The Reality About Vegan Proteins
It is fair to say that America has a food obsession.
Whether or not this obsession surrounds unrestrained weight loss or gain, North Americans still know incredibly little about health and nutrition. Even with all of the talk of our obesity epidemic, those among us who choose to cut certain things from our diet are commonly looked at weirdly.
Being a vegan, the most typical question I'm asked is, "Where do you get your protein?"
Vegetarians are people who cut meat from their diet, and vegans cut all animal products. Most people think vegetarians just eat lots of eggs or peanut butter, while vegan protein sources remain a mystery.
The endorsed amount of protein for an adult female is around 45 grams, and for an adult male about 55 grams. While meat and eggs are great sources of protein, the notion that those are the only natural options is wrong. Vegetarians and vegans don't necessarily need to beef up their diets with shakes and tablets either (though I know one or two that do, those individuals are bodybuilders). It is true that a 6oz steak has about 40 grams of protein, and a large egg has about six, but those aren't your sole options.
What most folks don't realize is that there's at least a small amount of protein in most things you eat.
Vegetables, for example, provide small amounts of protein. On the high end, a serving of broccoli offers about four grams of protein. Asparagus, artichoke and spinach each offer three, and most other vegetables fall somewhere below that. Compared with one steak, that's nothing. But most folks do not consume the suggested servings of vegetables. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, an individual with a median calorie intake of about 2000 should have around 9 servings of vegetables a day, which is about four and a half cups. So if you ate nine servings of broccoli in one day (mmmm, right?) you would have eaten 36 grams of protein!
Ok, realistically let's say you actually did eat nine servings of vegetables and they weren't all broccoli. You're most likely a man, because most girls don't shoot for 2000 calories a day. We will say your average intake of protein per serving was just 2 1/2 grams, so you're already at 22 1/2 grams of protein. That isn't 55, so let's look at what else you can have that day.
I cup of tempeh (a protein made with whole soybeans) has 41 grams of protein, and 1 cup of cooked soybeans has 29 grams. Just 3 oz of seitan (a protein made with wheat) has 31 grams of protein, a cup of lentils has 18, one cup of chickpeas has 12, and 1/4 cup of almonds has 8. Even a cup of spaghetti has 8 grams of protein.
Selecting from that list can bring you nearer to your daily amount, and I have not even gone into beans and other legumes that are likely in your diet already. In my experience, if we are careful to eat the right amount of vegetables and whole grains, proteins will naturally fall into place.
Whether or not this obsession surrounds unrestrained weight loss or gain, North Americans still know incredibly little about health and nutrition. Even with all of the talk of our obesity epidemic, those among us who choose to cut certain things from our diet are commonly looked at weirdly.
Being a vegan, the most typical question I'm asked is, "Where do you get your protein?"
Vegetarians are people who cut meat from their diet, and vegans cut all animal products. Most people think vegetarians just eat lots of eggs or peanut butter, while vegan protein sources remain a mystery.
The endorsed amount of protein for an adult female is around 45 grams, and for an adult male about 55 grams. While meat and eggs are great sources of protein, the notion that those are the only natural options is wrong. Vegetarians and vegans don't necessarily need to beef up their diets with shakes and tablets either (though I know one or two that do, those individuals are bodybuilders). It is true that a 6oz steak has about 40 grams of protein, and a large egg has about six, but those aren't your sole options.
What most folks don't realize is that there's at least a small amount of protein in most things you eat.
Vegetables, for example, provide small amounts of protein. On the high end, a serving of broccoli offers about four grams of protein. Asparagus, artichoke and spinach each offer three, and most other vegetables fall somewhere below that. Compared with one steak, that's nothing. But most folks do not consume the suggested servings of vegetables. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, an individual with a median calorie intake of about 2000 should have around 9 servings of vegetables a day, which is about four and a half cups. So if you ate nine servings of broccoli in one day (mmmm, right?) you would have eaten 36 grams of protein!
Ok, realistically let's say you actually did eat nine servings of vegetables and they weren't all broccoli. You're most likely a man, because most girls don't shoot for 2000 calories a day. We will say your average intake of protein per serving was just 2 1/2 grams, so you're already at 22 1/2 grams of protein. That isn't 55, so let's look at what else you can have that day.
I cup of tempeh (a protein made with whole soybeans) has 41 grams of protein, and 1 cup of cooked soybeans has 29 grams. Just 3 oz of seitan (a protein made with wheat) has 31 grams of protein, a cup of lentils has 18, one cup of chickpeas has 12, and 1/4 cup of almonds has 8. Even a cup of spaghetti has 8 grams of protein.
Selecting from that list can bring you nearer to your daily amount, and I have not even gone into beans and other legumes that are likely in your diet already. In my experience, if we are careful to eat the right amount of vegetables and whole grains, proteins will naturally fall into place.
Categories:
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire