What is a Complete Protein? - Are You Getting This Daily?

First of all.....What Is Protein?

One of the three macronutrients that your body needs to function properly (along with fats and carbohydrates) is proteins. They are primarily important for tissue growth and repair, but also necessary for digestion, metabolism, and the production of antibodies to fight infection. 

When you digest protein, it is broken down into its component amino acids, which are then reassembled into 50,000 different forms your body can use for things like hormones, enzymes, and neurotransmitters. 

Not only do these amino acids form the building blocks of your brain’s neural network and have significant impact on your mood and brain function, but they are especially important in infants’ developing brains.

The difference between Complete vs Incomplete Protein Sources:
Your body needs 22 different types of amino acids to function properly. 

Adults can synthesize 13 of those within the body (known as non-essential amino acids), however, the other 9 must be obtained from food (known as essential amino acids). It is these essential amino acids that derive the classification of protein as either complete or incomplete.

Complete Protein Sources:

Complete proteins are those that contain all essential amino acids in a sufficient quantity. These are typically animal-based proteins, but a few plant sources are also considered complete. A few examples are (* indicates plant-based):

Meat

Fish

Dairy products (milk, yogurt, whey)

Eggs

Quinoa*

Buckwheat*

Hemp and chia seed*

Spirulina*

Incomplete Protein Sources:

Incomplete proteins are those that don’t contain all 9 essential amino acids, or don’t have sufficient quantities of them to meet the body’s needs, and must be supplemented with other proteins. These include:

Nuts & seeds

Legumes

Grains

Vegetables

Just because they are incomplete doesn’t make them inferior, though, they just need to be combined to provide the right balance of essential aminos. 

 

Proteins that, in combination, make a complete amino acid profile are known as complementary proteins. Here are a few tasty examples:

Rice and beans

Spinach salad with almonds

Hummus and whole-grain pitas

Whole-grain noodles with peanut sauce

Complementary proteins do not necessarily need to be eaten together, but since your body doesn’t store amino acids for later use in protein combining, they should be eaten throughout a day’s meals. 

^{Reference:  https://www.builtlean.com/2012/10/03/complete-vs-incomplete-protein-sources/ By Nate Morrow}


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