How To Take Proper Protein Diet If You Are A Vegan?
So,let’s start with why do you need to take protein from food sources?
As it’s known fact that proteins are composed of smaller units called amino acids. To form a complete protein, 22 types of amino acids are required. Among these 22 amino acids, 9 amino acid are essential which need to be taken by food, remaining can be made by your body itself. So you need to take care of including these essential amino acids with regard to any diet you follow.
Food gets digested and break down into the different amino acids, which your body absorbs, create an amino acid pool and form new proteins required for your body from these stored amino acids.
As per the best nutritionist in Delhi, muscle synthesis is maximized by consumption of 0.3 gm protein per kg body weight every three to 5 hours.Ultimately, your body creates specific form of protein from the dietary protein you eat.Thus, its said to take proper protein as it holds extremely necessary nutrients for body.
Do you know your requirement for protein?
- According to RDA, average protein requirement for healthy person is 0.8 – 1 gm per kg body weight. And to get correct portion of protein is essential. As we know the vegetarian are likely to intake less protein as compared to that of non-vegetarian. People eating vegan have many options to take protein but they miss some of them in any manner.
Not enough protein? Symptoms to look out for
- Feeling constantly lightheaded, unmotivated, and overtired
- Constant sugar and carbohydrate cravings (when your body is lackingsufficient protein and nutrients to power itself, it craves sugar to get the quick energy it so desperately needs)
- Hair loss
- Growth retardation in babies and toddlers
- Increased susceptibility to infection
- Weight loss
- Muscle wasting
- Weakness and fatigue
If you are also feeling most of these symptoms on a regular basis, then do increase the protein intake in your diet.
FINDING PROTEIN IN VEGAN FOODS
Finding sources of protein are so easy today, google it and they will be there. What we don’t realize is how to use these sources to make a balanced meal. Even the chances are that we know the source of rich protein but don’t know in what quantity one should take.Some sources of protein for vegan are:
- Pulses: This include Lentils like Green, Red, Brown, Black ; Peas like Chickpeas, garden peas, black eyed peas; Beans like Navy beans, Pinto beans, Kidney beans, Black eyed beans, Runner beans, Lima beans, Broad beans. It’s good to have one protein diet in a day and add some of these in diet.
- Soy beans and its product: Tempeh, tofu, miso, Soy flour, Soy Milk are goof source of protein. And one of these sources can be added in daily intake.
- Nuts and seeds: Almonds, pistachios, Cashews, Walnuts, Hazelnuts, Pecans, hemp seeds, Squash and pumpkin seeds, Sunflower seeds, Flax seeds, Sesame seeds, Chia seeds
- Whole grains: Wheat, Rice, Quinoa, Millets, Oats, Buckwheat, Corn.
- Others :Vegetable like Broccoli, Asparagus, Brussels sprouts, Artichoke ; Mushroom ; Fruits ; Sea vegetables like kelp
- Dairy substitute for Vegan : Soy milk, Almond milk, Rice milk
Time to know some important facts for better completion of your protein digestion:
When you start following vegan diet or the diet plan for weight loss, you may experience some gastro intestinal issues which is common. Your intestine can do better job of digesting plant proteins if you are aware of some important facts and terms like
- Include fermented proteins: In Fermentation process, food is exposed to a bacteria or culture which actually breakdown difficult digestibleparts of foods, such as sugars, protein they’reby making nutrient easy to absorb.
Example: Tempeh, miso, shoyu, food items prepared from Fermented legumes like idli, dosa etc
- Pickles for better protein digestion: No No No!!! Don’t think about that spicy oily pasteurized pickle. Because this can be a bad decision for your health. The unpasteurizedfresh version of pickle without spices, they contain bacteria which promote healthy digestive tract. Try homemade pickled vegetables like Sauerkraut, cucumber pickle, kimchee, lemon pickle.
- Sprouting: Sprouting your legumes bring out many enzymes, thus increasing bioavailability of protein.
- Pairing protein with carbohydrate-rich foods will help you absorb protein well.
