Posted by Alayne The idea is that humans need about 30% less protein than the rda specifies. The need for complete protein in the diet is only about 20% of your protein intake. So if you eat a variety of foods and are getting enough calories you are getting enough protein. A clinical study reported in the "Journal of the American Dietetic Association" studied the essential amino acid intake of three groups: meat eaters, lacto-ovo vegetarians, and vegans. The even set the requirements for each amino acid at a height that would easily cover the needs of growing children and pregnant women. They found that each group exceeded twice its requirement for each essential amino acid (and surpassed this by large amounts for most people)!!! They even tried to create diets that were incredibly low in protein, and they couldn't do it without requiring the people ate junk all day! I hope this helps you out. Two books that are great for the meatless diet are "May All be Fed" by John Robbins and "The New Laurel's Kitchen" by Laurel Robertson, Carol Flinders, and Brian Ruppenthal. They have all this information and more! You should try to check them out. They have great recipes too.
on 3/11/2002, 4:58 pm
It's true that combining proteins is a bunch of hogwash. It was blown out of proportion years ago when Frances Moore Lappe published her book "Diet for a Small Planet." She stressed the benefits of combining proteins in a vegetarian diet to fulfill your protein requirement. Her book sold 3 million copies and her enthusiasm for "combining" was highly contagious. After that she learned more about protein and realized that her emphasis in her book had been misdirected. In 1982 she revised her book and it said "with a healthy, varied diet, concern about portein complementarity is not nexessary." Of course, the influential industries of the world refuse to let the myth die down and people continue to falsely believe that combining proteins is the only way to get adequate protein in your diet.
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