Being a vegan does not in any sense mean that you should avoid taking protein in your diet. It is very important to understand that protein is essential for the health and to avoid protein in your diet can cause a lot of complications for you. There are many plant based foods which are loaded with proteins as well as many other nutrients.
If you are a vegan it is high time to incorporate protein in your diet if you aren’t taking it. It is very easy to adhere to a protein diet while being a vegetarian and this is how to do it.
- Find out how much protein you need
The amount of protein required depends upon the number of calories that you intake. For every kg of your body weight, you need to consume 0.8 gram of protein. You can find this out by multiplying your body weight with 0.8. If you have measured your body weight in pounds, then convert it to kilograms and then multiply it by 0.8.
- Find out what is allowed on a vegetarian diet
People who are vegetarian do not normally eat fish, chicken and meat. Some vegans do not even eat dairy products like milk and eggs. This is why it can be very hard as a vegetarian to include protein in your diet so it is very important to plan your meal properly.
- Try to incorporate complementary proteins in your diet
It is highly recommended to the vegetarians to include complementary proteins in their diet such as rice with beans in order to get all the amino acids. However, if you have any health problem, then it is better to consult a doctor to find out if you can have those complementary proteins.
Beans and soy are full of amino acids so if you are vegan, you should definitely try to incorporate these in your diet.
- Find out about possibilities of diet deficiencies
When you are on a vegan diet, chances are quite high that you might be missing out on some healthy stuff. If there isn’t enough protein in your body, then you can suffer from zinc deficiency. This will weaken your immunity and also cause cavities. Foods that have zinc include whole grains, legumes, nuts, soy and different kinds of cheese.
Vegetarians may not have enough B-12 in their bodies due to the limited quantity of protein they consume. This can cause iron deficiency as well as many other complications.
- Many plant sources have high amount of protein
Sprouts have a high amount of protein than any other part of a vegetable. You can consume lentils, peas, and sprouted beans that are low in calories but quite high in protein. You can cut the sprouts and put them in a salad.
- Specially go for those vegetables that have a lot of protein
Since you cannot consume chicken, fish or meat, you must opt for a vegetable which itself has a lot of protein in it. Some examples of such vegetables include kale, green peas, broccoli, lima beans, spinach, collard greens, corn and mushrooms.
Conclusion
Being a vegan is good but you need to plan out your diet in such a way that does not have any deficiencies. This is because lack of important elements in your body will cause many complications and weaken your immune system. Protein is very essential for the body and it is a must to include it in your diet.
Make a diet plan which not only supports you being vegan, but also fulfils all requirements protein intake along with other healthy stuff.
