Proteins are made up of various combinations of amino acids. In that respect, protein combinations are actually amino acid combinations. When it comes to your diet, different types of of foods contain different types of amino acids. That is one reason it is important to eat a wide variety of foods. When you eat a variety of foods, the different amino acids in these foods are released into your body and absorbed into your bloodstream, where they find each other and combine to form various types of proteins. These different types of proteins play very specific roles in maintaining your health.
Amino Acids
There are 20 amino acids in the food supply, nine of which are considered essential because your body cannot make them on its own. These essential amino acids are found in varying amounts in almost all foods except fats. Both animal and plant foods supply us with amino acids, but only animal foods and certain plant foods contain all nine essential amino acids required to make a complete protein. Almost all plant foods contain different amino acids, which must be combined with other amino acids to create complete proteins.
Complete Proteins
A complete protein is the highest-quality and most efficient protein the body can use to perform functions such as maintenance of healthy muscles, bones and other body tissues; enzyme and hormone production; and the transport of nutrients throughout your system. Complete proteins are formed from any combination of the nine essential amino acids. Since animal foods such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products contain all the essential amino acids, they are considered good sources of complete, high-quality protein. Soybean and quinoa, a seed that is eaten like a grain, are the only non-animal foods that contain all nine essential amino acids and are considered good plant sources of complete proteins.
Incomplete Proteins
Most plant foods are missing at least one of the nine essential amino acids and therefore are considered incomplete proteins. By combining specific plant foods within the same meal, or within the same day, however, it is possible to get all nine essential amino acids in a plant-based diet. In the right combination, the essential amino acids in one food complement the essential amino acids in another.
Protein Combinations
Many classic combinations of foods supply all the essential amino acids required to make high-quality protein. For instance, the various amino acids that make up the incomplete proteins in beans complement the amino acids in rice or corn tortillas and together form complete proteins when eaten within the same 24-hour period. Any combination of legumes and grains, legumes and nuts or seeds, or grains and nuts or seeds result in a higher-quality protein than if these foods are eaten by themselves.
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