Special Diets Complementary Proteins for Vegetarian and Vegan Diets By Cathy Wong facebook twitter Cathy Wong is a nutritionist and wellness expert. Her work is regularly featured in media such as First For Women, Woman's World, and Natural Health. Learn about our editorial process Cathy Wong Reviewed by Reviewed by Marisa Moore, RDN, MBA on September 29, 2020 Marisa Moore is a registered dietitian nutritionist with a BS in nutrition science and MBA in marketing. She is also the founder of Marisa Moore Nutrition. Learn about our Review Board Marisa Moore, RDN, MBA Updated on September 29, 2020 Print Philip Wilkins/Photolibrary/Getty Images Table of Contents View All Overview Benefits Examples Should You Use Them? If you're following a vegetarian or vegan diet, focusing on complementary proteins is said to maximize nutrition and improve health. Including complementary proteins in your diet involves combining certain protein sources in order to achieve an adequate intake of compounds called amino acids. Overview Amino acids are considered the building blocks of protein. Although some amino acids can be synthesized in your body, others (called "essential amino acids") must be ingested from food. There are nine types of essential amino acids, including: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. These essential amino acids can be found in both animal sources and plant sources of protein. Animal sources of protein (such as meat, poultry, fish, dairy, and eggs) are considered complete proteins since they contain sufficient levels of all nine essential amino acids. On the other hand, only a few plant sources of protein provide all essential amino acids in required dietary ratios: soy, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, hemp seeds, and spinach. Other plant foods contain most essential amino acids but lack adequate levels of one or two. For example, grains are low in the amino acid lysine, while legumes are rich in lysine. Lean Protein Foods to Make Healthy Eating Easier Benefits For the vegetarians and vegans whose diets lack animal sources of protein, including complementary proteins in your daily diet is said to protect against any deficiencies in amino acid intake. It's thought that combining two or more plant sources of protein can allow vegetarians and vegans to obtain sufficient levels of all the essential amino acids. One of the most important components of your diet, protein is needed to keep your muscles, bones, skin, hormones, and immune system functioning properly. Protein also makes up the enzymes that play a key role in many crucial biological processes, such as digestion. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of protein for a healthy adult is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight or 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Athletes and those managing certain medical conditions may have different protein needs. For example, a 130-pound sedentary adult needs 47 g of protein per day. Since this requirement increases with physical activity, adults who exercise regularly typically need about 70 g of protein daily. Examples There are many different ways to include complementary proteins in a vegetarian or vegan diet. Here are some examples of food pairings that provide complementary proteins: soups or stews that include legumes and grainssalads made with beans and nuts or seedsa peanut butter sandwich on whole-grain breadhummus with whole-wheat pita breadtofu or tempeh with brown rice or quinoatofu stir-fry with whole-grain noodles and peanutsbeans and brown riceyogurt with sunflower seeds or almonds Should You Use Them? It was once commonly believed that vegetarians and vegans needed to consume complementary proteins at each meal in order to stay healthy. However, it's now known that simply eating a wide variety of plant foods every day can allow you to get all the protein you need. Top plant sources of protein include: almondsblack beansgarbanzo beanshazelnutskidney beanslentilspeanut butterpeanutspinto beanssplit peassunflower seedstempehtofuwalnuts Several research studies suggest that getting your fill of plant sources of protein may help stave off certain diseases. In fact, the wealth of evidence has led to several published guidelines for physicians to help understand and advise their patients about the benefits of plant-based diets. The large body of research includes a 20-year study of 82,802 women, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2006. In this study, researchers determined that women who followed low-carbohydrate diets high in plant sources of protein (as well as plant sources of fat) had a 30% lower risk of heart disease (in comparison to those who followed high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets). The study also found that participants who stuck to diets high in animal sources of protein and fat did not have a reduced risk of heart disease. Tofu Nutrition Facts: Calories, Carbs and Health Benefits A Word From Verywell There's some evidence that choosing plant sources of protein can help with weight control. In a research review published in the journal Obesity in 2014, for instance, scientists analyzed nine previously published clinical trials and found that daily intake of beans, chickpeas, lentils, or peas may help with weight maintenance by increasing feelings of fullness. Go here to learn about different types of alternative diets, including some vegetarian diets. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Get nutrition tips and advice to make healthy eating easier. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Medline Plus. Amino Acids. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Updated April 2020. Baroni L, Goggi S, Battaglino R, et al. Vegan Nutrition for Mothers and Children: Practical Tools for Healthcare Providers. Nutrients. 2018;11(1). doi:10.3390/nu11010005 Beasley JM, Deierlein AL, Morland KB, Granieri EC, Spark A. Is Meeting the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for Protein Related to Body Composition among Older Adults?: Results from the Cardiovascular Health of Seniors and Built Environment Study. J Nutr Health Aging. 2016;20(8):790-796. doi:10.1007/s12603-015-0707-5 Wu G. Dietary protein intake and human health. Food Funct. 2016;7(3):1251-65. doi:10.1039/C5FO01530H Choose My Plate. Protein Food Groups Food Gallery. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Hever J. Plant-Based Diets: A Physician's Guide. Perm J. 2016;20(3):15-082. doi:10.7812/TPP/15-082 Tuso PJ, Ismail MH, Ha BP, Bartolotto C. Nutritional update for physicians: plant-based diets. Perm J. 2013;17(2):61-66. doi:10.7812/TPP/12-085 Halton TL, Willett WC, Liu S, et al. Low-carbohydrate-diet score and the risk of coronary heart disease in women. N Engl J Med. 2006;355(19):1991-2002. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa055317 Li SS, Kendall CW, de Souza RJ, Jayalath VH, Cozma AI, Ha V, Mirrahimi A, Chiavaroli L, Augustin LS, Blanco Mejia S, Leiter LA, Beyene J, Jenkins DJ, Sievenpiper JL. Dietary Pulses, Satiety and Food Intake: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Acute Feeding Trials. Obesity. 2014;22(8):1773-80. doi:10.1002/oby.20782 Additional Reading National Academy of Sciences. Institute of Medicine. Food and Nutrition Board. "Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids." National Academy Press. Washington, DC, 2005.