The vegetarian first objection is the question, “But where do you get your protein?” The vegetarian replied, "Potatoes and avocados!" If that answer is perplexing then nutritional education is needed. Simply eating a variety of whole foods will likely meet the protein requirements.
In the U.S., the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for protein is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. This translates to 0.36 grams protein per pound of body weight. This equates to roughly 10-15 percent of your total calories. Vegetarians and vegans easily get this amount of protein. An average male needs about 57 grams protein daily, athletes almost double.
There are 20 amino acids that link together to form peptides. Peptides are then linked together to form proteins. The body can make 11 amino acids. The remaining nine amino acids are from the diet. They are called essential amino acids. Eating a variety of foods by the end of the day, supplies all of the amino acids the body needs. It is not necessary to have all amino acids eaten within a single meal. Our bodies pool the amino acids as we eat them, and we use them when needed.
Many are misinformed by advertisements and the dictates of the government.
Many in congress are purchased by the meat and dairy lobbyist.
Food charts with a food group marked as protein give examples of lobbyist influences.
Those food charts were pushed by dairy and meat industries. They have a group for protein implying the other foods do not have protein, then there exist a separate group for dairy that should not exist.
The potato is known for starch and the avocado is known for fat. And both foods have all the essential amino acids for protein.
Meat has no fiber, no antioxidants, has saturated fats, and has cholesterol. The overemphasizing animal protein foods creates much protein waste. It promote poor health, low energy, and increasing the risk of diseases, like heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, kidney damage, kidney stones, colon disease, immune dysfunction, arthritis, cancer promotion. Animal products promote cancer growth whereas plants fights cancer.
Animal products have bad fats, trans and saturated. And with no fiber its consumption leads to colon problems. Having hormones factory chicken consumption is associated with much weight gain. Weight Gain
All vegetables and fruits have protein. One banana has 1.3 grams of protein. Protein from plants are at higher quality then protein from meat and dairy. The broccoli's protein content is much higher then the chicken's. The chicken has the protein content as low as 20 percent.
Avocados provide all essential amino acids. Its protein is readily absorbed by the body. Compare this to the hard to digest protein of a steak. Chia seeds, potatoes, quinoa, spirulina are examples of complete protein. Legumes with seeds complete all essential amino acids, for example the complete protein hummus has chick-peas and sesame seeds. A mixture of sprouts from legumes and seeds is complete protein and are high in antioxidants. The vegan Daniel of the Bible prefers eating sprouts to what was served for the royalty. Sprouts are the best supplements.
Large muscular animals, like elephants, buffaloes giraffes, gorillas get their protein from plants.
NEXT Is carb bad and low-carb diet good?