaplazyvegan
I mean, I think it's fine to make sure your diet contains all these things. If you're eating vegan (even if you're not) yeah, do eat beans/lentils/soy etc., for sure. But I think stressing is overkill. If you just eat a good variety of foods you're likely to get what you need.
There is no real protein in most grains. This chart is misinformation.
Wrong
The infos in your comment aren't wrong, but it's missing a crucial point: If you live in a developed country, you're likely eating 2-4 times as much protein as you actually need.
Even when a certain legume has only 70% as much content of a certain amino acid, if you eat double than what you need, you still reach 140%.
I'm not sure what the implication of living in a developed country is. People can have vastly different diets in developed countries and people may have different protein needs. Just because you live in a developed country doesn't make you immune to malnutrition.
I think it's just something that has to be considered in a wider context and people are bad at that in general.
See my friend who is quite obese and suffering from diabetes including kidney issues and bad liver enzymes, because he was obsessed with being big and lifting heavy things and obsessing about cramming as much 'protein' as he could thinking that weight lifting would burn off all the 'bad stuff'. He got way more protein than even any body builder could possibly need but was still always making a big show at gatherings of eating so much stuff to maintain his physique (which didn't look muscular, he always looked fat, but said his muscles weren't for show and that's why he looked fat not muscular).
So when some post seeks to help folks by indicating good sources of protein, it can trigger people that have no protein issues to make worse decisions, and it's worth pointing out that most people concerned about getting lots of protein almost certainly already have plenty of protein.
Well, if you're actively starving, then obviously you won't get enough. And if you're only eating e.g. rice, then you'd likely be satiated before you have enough of certain amino acids. But aside from that, it's quite difficult to not get enough protein, as carb-heavy food also contains protein.
I can recommend listening to this podcast/video for a more detailed explanation: https://zoe.com/learn/podcast-should-i-eat-more-protein
If you live in a developed country, you're likely eating 2-4 times as much protein as you actually need.
Except if you are reducing animal products (not just if you are vegan). In many western cuisines, if you just reduce/avoid meat, egg and diary products, you probably will get too little of some of the amino acids, causing malnutrition. Therefore, this information is important.
This professor disagrees with you: https://zoe.com/learn/podcast-should-i-eat-more-protein
I can't really cite a specific portion, as he explains how the whole RDA works, how much we eat and how plants' amino acids work across the whole length, but frankly, the whole podcast/video is worth listening to.
But well, to cite at least the conclusion:
Yes, you can absolutely meet all your needs on a completely plant-based diet, stop obsessing about protein.
See the following on the concept of complete proteins: https://youtu.be/psAlJtgeQsY
Thanks for the link! Neat video, and I'll make a note to skim the sources for the video. Honestly I'm happy to be wrong on this as the issue of getting enough protein for gaining muscle has made me reconsider my diet a lot in the past.