Many people wish they could become vegans for health reasons or animal rights but they worry that they won't be able to get enough nutrients, mainly protein. However, it is easy for vegans to get enough protein by eating a varied diet. Protein supplements are not needed nor is excessive meal planning to ensure large amounts of protein are consumed on a daily basis. On average, women need only about 47 to 58 grams of protein a day and men need only 56 to 70 grams.
Amount of Protein Required
The average person needs only about 10 percent of their daily calories to come from protein. On a 2,000-calorie diet this would mean 200 calories should come from protein. Another way to calculate the protein needs are to use a person's weight to determine their need in grams. The RDA suggests that a person eat between 0.8 and 1.0 gram of protein per kilogram of weight, which is approximately to 0.36 to 0.45 grams per pound. The higher amount is more ideal for vegetarians and vegans who get their protein from plant sources. A 130 lb. person would need about 59g of protein a day.
Vegan Protein Foods
Tempeh, seitan, and cooked soybeans have high amounts of protein per gram and should be included often in a vegan diet. Tempeh has 41g of protein per cup and cooked soybeans have 29g of protein per cup. Seitan has 31g of protein in three ounces. Cooked kidney beans, black beans, and lentils are also good sources of protein. One cup of each contains 13 g, 15g, and 18g respectively. Lima beans, tofu, black-eyed peas, chickpeas, veggie baked beans, a veggie burger, and pinto beans all have 10 grams or more per serving.
High-Quality Protein
Some of the concerns vegans and vegetarians have about protein is that the plant-based protein is not as good of quality as protein that comes from animals. This is not necessarily true. Protein is high quality or complete if it contains all of the eight essential amino acids that your body cannot make by itself. Some plant sources of protein do not have all of the amino acids, but when eaten along other foods that have the missing amino acids you can get the complete protein. Mixing foods can become difficult if you had to do it to meet all of your daily requirements for protein, but luckily vegans do have options of high-quality proteins they can eat to satisfy their protein needs. Quinoa, soybeans, and spinach are all vegan sources of complete proteins. Legumes and grains also have all the essential amino acids but are too low in some to be considered high-quality protein. When consumed as part of a varied diet along with foods such as soybeans and other foods with protein like bagles, tofu, and peanut butter, vegans should have little difficulty meeting their protein needs.
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