Vegan for Life - Jack Norris [11]
It’s not a big difference, but vegans should strive for a protein intake of 0.9 grams per kilogram of body weight. For ease of calculation, this translates to around 0.4 grams of protein per pound of healthy body weight. So a vegan whose healthy weight is 150 pounds would need 60 grams of protein (150 x 0.4) per day.
Since protein needs vary considerably among individuals, the RDA is designed to cover the needs of 97 percent of the population and is therefore more than what many people need. Without any way of knowing where you fall on the protein-need spectrum, and because recent research suggests that protein recommendations could be too low,5 it’s a good idea to play it safe and aim for the RDA.
For children and teens, we would use an RDA aimed at the needs of different age groups and calculated specifically for vegans.
PROTEIN RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOUNG VEGANS
Age (years) Females (grams/day) Males (grams/day)
1–2 18–19 18–19
2–3 18–21 18–21
4–6 26–28 26–28
7–10 31–34 31–34
11–14 51–55 50–54
15–18 50–55 66–73
MEETING PROTEIN NEEDS ON A VEGAN DIET: THE IMPORTANCE OF LEGUMES
While the chart on page 19 shows that many plant foods are good protein sources, legumes are especially rich in protein. Legumes include beans, peas, lentils, soyfoods (like tofu, soymilk, and veggie meats), and peanuts. (Most people think of peanuts as nuts, but they are botanically legumes and, from a nutritional standpoint, they have more in common with pinto beans and lentils than walnuts and pecans.) Our food guide specifies at least three to four servings per day of these foods. A serving is pretty modest: ½ cup of cooked beans, ½ cup of tofu or tempeh, a one-ounce veggie burger, one cup of soymilk, or two tablespoons of peanut butter. Planning menus that include these foods isn’t difficult, and we give you several tips for doing so in Chapter 7.
In addition to being protein-rich, these foods are the only good plant sources—with a few exceptions—of the essential amino acid lysine. A diet that gets most of its protein from grains, nuts, and vegetables is likely to be too low in lysine. And while some popular resources suggest that very low protein intakes—as little as 5 to 6 percent of total calories—can meet our nutritional needs, it’s actually difficult to get enough lysine (or total protein) on a diet that isn’t more protein-dense.
You can get a rough idea of how much lysine you need by multiplying your weight (in pounds) by 19. This calculation includes a small factor that makes up for the slightly lower digestibility of protein from whole plant foods. For example, a person weighing 140 pounds would need 2,660 milligrams of lysine per day. The chart on page 21 shows that the best sources of lysine are legumes, quinoa, pistachios, and cashews.
If you follow our recommendations to consume at least three to four servings of legumes per day, you’ll meet lysine needs with ease. That doesn’t mean that beans, peanuts, and soyfoods are absolutely essential in vegan diets. While it is difficult to meet protein and lysine needs without them, it’s possible, and we provide guidance on how in Chapter 7, when we look at meal planning guidelines for vegans.
PROTEIN CONTENT OF SELECTED VEGAN FOODS
Food Protein content (in grams)
Legumes and soyfoods (½ cup cooked unless otherwise noted)
Black beans 7.6
Garbanzo beans 7.5
Kidney beans 8.1
Lentils 8.9
Navy beans 7.5
Pinto beans 7.7
Seitan*, 3 ounces 22.5
Soybeans 14.3
Soy-free protein powder,