Quote:
Originally Posted by Angst
Amino acids. The body cannot make 9 of the 20 amino acids we need to survive. Meat is the only food that contains all 9 nine. For vegans, they need to combine different foods to obtain necessary quantities of all the amino acids. i.e. beans AND rice.
more here
Funny, I had never even heard of vegan before moving to Los Angeles. |
That's a nice article, thanks. Meat is not the only protein source with all nine essential amino acids, though. Eggs and dairy are "complete proteins" as well. There are some vegan foods that contain all nine essential amino acids in sufficient quantities, such as soy and quinoa. Most vegans, unless they have other dietary restrictions, do not have to supplement with amino acids. Just to be clear, since it's a popular myth, one does not have to combine each of the essential amino acids at every meal to be healthy.
Supplementing vitamins and minerals is more likely to be necessary, though. B12 is much less abundant in non-animal foods, so often needs to be supplemented. (There's some evidence that a large percentage of meat-eaters are low in B12 as well.) Vitamin D is another one that is uncommon in vegan diets and some people don't actually get enough sun to make up for it. Iron is also commonly supplemented in vegan diets because the form found in plant foods is harder to absorb.