The key to getting enough protein on a plant-based diet

Chickpeas, green peas, even bread and pasta contain protein. Photo source: Edgar Castrejon on Unsplash

“One thing I’ve learned about my diet,” my sister says as we eat dinner, “is that I definitely need a lot of protein.” She’s a high school athlete and practices six days a week, sometimes with all-day tournaments on Saturday and Sunday. After knee surgery she started paying close attention to what she eats to keep her body in the best shape possible.

For my sister, as with many others, protein means meat. For her, reducing the amount of animal products she eats means sacrificing a key nutrient. But while meat does contain more protein per ounce than other foods, she might not need as much protein as she’s been led to believe.

“People are concerned about getting enough protein, but it’s a non-issue.”

— Marion Nestle

We hear all the time that protein is key to our diets. However, protein requirements are less demanding than most of us know. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of protein is pretty low, at just 0.36 grams per pound of body weight for adults. This translates to an average of 64 grams a day for adult men and 52 grams for adult women based on body weights of 175 pounds and 145 pounds respectively. Young teens need slightly more than that, and less after age 15.

Based on the RDA, an adult woman weighing 145 lbs would get more than her recommended amount of protein from two cups of bean chili with some plain yogurt on top (55 grams), or from a breakfast of oatmeal, lunch salad with tofu, and dinner of lentil soup. Although it’s better to spread protein consumption out through the day to keep your metabolism humming, it’s fine to get the recommended amount from just one meal.

protein is EVERYWHERE

Getting enough protein isn’t as big a deal as many people make it out to be. Marion Nestle, a professor emeritus of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University is well known for debunking myths about protein, and food in general. “People are very concerned about protein, but it’s a nonissue,” she recently told The New York Times. “It’s in grains, it’s in vegetables, it’s everywhere. It will find you.”

A variety of foods contain protein, making it easy and healthy to substitute plant-based options for meat. Source: Johns Hopkins

Meat and dairy production account for an estimated 20 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

In fact, we eat too much protein. Most American adults consume about 100 grams of protein per day, or roughly twice the recommended amount. We also don’t need meat in order to get enough of it. In 2016, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics stated that a vegetarian or vegan diet could provide all the nutritional requirements of adults, children, and those who were pregnant or breast-feeding. And that plant-based diets are linked to lower rates of ischemic heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, certain types of cancer, and obesity.

Eating less meat and dairy is also better for the environment. Meat and dairy production alone account for 14.5 to 20 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions—as much each year as from all cars, trucks, airplanes and ships combined, which is pretty staggering.

but what about athletes?

So what about athletes? Don’t they need more protein than the rest of us? Unclear. There seems to be no broad consensus on exactly how much protein athletes like my sister or my marathon-running boyfriend need. Some experts believe no more than the RDA is needed; others recommend athletes eat twice as much as sedentary people. Vegan coach Massimo Brunaccioni suggests eating 2 grams per kilogram of body weight if you want to add muscle mass.

There’s more agreement around the idea that timing matters. Eating 20 to 40 grams of high-quality protein within three hours after intense physical activity appears to help the body recover and build muscle.

Many coaches also recommend meat because it’s a complete protein, unlike most plant-based sources, and an efficient way to meet protein needs. Protein is made up of 20 amino acids bonded together. Your body produces 11 of them. Food is considered a complete protein when it contains the nine amino acids your body can’t make. Plant-based proteins that are complete include buckwheat, quinoa, and soy, but most sources are animal-based.

Eating 20 to 40 grams of protein within three hours of working out helps the body to recover and build muscle. Photo by John Arano on Unsplash

My partner Max is a marathon runner, and slowly changed his diet to be less dependent on meat without giving up protein. He often pairs proteins to get more out of each, like beans and rice or peanut butter on wheat toast. But you don’t have to team up proteins in one meal to get the full benefit. As long as you’re eating a variety of plant protein sources over the course of a day, your body does the work of “completing” the proteins for you.

“If you’re relying on just meat or dairy for protein, you’re probably missing other essential nutrients from your diet.”

putting protein on your menu

Thinking about proteins other than meat can be challenging at first. But meals become way more interesting when you’re seeking variety, and you may become a better cook, too. Plus, if you’re relying on just meat or dairy for protein, you’re probably missing other essential nutrients from your diet.

My sister wants to change her diet but, as with so many of us, she doesn’t have the right information on hand. Here’s information on plant-based proteins that might be helpful for people just getting started on a plant-based diet. I also put together a sample protein breakdown for a variety of diets. Each is based on meeting the RDA of an average adult American woman (145 lbs, 52 grams per day). All meals contain complete proteins, but again, there’s no need to make each meal complete. If you’re like me, cooking with enough variety to cover your nutritional bases will eventually become second nature.