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stevio
Raw Newbie
OK, I know the standard response, and in fact agree with it: humans don’t need protein, they need amino acids, protein is just an inefficient delivery system for the essential amino acids.
So, I am wondering if I am getting enough essential amino acids. I am not confident in the quantity and diversity of the amino acid makeup of the food I am eating as a raw vegan.
My typical food for a given day is largely green smoothy based: a couple of handfuls of greens (kale, collards, chard, romaine, spinach, red and green leaf lettuce, celery) some fruit (plums, dates, a lot of bananas, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple) occasionally other veggies (tomatoes, avocado, onion)
I will have 2-4 quarts of smoothie daily, plus some solid foods, which is mostly comprised of fruit (cantaloupe, watermelon, blueberries, strawberries, dates, figs) or occasionally a salad with some oil and vinegar. Every few day I have a handful of unsoaked/unsprouted raw seeds (pumpkin, sunflower), or some coconut or flax oil (especially if I feel like I am not getting enough calories, and am too full for more smoothie or fruit). This feeling for more calories is not based on counting, just how I feel at the time, and I am not monitoring the scale too closely to worry about weight, although I am losing, and I have much to lose. The weight is certainly going to take care of itself if I continue to eat clean.
So, the nutrition software I downloaded (I think el-bo recommended it) doesn’t let me know about how complete my protein consumption is, and as such, I am concerned. I don’t want this new adventure in health to end prematurely for the wrong reason (protein deficiency). I have ordered some sprouting supplies, and will be sprouting within a couple weeks, but until then, anyone have any comments on my protein needs being met with the foods I am eating? Assuming I need the 56g of protein/day, how much of these veggies do I need to get enough?
And what signs should I look out for to notice a deficiency before it get out of control (and is there a blood test or urine test my doctor can order to monitor this)?
Comments
Stevio~ First please understand, I am no expert but I feel you need to add more seeds and nuts daily…
I would like to see you add HEMP SEED to at least one of you meals daily… I also think you might want to consider an ounce of seeds or nuts with all your meals except the first one (breakfast)... If you are not vegan add KRILL OIL, if you are vegan use CHIA SEED instead, for another way to receive your EFA’S
I don’t believe we need 56g/day of protein, but that’s just me… GRIN
What software are you using? The Cronometer software tracks protein and tells you how much of the recommended amount of protein you are getting daily. http://spaz.ca/cronometer/ I’m in love with this thing, it has EVERYTHING I could want on it, except an exercise tracker.
Here’s a question I’ll add to this though…as amino acids don’t have any standard recommended daily value, how do we know how much of these we’re supposed to get? Even in the cronometer, I can track the amount of amino acids I intake to the percentage I need, BUT, I have to input all the daily values myself. But I don’t know what they are, and I’ve never seen a nutrition label on a food that actually lists the amino acids it contains.
Chronometer is the software I couldn’t remember the name of, and yes, there is no information about the amounts of essential amino acids available, and it is a lot of work to track all that stuff down (at least since I don’t know where to look yet).
waterbaby12347~ thanks for the tip. I agree that 56g of protein per day is probably more than I need, but I don’t actually know how much I need, so I was using that as a rough guide. I need to get a good solid book on raw food nutrition, not just the more lifestyle/testimonial/recipe type books that got me started.
So assuming I am eating 3 meals per day, and that veganism is my current status, and that I don’t like or want to use nuts, than 2 ounces of seeds per day is your recommendation? I am planning on sprouting seeds and legumes in the very near future, and hope that this will also help the protein issue, if in fact there is a protein issue that I need to deal with.
For now, I will start with sunflower and pumpkin seeds, as I have a lot of them around, and I will pick up some hemp seed this weekend to mix in until I use up the pumpkin and sunflowers.
recomendations for protein intake for averagely active adults are around 1g of protein per 1Kg of body weight per day. proteins are made up of amino acids they are joined together like beads on a string by a piece of cellular machinery call a ribosome. When you eat proteins the body breaks them down into individual amino acids and then reforms these amino acids into the proteins it needs. Essential amino acids are ones the body can’t make for its self, all the others can by made in the body by altering one of the essential amino acids. All plants contain all amino acids but obviously some sources (eg nuts and seeds) are higher than others (eg leaves which are largely water) As waterbaby says hemp seeds are a good source of protein, they are high in amino acids and they are in roughly the same ratio as they are found in the human body.
my understanding is that active adults needed .8g of protein per kg of lean body weight. We surely do not need protein to help maintain our unneeded fat stores.
Great tip on the hemp seed. Can these be sprouted?
Yes our protein needs per kg depend on many things, body composition is one of them and activity level is another. If you do a lot of sport you need to more protein to build/repair muscle tissue so you need more, the less active you are the less you need, fat stores will need a tiny amount as fat cells have proteins in their cell walls which will need to be replaced occasionally, and also carrying around fat stores is excersise for the muscles ;-) I have never tried to sprout hemp seeds, the ones I get are shelled, and in two bits, whole hemp is round and comes in an crunchy shell, the unshelled type may sprout but I have never tried it.
OK, so I did some more research. It turns out many sprouts are up to 35% protein. So, since 8 ounces = 226.8 grams, an 8 oz serving of alfalfa sprouts (which is 35% protein) should contain about 79.4g of protein. Even a sprout blend averaging 25% protein should get me 56g of protein per 8oz serving.
So, am I missing something here? It seems that I should be able to assure my protein needs are met eating 8oz of sprouted seeds and legumes. Can it be that easy?
Do alfalfa sprouts really have that much protein? :o I looked it up in my cronometer software and it says 8oz only has 1.3g protein.
I’m trying to figure out how to get the amino acids or proteins or what have you, as I’m trying to lose weight so I can’t eat a ton of nuts.
fruits and veggies contain a ridiculously high percentage of protein. granted, they are lower in calories than nuts, seeds, animal products, etc., so therefore they have fewer grams of protein per serving. some might argue that the 80-10-10 ratio is the most natural, but i personally need a bit more than that, and i can get it all from fruits, greens, and nuts. as long as you have variety and aren’t feeling truly weak and sick (outside of normal detox), i wouldn’t worry about your protein intake. but i am rather new, and this is just the opinion i’ve made so far. i wish you luck!
I was having some muscle fatigue today (which may just be a side effect of a med I take) and panicked a little. from rawfoodexplained.com:
“If you eat a calorie-sufficient diet of fruits, vegetables and sprouts, you can obtain all the amino acids that you require.”
This goes along with what I wanted to uncover, which is if I eat these foods with variety, I will get what I need. I will officially stop worrying right now.
Stevio: I have looked in a few places and it seems that alfalfa sprouts are only about 1.3g of protein per 33g, just do a few google searches and you’ll find the same. Please make sure you get enough protein in your diet as without it your body will lack the amino acids it needs to build and repair itself. :-)