Proteins are large molecules made from smaller units called amino acids.

There are
twenty amino acids commonly found in both plant and animal proteins. There are
generally considered to be eight amino acids that the body cannot make itself which need
to be obtained from the food we eat. These are isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine,
phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. Infants additionally need food sources of
histidine and possibly taurine. Proteins are necessary for maintaining tissues and for
sustaining growth. They are also used to make hormones and other physiologically active
substances.

Protein Requirements [1]

Experts are still not entirely sure how much protein we need and estimates have been
revised often in recent years. The national and international organisations which advise
on nutrient requirements suggest standards which are calculated to meet or exceed the
requirements of practically everyone in the population. They take into account individual
variation and so the levels have a wide inbuilt safety margin. The recommendations
below are based on the complete digestibility of milk or egg protein. Since protein from
plant sources may be slightly less digestible, the UK's Department of Health recommends
that vegetarians and vegans multiply the above figures by a factor of 1.1.

The UK Reference Nutrient Intakes (RNI*) for protein are as follows:

Type of person Amounts Required (g/day)

Infants/Children
0-12 months 12.5-14.9
1-3 yrs 14.50
4-10 yrs 19.7-28.3
Boys
11-14 yrs 42.1
15-18 yrs 55.2
Girls
11-14 yrs 41.2
15-18yrs 45
Men
19-50 yrs 55.5
50+ yrs 53.3
Women
19-50 yrs 45
50 + yrs 46.5
During pregnancy extra 6g/day
Breast feeding 0-6mths extra 11g/day
Breast feeding 6+ mths extra 8g/day

• The RNI is a daily amount that is enough or more than enough for 97% of people.
The RNI is similar to the Recommended Daily Amount used previously in the
UK.

The US Recommended Dietary Allowances introduced in 1989 are similar to the UK

values.

Vegan Sources of Protein

The foods which commonly supply the most protein in a vegan diet are pulses (peas,
beans, lentils, soya products), grains (wheat, oats, rice, barley, buckwheat, millet, pasta,
bread), nuts (brazils, hazels, almonds, cashews) and seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame).

Examples of amounts of foods providing 10g of protein

Type of food Quantity providing 10g protein (g)

Soya flour 24
Peanuts 39
Pumpkin seeds 41
Almonds 47
Brazil Nuts 50
Sunflower seeds 51
Sesame seeds 55
Hazel Nuts 71
Wholemeal bread 95
Whole lentils dried
114
& boiled
Chickpeas dried &
119
boiled
Kidney beans dried
119
& boiled
Wholemeal
213
spaghetti boiled
Brown rice boiled 385

Are Plant Proteins Second Class Citizens?

No, certainly not! Nutritionists once believed that plant proteins were of a poorer quality
than animal proteins. And even now plant proteins are sometimes called 'second class'
proteins whilst animal proteins are elevated to the 'first class' department. This belief
centred on early research on the poor laboratory rat which showed that giving extra
amino acids of weanling rats reared on a plant-protein diet improved their growth. The
same was assumed to be true for humans. However, the parameters of the experiments
were set in such a way that differences in the quality of plant and animal proteins were
exaggerated. Also, rats and humans have different nutritional requirements, since
weanling rats grow at a much faster rate, relatively, than human infants and therefore
need more protein. A comparison of rat and human milk makes the difference quite clear:
protein comprises only 7% of the calorie content of human milk, while rat milk contains
20% protein. If weanling rats were fed only human milk, they would not thrive. These
tests over-estimated the value of some animal proteins while under-estimating the value
of some vegetable proteins and The World Health Organisation has now abandoned this
inadequate method of assessing the value of proteins to the human body.

Protein Combining - Is It Necessary?

No, it really isn't necessary! Research on laboratory rats also led to the misleading theory
of protein combining. [2] Protein combining has unfortunately gained momentum over
the years. It was based on the idea that complementary protein foods with different
limiting amino acids, such as beans and grains, should be eaten at each meal in order to
enhance the availability of amino acids.

Proteins in foods have a distinctive pattern, being higher in some amino acids and lower
in others. For many years the quality of a protein reflected its amino acid pattern and was
measured against the protein in a hen's egg which counted as 100%. By this method, in
each protein the amino acid furthest below the standard reference is known as the limiting
amino acid. This is not necessarily the one present in the lowest absolute amount but the
one present in the lowest proportion compared to protein in a hen's egg! In most grains
and seeds, the limiting amino acid is lysine, while in most pulses it is methionine.
Tryptophan is the limiting amino acid in corn (maize), and in beef it is methionine.
Although each food has a limiting amino acid, most foods have all amino acids in
adequate amounts for human health.

Even vegetarians are sometimes advised to combine vegetable proteins with dairy foods.
This advice is now very old fashioned. Protein combining may reduce the amount of
protein required to keep the body in positive protein balance but several human studies
have indicated that this is neither necessary nor even always the case. Diets based solely
on plant foods easily supply the recommended amounts of all the indispensable amino
acids, and protein combining at each meal is unnecessary. Soya protein is actually
equivalent in biological value to animal protein.

Protein - Too Much of a Good Thing?

Studies show that vegan diets provide the ideal amounts of protein recommended by the
World Health Organisation and by the UK's Department of Health. On the other hand,
many omnivores eat more protein than guidelines recommend and this may have
disadvantages for their health. Excessive protein consumption may be associated with
health risks. Kidney function can be compromised by too much protein in older people
and in patients with kidney disease; also, a high protein intake may adversely affect
calcium balance and contribute to mineral loss from bone. The Office of Population
Censuses and Surveys 1990 survey of British adults [3] showed that average protein
intakes are 84g/day for men and 64g/day for women which are higher than
recommended,

Different types of dietary protein may have differing effects on cholesterol and fats in the
bloodstream. Greater hormonal responses resulted in a meal derived from casein (milk)
than from soya beans. This suggests that milk protein leads to higher levels of cholesterol
and fats in the blood. These, in turn, are risk factors for coronary heart disease.

A survey of 620 women in Singapore revealed that, among pre-menopausal women, those
who regularly ate soya protein and soya products in general had about half the normal
risk of developing breast cancer. In contrast, the consumption of red meat and animal
protein was linked with an increased risk of breast cancer in pre-menopausal women.

Diets rich in meat protein lead to more uric acid in the urine, and a general increase in
urine acidity. because of the acidity, the uric acid does not easily dissolve and can form
into kidney stones.

Is there Enough Protein for Growing Children?

Children's over-riding nutritional need is for energy rather than protein per se. As long as
children's energy needs are being met they will thrive on a diet in which protein is
available from a mixture of plant foods. Infants and children reared on a varied vegan diet
obtain adequate protein and energy, and are healthy and grow normally. Although they
tend to be of lighter build than omnivore children they are within the normal ranges for
height and weight. Regular consumption of suitably-prepared high-energy foods, such as
grains, pulses and nuts, with smaller amounts of bulky, less energy-dense fruits and
vegetables, will ensure a satisfactory intake of protein and energy. There have been only
two recent reports of protein and/or Calorie malnutrition in infants reared by vegan
parents on a vegan diet, and these were due to over-dilution or inadequate variety of
weaning foods. Other published cases of protein and energy deficiency in infants given
alternative diets involved restrictive macrobiotic or fruitarian regimes, or dietary
limitations imposed by non-vegan parents for perceived health reasons

Calcium is a major mineral essential for healthy bones and teeth. There are several
minerals known to be essential to the human body and which must be obtained from
food. The major minerals (calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, chloride and
potassium) are needed in the greatest quantities or are present in large amounts in the
body. The three main functions of minerals are as constituents of the skeleton, as soluble
salts which help control the composition of the body fluids, and as essential adjuncts to
the action of many enzymes and other proteins.

Calcium Requirements
The UK Department of Health recommended Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI) for
calcium is as follows. The RNI is a daily amount that is enough or more than enough for
97% of people. The RNI is similar to the Recommended Daily Amount used previously
in the UK.

Age/Sex Calcium requirement (mg/day)

Infants & children, depending on age 350-550
Teenage girls 800
Teenage boys 1000
Adult men & women 700
Breast-feeding women extra 550

The 1989 US recommendations are generally slightly higher. In 1994 the US

recommendations for children aged 1-10 was increased from 800mg to 1,200mg daily
and for young adults aged 11-24 years it was increased from 1,200 to 1,500mg. During
pregnancy and breast feeding women in the USA are now advised to have 1,400mg
calcium daily and American men and women over the age of 50 years are advised to
increased their calcium intake towards 1,500mg because the intestinal absorption of
calcium declines with age.

Vegan Sources of Calcium

Good plant sources of calcium include tofu (if prepared using calcium sulphate contains
more than four times the calcium of whole cow's milk), green leafy vegetables, seeds and
nuts. The calcium in green vegetables which are not high in oxalate e.g. kale, is absorbed
as well or better than the calcium from cow's milk. Some soya milks e.g. Provamel,
Plamil, Granovita are fortified with calcium. Drinking hard water can provide 200mg of
calcium daily but soft water contains almost none. Other calcium rich foods include black
molasses, edible seaweeds, watercress, parsley and dried figs

Examples of amounts of foods providing 100mg calcium

Type of Food
Black molasses 20g
Dried figs 40g
Almonds 42g
Soya flour 44g
Parsley 50g
Kale 67g
Brazils Nuts 59g
Wholemeal bread 185g

Protein & Calcium

A high protein diet, especially derived from animal foods, causes calcium loss in the
body. The higher sulphur-to-calcium ratio of meat increases calcium excretion, and a diet
rich in meat can cause bone demineralisation. A report published in 1988 [1] comparing
the amounts of calcium excreted in the urine of 15 subjects showed that the animal-
protein diet caused greater loss of bone calcium in the urine (150mg/day) than the all-
vegetable protein diet (103mg/day). These findings suggest that diets providing vegetable
rather than animal protein may actually protect against bone loss and hence osteoporosis.
In one study adults on a low-protein diet were in calcium balance regardless of whether
calcium intake was 500mg, 800mg or 1400mg a day. [2] Interestingly The American
Dietetic Association, in its 1993 policy statement on vegetable diets, pointed out that the
calcium intakes recommended in the USA were increased specifically to offset calcium
losses caused by the typically high protein consumption in that country.

Calcium Absorption
Only 20-30% of calcium in the average diet is absorbed. Calcium absorption can be
reduced because it binds to fibre, phytate or oxalate in the intestine. Vegan diets contain
more than average of these substances. Fibre is no longer thought to limit the availability
of calcium from food. Phytate or phytic acid is found in grains, nuts and seeds and can
bind with calcium making it less absorbable. However, the body does adapt to lower
levels of available calcium and the American Dietetic Association and the UK's Ministry
of Agriculture, Fisheries & Foods as well as the Department of Health believe that fibre,
phytate and oxalate do not have a significant effect on calcium intake overall.

Although the calcium intake of adult vegans tends to be lower than the recommended
optimum, it is close to the Estimated Average Requirement. There have been no reports
of calcium deficiency in adult vegans.

The Estimated Average Requirement (UK) of a nutrient in the diet is an estimate of the
average needs of a group of people. About half may need more, and half may need less.

Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is the major cause of bone fractures in the elderly. One in four British
women are affected by this disease. It is better prevented than treated and prevention
includes an adequate intake of calcium throughout life, but especially in childhood and
young adulthood; and minimising major risk factors e.g. smoking, heavy alcohol use and
lack of physical exercise. Diets high in protein and in salt (sodium chloride) also increase
calcium loss from the body and may have an effect on osteoporosis. Post-menopausal
women are more prone to osteoporosis because they produce less oestrogen, which
protects the skeleton in younger women.

There has been much publicity about the role of dietary calcium in preventing
osteoporosis but the fact remains that it is more common in Westernised countries where
calcium intakes and consumption of dairy products are high compared to the rest of the
world. Osteoporosis is comparatively rare in rural subsistence cultures, even though
calcium intakes are much lower. Lifestyle factors, such as physical activity, lower protein
intakes, little alcohol consumption and the rarity of smoking, may offer protection to
people in these populations.

Cow's Milk & Health

The advertising blurb surrounding cow's milk would make anyone think it is an
absolutely essential and natural product for humans. Most people when thinking of
increasing their calcium intake would immediately reach for a carton of milk or slab of
cheese. However, there are several reasons for not using these products as a nutrient
source. Whole cow's milk is suited to the nutritional needs of calves who double their
weight in 47 days and grow to 300 pounds within a year. In fact, human beings are the
only species to drink the milk of another species, and the only species to drink milk
beyond infancy. In addition about 90% of the world's adult population (in Britain the
figure is probably 25%) is deficient in the enzyme needed to digest milk properly. The
enzyme lactase is present in infants for digesting their mother's milk, but levels decline
after the age of five years. Adults who lack the enzyme suffer from bloating, cramping,
wind and diarrhoea if they drink milk.

The most significant connection between milk and ill-health is probably through its
contribution to heart disease. Too much saturated fat in the diet can lead to
atherosclerosis, where the arteries 'fur up' with cholesterol deposits and cannot deliver
enough blood to the vital organs. The heart is particuarly susceptible. Milk and other
dairy products account for about half of all saturated fats eaten in this country. Meat
accounts for the rest. The UK has the highest level of heart disease in the world.

Child-care expert Dr Benjamin Spock, once an advocate of drinking cow's milk, has
joined several doctors questioning its nutritional value and warning of a possible link to
juvenile onset diabetes and allergies. "Breast-feeding is the best milk feeding for babies,"
says Dr Spock. Dr Spock is backed up by Dr Frank Oski, director of pediatrics at John
Hopkins University and Dr Neal Barnard, president of the 2000-member Physicians'
Committee for Responsible Medicine. Dr Oski states that cow's milk is overrated as a
source of calcium, is often contaminated with traces of antibiotics, can cause allergies and
digestive problems and has been linked to juvenile diabetes. [3]

Conclusions
Vegans need to get at least 500 mg of calcium from calcium rich foods,
such as tofu, fortified milks and greens, or supplements. Together
with calcium from other less concentrated sources, this would give an
overall calcium intake between 700 mg per day and 1000 mg per day.
There is very little evidence that higher intakes than this would be
beneficial.

However, bone health is about much more than calcium. The fact that
osteporosis risk is high in countries consuming relatively high amounts
of calcium/dairy products illustrates this. Studies comparing
individuals within developed countries also indicate that the benefit of
calcium alone for reducing fracture risk is modest. Vitamins D and K
may be more important while potassium (fruits, vegetables, roots and
beans) reduces calcium losses and bone turnover and sodium (salt)
increases these. Moderate, rather than low or high, protein intake is
probably best. Physical activity plays a vital role. The best approach
to prevention takes all these factors into account.

Essential Fatty Acids

The main components of all fats are the fatty acids which might be saturated,
monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. Fats containing a high proportion of saturated fatty
acids are solid at room temperature. These are commonly known as saturated fats and are
usually derived from animal sources e.g. lard, suet and butter. Most plant fats are high in
either polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats except palm and coconut fat which is
highly saturated.

Saturated and monounsaturated fats are not necessary in the diet as they can be made in
the human body.

Two polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that cannot be made in the body are linoleic
acid and alpha-linolenic acid. They must be provided by diet and are known as essential
fatty acids. Within the body both can be converted to other PUFAs such as arachidonic
acid, or eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

In the body PUFAs are important for maintaining the membranes of all cells; for making
prostaglandins which regulate many body processes which include inflammation and
blood clotting. Another requirement for fat in the diet is to enable the fat-soluble vitamins
A, D, E and K to be absorbed from food; and for regulating body cholesterol metabolism.

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids - Dietary Sources

Food sources of the two main dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (linoleic acid and alpha-
linolenic acid) are listed below.

Linoleic Acid (Omega 6 family)

• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Nuts
• Grains
• Seeds

Good sources:

Oils made from:

• Safflower
• Sunflower
• Corn
• Soya
• Evening primrose
• Pumpkin
• Wheatgerm.

Alpha-Linolenic Acid (Omega 3 family)

(Please note - fish is not the only source of omega 3 acids. Flaxseed oil contains twice as
much as is found in fish oil!).

• Flaxseeds (linseeds)
• Mustard seeds
• Pumpkin seeds
• Soya bean
• Walnut oil
• Green leafy vegetables
• Grains
• Spirulina
Good sources
Oils made from:

• Linseed (flaxseeds)
• Rapeseed (canola)
• Soya beans

EPA's and DHA's

Alpha-linolenic Acid is converted in the body to EPA (eiocosapentaenoic acid) usually

found in marine oil and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) usually found in marine fish oil.
Many factors affect the rate of conversion and one factor seems to be a high food intake
of linoleic acid which is typical of vegan diets and may suppress the body's ability to
convert alpha-linolenic acid to DHA. Vegans can achieve a better balance of PUFAs in
their body tissues by using less sunflower, safflower and corn oils and more oils
containing alphalinolenic acid such as rapeseed (canola) oil, or soya bean and walnut oils.
This would encourage their tissues to make more DHA.

Conclusions

Numerous expert committees have recommended a reduced consumption of total fat by

the general population. Only vegan diets generally comply with current guidelines that fat
should not contribute more than 35% of the total energy intake of adults and older
children.

Saturated fats contribute to high levels of cholesterol in the blood, a risk factor for
atherosclerosis and heart disease, while polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) have the opposite
effect. Vegan diets, containing no meat and dairy fats, are low in saturated fatty acids and
high in beneficial PUFAs. Vegans consume considerably more of the essential PUFA
linoleic acid than do omnivores, and approximately similar levels of the other essential
PUFA, alpha-linolenic acid.

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), two non-essential

PUFAs, do not occur in vegan diets. The human body can convert alpha-linolenic acid
into EPA and DHA but, even so some of the body tissues of vegans contain less DHA and
EPA than those of other dietary groups. The consequences of this difference, if any, are
not known.

Similarly, breast milks of vegans, vegetarians and omnivores contain differing

proportions of various polyunsaturated fatty acids, and these differences are reflected in
some body tissues of infants. It is not yet known what, if any, effect these variations may
have on the growth and development of infants.