The surprising truth about protein

What comes to mind when you hear the word “protein?” If you were to say meat, you’re not alone. Most of us have been conditioned to equate protein with animal-based food.

But did you know that at least 14% of the total calories of every plant are protein? Or how about that a cup of cooked oatmeal offers as much protein as an egg, and per calorie, spinach is about equal to chicken and fish?

Vegetables are just as veritable a source of protein as animals, but there seems to be a lingering concern about the perceived quality of plant-based proteins. And this has led many to believe that plant proteins rank much lower on the nutritional ladder than proteins derived from foods like poultry, eggs and steak. But this is hardly the case.

To better understand the common misperceptions of plant-based proteins, let’s start with the basics.

What is protein?

Proteins, along with carbohydrates and fats are macronutrients — the main components of our diet and that our bodies require in relatively large amounts for normal function and good health. Vitamins and minerals are also important parts of the puzzle, but these are needed in much smaller quantities, which is why we refer to them as micronutrients.

Proteins are made up of smaller building blocks called amino acids, strung together in chains. There are 20 different amino acids, nine of which are considered essential because our bodies cannot produce them naturally. These essential amino acids must be obtained through diet.

Each source of protein has a different arrangement of hundreds or even thousands of amino acids. During digestion, our bodies break down the protein molecules then put them back together to create new and different proteins based on what our systems need.

When we consume proteins that have a similar amino arrangement to those in our own body, we synthesize that protein very efficiently. Animal-based proteins, not surprisingly, are much more similar to our protein structure than plant-based proteins, so our body is able to break them down more readily and rapidly. This is where the concept of protein “quality” comes into play — the more efficient a protein can be broken down, the higher “quality” we assume the protein is.