A very common question. Why is it so common? Because we have been taught that the only good sources of protein are meat & dairy. I have discovered that these sources do more harm than good, and our bodies don't actually need as much protein (especially from milk & dairy!) as many people are consuming these days.
(Why are animal proteins not as good for our bodies as plant-based proteins? Here is just one among many reasons:
http://www.vegan-nutritionista.com/animal-protein.html)
If you want to see how much protein you need, you first must figure out your ideal weight.
For men, use this formula: 106 pounds for 60 inches of height (5 feet) and add 6 pounds for every inch over 60.
For women, use this formula: 100 pounds for 60 inches of height and add 5 pounds for every inch over 60.
To find out how much protein is recommended, the RDA says to multiply your ideal weight by 0.37. (Taken from: http://www.incrediblesmoothies.com/raw-food-diet/raw-nutrition/protein-sources-on-a-vegan-raw-food-diet/)
As a nursing mom, I need about 20 grams more. So, I need about
66 grams of protein per day.
Let's take a look at how much I got today eating no meat or dairy:
Breakfast-
Fruit salad (1 orange, 1 banana, 1 pear) (1+1+0.6=2.6g)
1/4 cup raw almonds (6g)
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds (7g)
Total= 15.6g
Snack-
A slice sprouted bread with jam (5g)
Small apple (0.3)
Rest of seeds/nuts from breakfast
Total= 5.3g
Lunch- (usually I have a green smoothie but today I was running low on ingredients so I had leftovers)
Vegan enchilada- whole wheat tortilla (5g) + rice (3g) + beans (4g) + tomatoes, spinach, bell peppers (0.3)
Total = 12.3g
Snack-
A slice bread with 1 Tbsp raw cashew butter and a drizzle of raw honey (5+3.5)
Total=8.5g
Dinner-
Quinoa lettuce tacos- 1 1/2 cups quinoa (14g)+ 3 romaine leaves (0.9)+ tomatoes, carrots, apples (0.3)
Total= 14.2g
Dessert-
4 dates (0.8)
1/4 cup almonds (6g)
Total =6.8g
Late night snack-
1 cup dry cereal- 5g
(I was out of almond milk)
Grand Total= 67.7g
Not bad!
(Note: I am hoping to increase my fruit & vegetable intake to get more protein from those sources, as well as start my day with a glass of fresh green juice, in addition to my breakfast)
(Also, for anyone concerned about whether I'm getting enough of other nutrients while nursing, I am taking a prenatal vitamin and an additional calcium supplement just to be safe.)
With a little googling you can find out the protein value in almost any food. This website is particularly useful for that: http://calorielab.com/index.html
This website has a good article about protein sources for those on a raw vegan diet:
http://www.incrediblesmoothies.com/raw-food-diet/raw-nutrition/protein-sources-on-a-vegan-raw-food-diet/
Here are some examples, which I got off some other websites:
Fruits
I have found that most fruits contain about 0.3-1g of protein per cup (or per whole fruit), with the exceptions of:
• 1 Avocado- 4g
• 1/4 cup Goji berries- 4g
Here's
a list of all the fruits imaginable with their protein content (and you
can see what other nutrients, fiber, and calories they have as well):
http://www.health-alternatives.com/fruit-nutrition-chart.html
Beans
Most beans are 7-10 grams per half cup!
Vegetables
• 1 cup broccoli- 5 grams
• 1 cup spinach- 5 grams
• 1 cup peas- 9 grams
• 1 medium artichoke- 4 grams
• 1 cup asparagus- 5 grams
• 1 cup beet greens- 3 grams
(From: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/vegetarian-protein-sources.html#ixzz2F4bVEQ85)
Grains
• 1 cup Quinoa - 9 grams.
• Oatmeal - 1 cup = 6 grams.
•
Sprouted grain bread products - buns, tortillas, bread- 5 g
•
Pasta- 6g
• Amaranth, bulgur, brown rice, wheat germ, oat bran are other grains with a high protein content.
Nuts/seeds
• 1/4 cup cashews - 5 grams
• 1/4 cup walnuts - 5 grams
• 1/4 cup pistachios - 6 grams
• 1/4 cup almonds - 6 grams
• Nut butters - peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter - 2 tablespoons has about 8 grams of protein
• 1 oz. sesame seeds 6.5 grams, 3 tablespoons of tahini - 8 grams
• 1/4 cup Sunflower seeds- 7 g
• 1/4 cup Pumpkin seeds- 7 g
• 1 Tablespoon chia seeds- 3g
(From http://www.naturalnews.com/036270_vegan_protein_legumes.html#ixzz2F4cTbrsq)
But aren't plant sources of protein not as good as meat because they are not "complete proteins"?
This is a good answer to this (from http://www.vegan-nutritionista.com/vegan-protein.html )
"A complete protein is a protein source that has a good proportion of those 9 essential amino acids. Simple enough?
In
case you're wondering, the human essential amino acids include
isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine,
tryptophan, valine, and histidine.
"Typically, any protein that
comes from animals, including meat, dairy, eggs, and fish, is a complete
protein. This might seem like a great case against the vegan diet, but
the problem is that animal protein is highly acidic and causes illnesses within your body.
"There
are also many good plant-based sources of complete vegan proteins,
including soybeans, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, hempseed, salvia, and
spirulina. Some plant proteins have smaller amounts of one or two of the
essential amino acids, and that's why they aren't promoted as often as
the animal proteins."
...That and the fact that there exists a huge business called the Meat Industry....
If you haven't already, go watch "Forks Over Knives"! (Documentary on Netflix)
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