Which Protein Supplement is Right For You?

By S. Jill Anderson

Undeniably, protein is an important part of a healthy diet. Many Vegans are concerned about getting enough of this important nutrient in their diets. This vital building block can be found in many food sources and yes, that includes plants! Do you really even know how much protein you should be consuming each day?

Our total body weight is actually comprised of about 16% protein. Certain things such as our hair, skin, and muscle and connective tissues are primarily made up of this substance. It also plays a critical role for out cells and bodily fluids. Even your DNA is partially protein. The same can be said for the enzymes in the body, neurotransmitters and hormones.

Our bodies are pretty efficient at reusing or recycling protein but we also use great quantities of it just to live our daily lives. Protein is made of essential and non-essential amino acids and there are nine essential ones that our bodies cannot make so we have to get them from other sources. Meat, eggs, dairy, and by products like meat stocks and broths will contain the most concentrated and complete numbers of amino acids and thus are said to be "complete" proteins. Vegan, and to some degree Vegetarian diets may require pairing of foods to achieve more bioavailable and complete proteins. This could be as simple as pairing whole grains with dark leafy greens or legumes such as lentils with whole grain brown rice.

If you follow the Standard American Diet it is virtually impossible to be protein deficient unless you have an underlying medical condition. The dairy consumption alone puts most Americans at three to four times the necessary daily intake. As a side note; what a statement it makes that the acronym for the standard American diet is S.A.D. Protein requirements may also be influenced by other factors such as age, activity level and size. The RDA or recommended daily allowance is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. That means that a person weighing 150 pounds should be consuming about 55 grams per day.

There are a few situations where that general rule differs such as during pregnancy and lactation. Growing children, the elderly, post-surgical or severe trauma patients often need additional protein. These people often need to rebuild lost muscle tissue, nourish the brain after an injury or replace protein for the mother that is lost during the incubation of a child.

As you can imagine, there are supplement manufacturers salivating at the thought of all the people they can sell powder, pills and bars to! There are so many of us seeking convenience in our busy lives that these preparations seem to make sense. I suppose if the choice is a quick protein shake or skipping breakfast, the former is the better choice. It may also be beneficial after a strenuous workout when the body can rapidly absorb and use the protein to repair muscle tissue. Supplementation may be beneficial to Vegans and Vegetarians as well. However, if you pay careful attention to your diet and include a wide variety of plant sources and combinations, you can guard against deficiency fairly easily.

Now, should you choose to supplement your diet with shakes, bars, powders or pills; you are faced with the daunting task of selecting from an overwhelming number of products. You could always ask your doctor; assuming he or she has the slightest knowledge or interest in a nutritional answer as opposed to a pharmaceutical one! You could pop onto the internet and research some the ingredients on the labels, which is what I do for just about everything. There you will find that the mostly widely used ingredient is whey. You may also see rice, soy or pea protein. Many supplements actually contain a combination of these various sources.

Whey is derived from milk. That lets it out for the Vegans! It is the most commonly used supplement. Whey protein is easily absorbed by the body. However, if you have lactose intolerance or dairy allergy these products are not for you. It is also important to read the label and understand just what type of whey you are getting. The concentrated whey is the most widely used and least expensive. Products containing this type will usually have between 30 and 85 percent protein. That is a pretty wide range. A good rule of thumb when choosing is, the less expensive the product the less amount of whey protein you may be getting. The rest is junky fillers. Whey isolate on the other hand is the higher quality form. Containing about 90% protein, it is very easily absorbed and used by the body. It generally contains less fat and lactose as well.

Rice protein is a great choice for Vegans, Vegetarians and those with allergies because it is considered hypoallergenic. It is derived from brown rice. Through a careful extraction process a supplement is made with all the essential and non essential amino acids in tact. When you purchase an unflavored variety, you can mix it with just about anything without altering the taste very much.

Pea protein, though somewhat harder to find, is also an excellent choice for Vegans. It has no gluten, lactose, cholesterol or any anti-nutritional fillers or by products. This is an extremely soluble protein which makes it very easy to digest. This type of supplement is derived from the yellow split pea. Also considered a hypoallergenic preparation, it works well for special dietary needs. Not to get overly technical because I am not; analysis of this protein reveals a high biological value of about 65%. In laymen's terms this means the actually amount of protein that the body absorbs from this type product. A couple of added benefits of high biological value proteins are that the help the body retain nitrogen and give us immunological support.

Soy protein is made from soy flour. Similar to whey in that it comes in two forms; there are also some notable differences. Soy protein mimics estrogen. Three different cancer studies conducted by the National Institute for Health indicated that estrogen-dependent tumors increased proportionally with the consumption of increased soy isoflavonones. There are also alarming studies published by The American Association of Cancer Research comparing whey and soy in which it was found that whey was about twice as effective as soy in reducing the incidence of tumor growth and the number of tumors. When taken with the fact that soy proteins seem to have a disturbing effect on thyroid function, a lot of people are being scared off soy. For good and valid reasons!

Whether you choose to get your protein from animal or plant-based sources, there are many options available. Even though animal proteins are thought to be the superior choice in most camps, plant sources CAN be combined to achieve the same standards as an animal-based diet. Consider this alarming statistic when deciding between a burger or black beans and rice; four hundred cattle an hour die in the United States to satisfy our relentless hunger for animal flesh!

(c) S. Jill Anderson

S. Jill Anderson is the owner/creator of The Homegrown Gourmet; a Orlando, FL based business that offers catering, menu planning, cooking demonstrations and classes with a focus on organic, non-processed foods. For more information about services and contact please visit http://thehomegrowngourmet.com

Follow our blog, "Living Green With The Homegrown Gourmet at thehomegrowngourmet

Ms. Anderson is also the Consulting/Executive Chef for local Orlando, FL. cooperative, Get Green Organics Inc.

Author of "The Homegrown Gourmet Cooks for the Vegan", "The Homegrown Gourmet Cooks for the Vegetarian", and "The Homegrown Gourmet Cooks for Everyone."

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