You’re focusing on a more plant based diet. Good for you! What challenges are you facing? New foods to try? Meal planning? Experiencing new tastes and textures? One common concern some people might have with a plant based diet is getting enough quality protein every day.
Protein is one of our Macro-Nutrients (along with carbohydrates and fats) and it is necessary for many functions in the body. We often link protein supplementation with body builders to help them maintain muscles. But this macro-nutrient has many other roles and is necessary for all of us. Protein is an important building block for bones, cartilage, skin, enzymes, hormones, hair, nails, and so much more. That’s why it’s important to make sure you provide your body with its daily needs of this macronutrient.
But how much protein do we really need? That is a very common question. You see protein is a combination of amino acids, those that are essential (must be consumed) and those that are non-essential (that the body can make). A complete protein must contain all 9 essential amino acids (histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phyenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine). Getting adequate COMPLETE protein is an important part of a healthy diet no matter what dietary lifestyle choices you make.
Determining your daily protein requirements is often a topic of conversation with many of us. According to National Institutes of Health, depending on your age, activity level, and protein quality, the daily grams of protein can vary dramatically.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5872778/
The International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends people who exercise consume 1.4 – 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. One kilogram is approximately 2.2 pounds. So if your weight is 150 pounds that is approximately 68 kilograms, which would mean, according to ISSN, you should consume about 68 grams of protein per day.
International Society of Sports Nutrition
Now that we have a way to determine how MUCH protein we need, let’s look at the sources of plant based proteins. There are so many options with plant protein – soy, pea, hemp, lentils, quinoa, nuts, seeds, etc. So how do you know which one to choose?
A key thing to consider is getting all your essential amino acids (those we must consume) which often requires a combination of several different plant protein sources. Plant proteins are a little different than whey protein because the amino acid profiles are different. While whey protein alone provides a complete amino acid profile (all essential and non-essential amino acids) plants don’t contain that exact same amino acid combination.
Plant proteins that are considered complete proteins and often used for supplemental protein include pea, hemp and soy. Each will have its own unique level of each amino acid but each also contain all 9 of the essential amino acids necessary to be considered a complete protein.
A challenge that often arises when people try a plant based protein supplement is texture. Many plant protein supplements available today have a texture that is not as smooth as many of us would like. And sometimes the taste isn’t pleasurable either. That’s where Biochem Protein can take you to your #NextLevelLiving with their amazing Vegan Protein option.
A combination of organic pea protein, organic hemp protein and cranberry protein Biochem’s Vegan protein provides you with a complete amino acid profile, great taste, and a smooth texture – unlike most other vegan proteins on the market today. It also mixes very easily with your favorite beverage and can be added to smoothies for those necessary amino acid building block.
Let Biochem Vegan Protein take you to your #NextLevelLiving.