A common worry among individuals who are considering going more (or fully) plant-based is that they will lack the protein and essential nutrients needed for a healthy, balanced diet.
However, research shows that the only communities who are ever protein deficient are in areas that are hunger zones. By eating a bowl of beans, chickpeas, lentils, spinach or other delicious plants the body gets more than enough protein to stay strong and lean.
There is much misinformation online around this topic of protein due to the efforts by the meat and dairy associations. However, what they don’t tell you is that a bowl of lentils provides almost as much protein as a serving of meat, and that a cup of unsweetened soy milk has only 1 gram less protein than a cup of cow’s milk (but 70 less calories).
Nearly all plant foods have protein so there is no need to worry about getting enough of it on a balanced, varied diet rich in leafy greens, pulses and vegetables.
See our Top 10 protein packed foods below:
- Quinoa
- Lentils
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Green peas
- Chickpeas & beans
- Nutritional Yeast
- Chia Seeds
- Tofu & non-GMO Soy products
- Seitan
By incorporating foods from this list, feel confident in knowing that your plant-based diet will provide you with the adequate protein needed to lead a healthy, energetic life. We recommend the book Protein Aholic by Garth Davis which you can find in the Book Recommendations section of the app as it dives deeper into this important topic and sheds light on some of the best research to support it.
Fun Fact:The strongest animals on earth are plant-based (elephants, gorillas and hippos) and it is said that the Gladiators of Rome were mainly plant-based too!
See below for Neal Barnard MD, President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine explaining how to incorporate protein into a plant-based diet.