Protein Complementing

If you're not an avid meat eater (and I hope you're not) to create complete proteins containing all the amino acids necessary for growth, repair and maintenance of the human body, you need to mix different carbohydrates (primarily grains) with beans, nuts and seeds. This is known as "protein complementing."

The proteins which our bodies use are made up of 22 amino acids in varying combinations.  What most people don't realize is that 8 of these amino acids (9 for children) cannot be manufactured by our bodies and must be obtained through our foods and nutritional supplementation.  These are commonly referred to as our "essential amino acids" (EAA's): tryptophan, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, valine, threonine, methionine and cystine, with histidine being essential for children.  

Our bodies need all of the EAA's (and in the right proportions) simultaneously in order to properly carry out protein synthesis.   If one EAA is missing, even temporarily, protein synthesis will begin falling to a very low level or stop altogether.  The result is that all the amino acids ingested at a meal will be reduced in the same proportion as the amino acid that is low or missing.   In other words, a food containing 100% of a person's lysine requirement but only 20% of his or her methionine requirement results in only 20% of the protein in that food being used as protein for the body.  The rest is used as fuel rather than the replenishing or building of tissue.  

Foods containing protein may or may not contain all the EAA's.  When a food contains all the EAA's, it is termed a "complete protein."  On the other hand, a food that lacks or is extremely low in any of the EAA's is called an "incomplete protein." Animal proteins are complete, while beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables and complex carbohydrates are incomplete.

 To obtain a more complete protein meal from incomplete proteins, I recommend combining foods carefully so that those weak in a particular EAA will be balanced by those adequate in the same amino acid.   For example, if you combine sprouted wheat bread with peanut butter, you can increase the protein quality as much as 50%.  

Some of my favorite combinations are:

Beans and Rice

Black Beans & Sprouted Chipati Bread

Lentils with  Mushrooms, Broccoli and Zucchini along with Mary's Gone Crackers,

Spice of Life Meatless Meats with PInto Beans and Fresh Corn

Kashi and Almonds

3 Bean Salad and Rice

Whole Grain Cereal and Rice, Oat or Multigrain Milk

Wild Rice with Walnuts, Cashews and Sesame Seeds

Make up your own combinations and you'll see it's endless!

The minimum daily protein requirement (the smallest amino acid intake that will maintain optimum growth and good health in men, women and children) is difficult to determine.  Protein requirements differ according to nutritional status, body size and one's activity level.  It is generally accepted, however, that we should consume roughly one-half gram of protein for every pound of body weight, increased accordingly if we're under stress, working out or undergoing a rigorous weight-training program.

Read more Spice Of Life Articles