getting protein on a vegan diet

[littledevil1908]

I am interested in becoming a vegan and have read and heard all about a vegan diet's lack of protein. Is this true, and if it is how hard is it for a vegan to get a good amount of protein? Is it worth it just to eat some animal foods for the sake of more easily getting protein in your diet?

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

If you are getting sufficient calories and not eating a junk food vegan diet you should have no problem getting sufficient protein.

Have a look at Steve's article: The Great Protein Myth

[Jennihul]

Animal flesh is not required to get protein.

How do cows get big enough to allow us to even eat their flesh? By eating grass. The ultimate vegan proof that you don't need meat to be meat.

Protein is something our bodies create internally using amino acids which are found in all foods. If you are a responsible vegan, ie: plenty of raw foods, not an overabundance of one type of food vs variety, you will take in enough amino acids for your body to create all the protein it needs. Be sure to exercise to maintain your body mass.

Jennifer

[KTCastman]

You can go on the EatRight.org for advice from the American Dietetics Association on going vegan healthfully. I agree as long as you have a variety of whole foods in your diet and especially if you include high biological value proteins such as soy (tofu, soy milk) and nuts (peanuts, walnuts etc) you should have no trouble getting protein.

KT RD

[Calculusaurus]

If you eat enough calories, you shouldn't have an issue with getting enough protein.

Also, there's a lot of debate over soy. Some research says it's healthy. Other research says that too much of it can be bad. Look into it and make your own decision before you start getting all your protein from soy products. It's also commonly recommended to stay away from highly processed soy-based "fake" meats.

[Bodhi]

I think we should look at other primates to get an idea of how we should eat and look at the percentage of protein they consume. Chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, and orangutans to be specific. Their diets are low in protein, about 1 to 5%. Gorillas and Orangutans are large and strong. Even chimpanzees are thought to be as much as 10 times stronger than humans.

[patrickq]

Originally Posted by littledevil1908

I am interested in becoming a vegan and have read and heard all about a vegan diet's lack of protein. Is this true, and if it is how hard is it for a vegan to get a good amount of protein? Is it worth it just to eat some animal foods for the sake of more easily getting protein in your diet?

littledevil, you've probably checked the suggested links by now and realise that lack of protein for vegans is pretty much something dreamt up by the meat/dairy industries to keep us buying their products :-) It is harder work getting your protein from animal foods than from vegan foods. I'd also suggest avoiding soy products (tofu, soymilk etc), I believe these are as unhealthy for the body as dairy products. There is no reason to eat soy products, they are pretty much there as meat/dairy substitutes, better to move past that desire if you can.

It is possible to be vegan, even a raw vegan, and eat a very unhealthy diet, so you need to decide what are your motivations for going vegan. If it is for health reasons then look carefully at what you eat from the beginning, or you'll just substitute one bad diet for another (I know from experience).

Funnily enough, I've just seen a post about protein here, dated February 6, by Roger Haeske. It'll save me trying to remember all the myths abouth protein.

One paragraph reads:
"Personally, I've gained bigger muscles since being on a Raw Food Diet of mostly fruits and vegetables than before I was raw. I've been eating this way now for over 6.5 years and yet I have no protein deficiency."

So, don't bother going down the "can't-get-enough-of-this-or-that" road that is used against veganism, it simply isn't true, but do make sure you eat a balanced/variable diet. There is a lot of 'fluff' out there and people trying to sell you superfoods and supplements, my advice is save the money and buy best quality organic (if possible) produce you can with the cash.