Ever wondered if you’re getting enough protein in your diet?
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein and it turns out that we need 20 essential amino acids in the right ratio every day. If you eat eggs, milk, cheese, or fish or meat then you will be getting what you need.
However, most plant sources of protein are incomplete, that is they don’t provide all the amino acids we need in the right ratio by themselves, with the exception of soybeans and quinoa. So the answer is to combine complementary proteins together. That means pairing nuts, seeds, grains or legumes in any combination of at least two in a meal.
Legumes and grains are one of the most common pairings for complementary protein. Indian daal with rice is an example of a lentil and grain dish. Consider making a salad with both lentils and nuts, to make a meal with complete protein. If you include some meat in your day then complementary proteins only need to be eaten in the same day, not necessarily at the same meal, in order to get their benefits. So how much protein is enough.
Well that depends on your activity, weight, sex and age. The recommended dietary allowance to prevent deficiency for an average sedentary adult is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. To increase muscle mass in combination with physical activity, it is recommended that a person who lifts weights regularly or is training for a running or cycling event eat a range of 1.2-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. To find out how much protein you personally need, check out the protein intake calculator put together at: https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/