All grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, and vegetables contain protein. Even fruits have small amounts of it. Vegans can easily meet their protein requirements unless their diet is centered on fruit or if they are not consuming enough calories (for example, when focusing on weight loss). When transitioning to a vegan diet, some people might eat the same amount of food, but because plant foods are lower in calories, they need to consume larger portions to ensure they get enough calories. Relying too heavily on vegan junk foods like sweets, refined foods, and crisps is also not ideal.
One of the biggest misconceptions that frustrates me is the belief that animal protein is superior to plant protein. Plant protein is often dismissed as “incomplete,” but this term is inaccurate. Protein is made up of amino acids. When we consume protein, our digestive tract breaks it down into amino acids, which are then absorbed and used by our bodies to create different proteins essential for our functioning. Amino acids are classified as essential and non-essential. Essential amino acids cannot be produced by our bodies, so we must obtain them from the food we eat. Non-essential amino acids can be manufactured by our bodies, so we don’t need them from our diet.
Some people believe that plant proteins are “incomplete” because they are missing certain amino acids. This is not true—all plants contain all nine essential amino acids. The difference is that one or more essential amino acids are lower in certain foods. However, we do not eat just one food in isolation, which would make this a problem. For example, lysine is lower in grains like rice or wheat. The challenge is to get enough lysine through other plant foods like beans, peas, and lentils. When the diet consists of a wide variety of plant foods with different ratios of amino acids, it provides the right amounts of building blocks for a healthy body. Your body does not care where the protein comes from, as long as it gets the right amounts and variety.
Another misleading idea is that animal foods are superior because the digestibility of plant proteins is lower. While it is true that plant proteins may be less digestible, increasing the recommended protein intake by just 10% (which is only 5 to 10 grams per day) is enough to ensure adequate intake. Many years ago, it was believed that you must eat complementary plant proteins at the same meal to get all the essential amino acids. This theory has been discarded. We now know that you can get all the amino acids by consuming a wide range of plant foods over the course of a day.
So, make sure you eat a variety of plant foods in their whole form, consume enough calories to meet your demands, and enjoy ultra-processed foods occasionally rather than centering your diet around them.