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Vegetarian Protein Is Just as 'Complete' as Meat, Despite What We've Been Taught
- jfengel 6y agoI'm puzzled by this sentence: The only incomplete protein in the food supply is gelatin, which lacks tryptophan. The rest of the paragraph is about how there aren't really any essential amino acids, and that the body can deal with whatever mix of aminos you feed it. So what singles out gelatin as the exception? The thrust of the article doesn't really surprise me. The Wikipedia article on essential amino acids has a very brief mention that "The distinction between essential and non-essential amino acids is somewhat unclear, as some amino acids can be produced from others." The only reason we distinguish at all comes from extreme cases where rats are fed a very monotonous diet. Most vegans eat a variety of foods, just to stave off boredom. But it would be interesting to know if people who want to live off Soylent have problems with amino acids. (Or other nutrients, for that matter, since we don't really know all of the things that are needed, but which we usually get from eating different foods.)
- dennis_jeeves 6y agoIf completeness is defined by theory and chemical tests then that statement could be correct, but if one see form the point of what the body absorbs in terms of nutrition, that would be almost totally incorrect. Animal proteins almost always are better digestible and have less substances that irritant your gut. Plant proteins often need the right processing ( cooking, grinding, soaking etc.) to make them digestible and generally have substances that will irritate your gut. Consequently one of the most unsaid/undetected problems that vegans face is protein deficiency. All this can be can be empirically observed. It can be a red herring when people start talking about amino acids, 'studies' etc.