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.
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