How to Get the Protein You Need on a Vegan Diet
When someone decides to go vegan, one of the biggest questions that others will have—indeed, perhaps the biggest question—is how that person will get enough protein in his or her diet.With varying levels of incredulity and condescension, non-vegans will say, “How can you possibly get protein when you do not eat dairy, eggs, chicken or fish?” Some people cannot come up with a good reply to this question. As a result, they choose not to go full vegan. But despite the mainstream American diet’s heavy dependence on meat and dairy products, the best vegan protein can fully meet the dietary needs of most people. Proteins are important because of the amino acids that they contain. People need nine amino acids from their food in order to perform critical bodily functions like building and repairing muscles. Appropriately enough, these are call “essential” amino acids. They are: • Leucine • Isoleucine • Methionine • Histidine • Phenylalanine • Lysine •...