Plant Protein VS Animal Protein
Plant Protein VS Animal Protein
Nowadays, people are aware of the importance of health and wellness. Therefore, they are quite particular when it comes to the choice of diet.
We need sufficient protein intake to maintain the body. A complete protein consists 9 types of essential amino acids, which can only obtain through our diet.
Plant protein and animal protein are the main protein sources that we can obtain from, the difference between these two types of proteins is as shown below:
Plant Protein | Animal Protein | |
Lactose-free | Yes | No |
Vegan | Yes | No |
Complete Protein | No (Except For Soy Protein) | Yes |
Animal Protein
Whey protein and casein protein are animal proteins that commonly found in market. Whey protein can be absorbed quickly and helps to recover and rebuild muscle after training, while casein protein takes more time to break down and absorbed by the body, where it can prolong the feeling of fullness to reduce body fat.
However, animal proteins are usually made from dairy products which contain lactose. There are 60% of Asians who suffered from lactose intolerance, where consuming these proteins may cause vomit, diarrhea, and bloating.
Plant Protein
Soy bean, pea, brown rice, and quinoa are plant proteins that commonly found in market. Plant proteins are lactose-free, provide less fat and calories and less likely to cause allergic reaction. In addition, plant protein can also provide extra nutrients such as phytonutrients and dietary fiber. Phytonutrients can speed up body recovery, whereby reduces muscle pain after exercise. Dietary fiber can provide satiety and also improve digestion.
Soy bean is the only plant that consists of 9 essential amino acids that human needs, which is the best plant protein source that you can obtain from, while other plants that you eat has a different amino acid profile. For example, grain and cereals are extremely low in lysine. Although pea protein also consists of 9 essential amino acids but low in methionine. Fortunately, the amino acid concentration is high in pea protein, whereby can increase satiety effectively to help with weight loss. Besides, pea protein is mostly safe for people with allergies or sensitivities to dairy and eggs.
The Myth: Plants are unable to provide complete protein to human body.
True. All plants are incomplete proteins except for soy protein. However, the way of planning your meal is the key to ensure all the essential amino acids can be supplied to your body. Hence, eating wide variety of food is an ideal way to obtain protein from plants. By combining different types of plant proteins, we can still get the 9 essential amino acids.
For example, legumes, such as peanuts, peas, dry beans, and lentils, contain a lot of lysine. On the flip side, legumes aren’t good sources of tryptophan, methionine, and cystine, but those amino acids are found in grains and cereals. As long as you eat some grains and some legumes, you’ll get some of each essential amino acid. As long as you get a variety of proteins throughout the day, you’ll get ample amounts of each amino acid.
A balanced diet not only can provide us more proteins, but also can fulfill all of our body’s nutritional needs to function correctly. Thus, it is one of the key components for maintaining good health.