Just about everyone understands the importance of protein as it relates to your diet, but far fewer know that the type of protein that you consume can also have a major impact. A complete protein contains the nine essential amino acids that your body needs.
This brings up a bit of difficulty for the vegetarian or vegan who may opt to eat meatless meals, as complete protein is a little bit harder to come by if you do not know where to look, or what you are looking for. Fortunately, there are many options for these vegetarians and vegans who are looking for foods that contain complete protein.
Perhaps the easiest and most versatile option is through the use of plant-based meat-like foods, as these products are often made with complete protein and offer an excellent alternative for individuals who are seeking to reduce their meat consumption.
What Is a Complete Protein?
A complete protein contains all nine of the essential amino acids:
- Histidine
- Isoleucine
- Leucine
- Lysine
- Methionine
- Phenylalanine
- Threonine
- Tryptophan
- Valine
These amino acids are important because they cannot be synthesized by the body, and as such, they must be consumed through the food that you eat. Studies conducted by William Cunning Rose showed that individuals who were deprived of any of the essential amino acids began to experience symptoms such as nervousness, dizziness, nd exhaustion.
It is for this reason that consuming enough complete protein on a daily basis is incredibly important, as there are clear negative side effects for those who do not.
Why Is it Necessary for my Lifestyle?
Regardless of your dietary lifestyle, it is important to ensure that you consume the proper amount of complete protein. Vegetarians and vegans will have some issues in consuming enough complete protein, but non-vegetarians have issues of their own. While animal proteins are complete, they also have their own drawbacks to consumption.
Many studies are showing that there is a clear link between the consumption of meat and several serious conditions and diseases such as cancer, heart disease, nd diabetes. There is a solution for vegetarians, vegans and all others who are in search of complete proteins as well: In place of meat, try using a plant-based meat-like substitute that contains complete protein.
What Type of Meals Can be Made Using Meatless Products?
It seems that one of the fairly common misconceptions about vegans and vegetarians is that a plant-based diet means that they only eat leafy green vegetables. This is obviously not the case. If you eat meat, any meal you currently make can be made without the use of meat.
This is not to say that instead of making a cheeseburger you can make grilled cheese on a hamburger bun, but rather that you can replace the meat with a healthier source of complete protein. Meatless products are actually quite tasty, plus they boast many obvious health benefits. For any meal that you can think of, there is a replacement that is more than adequate in terms of taste and health benefits.
Increased Health and Wellness Brings Additional Benefits
Using plant-based meat substitutes does not mean that you have to eliminate the use of meat entirely. While many individuals will espouse the notion that vegetarian and vegan diets are much healthier for you, it is not necessarily something that is for everyone.
That does not mean that you cannot take aspects of these diets in order to make yourself healthier. Two or three times per week, try switching out the meat that you would normally use in a meal, replacing it with a plant-based substitute.
You can still continue to eat other meat products throughout the week, but decreasing your meat consumption through this method can be of great help to your health and wellness levels.
Focusing on your health does not have to mean that you must make radical changes to the way that you live your life. Even modest changes can play an impact, and many of these changes are not terribly difficult. It should be fairly easy to make chicken fajitas using a meatless version of chicken, and vegetarian chili is every bit as good as its meat counterpart.
The main difference is the level of health that they provide you. Ensuring that you are consuming enough complete protein in this way will have far-reaching and long-term health benefits.