How to Get enough Protein on a Vegetarian Diet

Anyone who has been a vegetarian for a long time gets sick of meat-lovers always asking, “If you’re a vegetarian, how do you get your protein?” There’s an ill-informed assumption widespread among meat-eaters that meat is the only healthy source of complete proteins. In fact, this is just a myth perpetuated by the type of anti-vegetarian attitude that pervades the media.

The reality is that there are complete, healthy proteins to be found in all types of food. In fact, in many cases, the proteins found in certain types of meat are actually inferior to the proteins you can get from beans, grains, vegetables, and other types of vegetarian food.

What are Proteins, and Why do we Need Them?

The building blocks of proteins are organic compounds called amino acids. There are countless types of amino acids, and they perform so many functions in the body that it’s safe to say that we could not exist without them. They’re essential parts of every type of cell, and cells are what we’re made of.

There are two main types of amino acids in the human body. First, there are nonessential amino acids, which your body makes on its own out of non-amino nutrients. Second, there are essential amino acids, which your body can’t produce, and thus must get from external sources—i.e., from foods.

When you consume something that has protein, your body doesn’t absorb that protein as is. Rather, it breaks the protein down into amino acids, and then reconstitutes these amino acids for its own uses. In other words, high protein content doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re body’s going to get a lot of protein out of that food. In fact, your body may find more of use in so-called low protein foods than in high protein foods.

Any food that is a strong source not just of abundant protein but also tons of essential amino acids is known as a complete protein. Some types of meat, especially many types of fish and shellfish, are complete proteins, but many types of meat are surprisingly not very complete at all. Vegetarian sources of complete protein include milk, eggs, soy products, and many types of grains, beans, and nuts.

How Vegetarians Get their Protein

As I’ve said, the main reason why your body needs protein is to get amino acids, which are the building blocks of many aspects of our cells. All types of life—both plant and animal—contain amino acids, even those that don’t have a high amount of protein.

That said, there are some vegetarian foods that pack a large wallop when it comes to protein content. Soy products, for instance, are known for being a complete protein with many different types of essential amino acids. However, it’s thought that soy consumed in large quantities can start to have negative health effects, so most vegetarians try to consume it only in moderation. Other high-protein vegetarian food products include seitan (a meat-like material made of wheat gluten) , beans, lentils, and nuts—especially more robust nuts like walnuts, almonds, and brazil nuts.

But even when you don’t include these high-protein foods, you can get plenty of protein from other sources. The key is to include low-to-modest protein foods that, when put together, create complete proteins. For example, corn and black beans, when eaten together, produce some of the most complete amino acids possible.

However, it can be a headache trying to keep track of which types of foods combine best with which, which is why many vegetarians simply take a holistic approach. Rather than putting all their energy into creating the right kinds of combinations, they simply eat a broad array of foods. For example, if you eat a diet that is rich in whole grains, lentils, nuts, cheese (for non-vegan vegetarians), seeds, soy, fruits, and vegetables, you will get the protein that you need.

All in all, when you look at the nutritional information on a product at the store and you see that it has a high protein content, you can’t necessarily take this at face value. While it may be abundant in one type of protein, it may not have complete proteins. That’s why it’s best to diversify your diet, and get as many different types of amino acids as possible.