10 Best Protein Source For Vegetarian and Vegans

Proteins are very important for our muscles. There are different variety of protein source for vegetarian.

Proteins are important for the growth of our muscles, cells and other vital tissues. There are many people in our country who are vegetarian and prefer vegetarian diet.

Athletes can get enough proteins from vegetarian diet. Plant based products helps in post-exercise recovery by providing plenty of proteins required for body and can match with nutritional value of non vegetarian products.

We all know to have a healthy lifestyle we need to take right nutrients and eat healthy food.

A person who does regular exercise should have a good diet with good balance of macronutrients; carbohydrates to provide energy while training; fats provide energy and helps your body absorb vitamins; and protein help to rebuild and recover muscles.

Average sedentary man should eat about 60 grams of protiens per day,and the average women shold eat 50 grams of protiens(if you are rugulary working out,running,cycling etc, you need more protien for muscle tissue growth and repair.

In this blog we will look at a list of ten best protein source for vegetarian.

Choosing right plant based food can be an excellent source of protien and other nutrients,often have fewer calories than animal products.

Some plant products are complete proteins ,that is they contain all nine amino acids that human need. Some of these products are Quinoa and soybean

How much protein do you need ?

Proteins are very important for building muscles. According to sources proteins also helps your body to produce antibodies to fight infection.

Protein needed for an average healthy adult is around 54 grams for 150 pound adult. But if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or athlete, bodybuilder you need to have more protein intake in your diet.

It is necessary for most of the people to keep a track on your protein intake.

There are many signs which show you are not taking proper amount of proteins in you diet like if you feel week or fatigued regularly . then you need to add more proteins in your diet and you should contact a dietitian to properly guide you about protein intake.

There are many protein source for vegetarian.

Proteins are also important for person who is recovering from medical illness.

Following chart give a rough summary of protein required in our daily life.

Weight	Minimum Protein required daily	Protein required for sportsperson, bodybuilder
45 kg-50 kg	65g – 70g	77g – 80g
54 kg- 59 kg	75g – 83g	90g – 100g
60 kg – 68 kg	90g – 95g	108g – 116g
70 kg – 77 kg	102g – 108g	124g – 131g
80 kg – 88 kg	115g – 125g	140g – 147g
90 kg – 98 kg	130g – 138g	155g – 162g
100kg -110kg	145g – 150g	175g – 185g

Note above protein requirement varies on the basis of sex, age and other factors like if you are athlete, bodybuilder, pregnant or breastfeeding.

Here are some best protein source for vegetarian.

1) Seitan

Seitan is a popular protein source for many vegetarian and vegans.

It is also known as wheat gluten because it is made from gluten, the main protien in wheat

It contains about 25 grams of protiens per 100 grams, which makes it one of the richest plant protien source available

People who have gluten-related disorder should avoid eating seitan as it contains only wheat

2) Tofu, tempeh, and edamame

All these food products originated from soyabeans and are very popular and good protein source for vegetarian who work out or exercises and they are also easily available.

Soyabeans are considered whole source of protien. they provide our body all essential amino acids it needs

Tofu is made from bean curds by pressing curdling soya milk into a solid block. Tempeh is made from slightly fermenting soyabeans by cooking and pressing them into block

All three soya based protiens contain iron, calcium and 12-20 grams of protiens per 100 grams serving

3) Lentils

lentils are another good protein source for vegetarian.

lentils contain about 9 grams of proteins per 100 grams servings.

Lentils are edible legume which are high in fibre and complex carbohydrates while low in fats and calories. Lentils are good source of protiens and are also rich in folate, manganese and iron.

4) Beans

There are many varieties of bean which contains high amount of protiens like kidney bean, black bean, pinto bean, etc.

beans are good protein source for vegetarian.

Most types of bean contains 15 grams of proteins per 100 grams serving.

Beans not only provide us protiens but they also rich in fiber, iron, phosphorus, potassium and manganese

Several studies show that bean helps to decrease cholesterol level, manage blood sugar and even reduce belly fat.

5) Chickpeas

Chickpeas are high in protein. It contain 19 grams of protiens per 100 grams. Chickpeas are another good protein source for vegetarian.

chickpeas are high in fiber. It also contains calcium, magnesium and other nutrients for strong bones. there are plenty of recipes available to make chickpeas

6) Chia seeds

chia seeds contains 4.7 grams of proteins per 28 grams of serving. Chia seeds are another good protein source for vegetarian.

Chia seeds are rich in fiber and contains healthy omega 3 fatty acids. They are also low in calories

7) Hemp seeds

Hemp seeds contains 9.5 grams of protiens per 30 grams of servings

Hemp seeds are also rich in iron, calcium, zinz. Just like chia seeds it is also a good source of omega 3 fatty acids .

Hemp seeds are good protein source for vegetarian.

8) Quinoa

Quinoa are complete protien containing 8 grams of protien per cup

It can be sprinkled on a salad or eaten as a main course. Quinoa is rich in iron, fiber and manganese

Quinoa are another good protein source for vegetarian.

9) Nuts

Nuts are good protein source for vegetarians . They are basically superfood.

If you want good protein in your diet than you should add nuts in your diet. Basically nuts like almonds, cashew nuts which are good source of protein.

Eating around 20 to 25 almonds every day can give you 6 gram of protein. Nuts are not only good in protein but also are rich in fibre and vitamin E.

10) Avocado

Avocado is basically a fruit which is highly nutritious and contains both vitamins and minerals.

Avocado is rich protein source for vegetarian and also good for body building and fitness routine. Adding avocado helps in reducing the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart diseases and many more benefits.

Avocado can be eaten in salad form.

Must check: Globally knowledge for more related blogs.

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Do checkout this blog on sandwich for vegetarians with high protein

FAQs

1. can consuming too much protein effect our body?

Answer: yes eating too much protein can effect your body. A person who consumes too much protein have risk of osteoporosis, or bone weakness. It can also lead to risk of developing kidney stone and can also increase weight as research have found that too much protein leads to increase in weight.

2. Is protein powder better than real food?

Answer: Well its a objective question . Every person have different opinions regarding it but according to me you should not consume all of your protein intake from protein powder, you should include whole food in your diet as it is important for your body. If you are a bodybuilder or athlete you can use both protein powder and whole foods in your diet as both of these thing are important. Protein powder are great value for money, helps in boosting immunity and can also be digested quickly as a post workout rather than other protein. So you should consume both in your diet.

3. Which is the best source of protein?

Answer: This question don’t have a accurate answer. There are many foods which are highly rich in protein and don’t have carbs in it. If you are a vegetarian and want protein source for vegetarian than you can go with products originated from soyabean like tofu, tempeh, and edamame as they are rich in protein. You can also go with chickpeas, dairy based products like milk, paneer etc and lentils are also good protein source for vegetarian. But if you are non vegetarian you can go with chicken, egg and salmon with some vegetarian protein sources in your diet. Egg and salmon are is rich in protein.

4. Do athletes or weight lifter need more protein?

Answer: Yes athletes and sportsperson need more protein because when they do intense and hard training they burn more energy so protein requirement in this case is more but if you are doing normal workout then more then average protein consumption is enough for your body. But if you are a competitive bodybuilder then you would need high amount of protein and calories in your diet to fuel your body.