Sustainably Limiting Soy intake in high performance diets.

[KngTyrannosaurus]

Hi all,

This is an open discussion on alternative sources of protein (other than soy-based items) that people are eating.

many vegan foods use soy as it’s cheap, but a single protein source isn’t very healthy. There are alternative sources of protein (lentils, black beans) but these are often higher in carbohydrates than they are protein.

So far I’ve found as a solid food:
- Pea Protein (fancier fake meats use this)
- Quorn (the fungus based thing, though I’ve developed an intolerance to this)
- Beetroot protein (may have hallucinated this one)

As a supplement:
- Pea protein
- Brown rice protein
- hemp protein
- pumpkin seed protein

In previous years I subsisted on dhal, but I’ve progressively upped my training load and had to take far more supplements than I’d like to keep up.

I also believe the ‘vegan meat alternatives’ while tasty, pointlessly use butcher-style trays to emulate the experience of real meat. Plastic is no bueno, if the source can be found without it then that would be better.

TIA please feel free to add to the repository of knowledge.

 

[David3]

Protein is important for muscle gain, but more is not necessarily better.

The American College of Sports Medicine makes this recommendation:

"To increase muscle mass in combination with physical activity, it is recommended that a person that lifts weights regularly or is training for a running or cycling event eat a range of 1.2-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, or 0.5 to 0.8 grams per pound of body weight."​

Link: ACSM Certification Blog and Articles

 

[Lou]

Hi all,

Hi. And welcome to the forum.

This is an open discussion on alternative sources of protein (other than soy-based items) that people are eating.

Why not soy?

I feel that you must include soy in any discussion on plant based proteins. Maybe you think it's been discussed enough. But I still see lots of people misinformed about soy. I've done my homework and it is a good (maybe the best) source of protein.

many vegan foods use soy as it’s cheap, but a single protein source isn’t very healthy.

It is possible to consume too much soy but its safe to eat as much as 50 grams of soy protein a day.

But yeah, the key to a healthy diet is to eat a variety of healthy whole foods,

There are alternative sources of protein (lentils, black beans) but these are often higher in carbohydrates than they are protein.

Nothing wrong with carbohydrates. For each gram of protein you consume you should consume at least two grams of carbohydrates.

So far I’ve found as a solid food:
- Pea Protein (fancier fake meats use this)
- Quorn (the fungus based thing, though I’ve developed an intolerance to this)
- Beetroot protein (may have hallucinated this one

Your best bet to a healthy diet is eating Whole Foods. not highly processed foods. I consider any food where things have been added or removed to be processed and not whole.

As a supplement:

- Pea protein
- Brown rice protein
- hemp protein
- pumpkin seed protein

all protein powders are processed (I'm no sure about Quorn).

In previous years I subsisted on dhal, but I’ve progressively upped my training load and had to take far more supplements than I’d like to keep up.

Dal is good stuff. Lentils are a great source of protein.

But I'm almost sure you don't need supplements "to keep up".
The more you train the more calories you need,
the more calories you consume the more protein you consume.

If you consume 2000 calories a day, and 20% of that comes from protein (which is maybe a tad optimistic but a good target, nevertheless ), you get 400 calories from protein. That is 100 grams of protein, more than enough.

I also believe the ‘vegan meat alternatives’ while tasty, pointlessly use butcher-style trays to emulate the experience of real meat. Plastic is no bueno, if the source can be found without it then that would be better.

TIA please feel free to add to the repository of knowledge.

Vegan meat alternatives aren't that healthy anyway. Ok for a treat or a special occasion but most of your meals should use Whole Foods.

 

[Emma JC]

welcome to the forum

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[silva]

It is possible to consume too much soy but its safe to eat as much as 50 grams of soy protein a day.

More like up to 400 grams
Other than the highly processed soy isolates, soy is health promoting as the cooked beans, fresh edamame, tofu, and tempeh

 

[KngTyrannosaurus]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

While I appreciate this input, and understand that everyone here has personal preferences and dietary goals - I think there’s nothing wrong with discussing what else might be out there rather than reinforcing what is already available.

the merit to soy is that it is an almost pure source of protein - the simple question is what are the alternatives?

Certainly carbohydrates serve an important purpose, however even pure Dhal is 61% carbohydrate per serve (17% fat, 22% protein)- two large servings still only equates to 28g of protein. Other recipes I’ve made such as mujadara and taco soup are about half the protein content of Dhal. In truth while in isolation legumes and pulses can have a favourable macronutrient profile, once incorporated into a recipe that’s no longer the case.

To wit, what other high protein (>50% protein by calorie) sources which don’t use soy can we all add to our toolkits?

 

[silva]

Seitan

 

[Lou]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

You are welcome

While I appreciate this input, and understand that everyone here has personal preferences and dietary goals - I think there’s nothing wrong with discussing what else might be out there rather than reinforcing what is already available.

Ok that sounds good.

the merit to soy is that it is an almost pure source of protein - the simple question is what are the alternatives?

Almost pure source of protien?

Oh! you are referencing soy isolates?
Almost anything can be processed and concentrated. The most common are whey, soy, and pea.
But I believe you can find others like maybe rice, chia, flax.
I think at this point we need to be talking what kind of protein powder you want to buy.
That's a different story. From what I understand you might want to look at contaminates before purchasing. Some contain heavy metals.

But I'm not sure if you can find many differences among the concentrates, none of them are "real food". they don't contain essential things like fat, fiber or even carbs.

Certainly carbohydrates serve an important purpose, however even pure Dhal is 61% carbohydrate per serve (17% fat, 22% protein)- two large servings still only equates to 28g of protein.

Nothing wrong with that profile. we need carbs and fat too,

Other recipes I’ve made such as mujadara and taco soup are about half the protein content of Dhal. In truth while in isolation legumes and pulses can have a favourable macronutrient profile, once incorporated into a recipe that’s no longer the case.

That's not so bad either. we need all those other nutrients, might as well get them in real food and tasty recipes. Maybe if you need some extra protein - then a protein powder and be added to your breakfast smoothie or chocolate milkshake.

To wit, what other high protein (>50% protein by calorie) sources which don’t use soy can we all add to our toolkits?

Peanut butter powder. I have PB Fit in the cupboard. it's lower in fat than peanut butter. About 8 g of protein for 80 calories.

My guess is that you probably don't need as much protein as you think you do. You might want to try using CronOmeter for a week and look at the graphs and charts.

This calculator is pretty good especially for calculating a safe minimum

Protein Calculator

This free protein calculator estimates the amount of protein a person needs each day to remain healthy based on certain averages and recommendations.

www.calculator.net

 

[500channelsurfer]

There are so many different types of beans and pulses. I did not know many of them before becoming vegan. Now I routinely eat adzuki beans, quinoa, black beans, fava beans, mung beans, chickpeas, and all the colours of lentils and rice.
Lots of nuts go well into more recipes than I thought like cashews and almonds.
And of course as already mentioned: Seitan!

 

[bEt]

According to myfooddata.com
100 calories worth of roasted soy beans has 9.6g protein
100 calories of tempeh has 10.6g protein

So I would conclude that in the process of becoming tempeh, some small portion of the carbohydrates are converted/eaten by the fungus. This is not a huge difference, but I'd imagine the same happens when other legumes are fermented into tempeh.

 

[bEt]

I think it's more fun, better for our bodies, and more efficient to eat the whole foods, but . . .

PB2 Pure - Peanut Powder [No Sugar or Salt] – PB2 Foods Storefront

Amazon.com: Sprout Living Simple Pumpkin Seed Protein Powder, 20 Grams Organic Plant Based Protein Powder Without Artificial Sweeteners, Non Dairy, Non-GMO, Vegan, Gluten Free, Keto Drink Mix (1 Pound) : Everything Else

Amazon.com: GREEN BOY Plant-Based Chickpea Protein Powder Made from Single Ingredient, Vegan and Clean Alternatives for Plant Protein, Good for Cooking, Baking and Smoothies, No Added Sugar, Soy or Gluten (16oz) : Health & Household

Faba Bean Protein | Top Plant Based Protein | Pulsin

Bob's Red Mill Almond Protein Powder -- 14 oz - Vitacost

Marketed to food production companies, may not sell to individual consumers:

Water soluble protein Powder,Rice,Pea,Soy,Mungbean,Wheat-Homepage

Corn Protein - North America | Cargill

Contact Us (mycoiq.com)

Red Lentil Protein - Atura (aturaproteins.com)

China Millet Protein Powder Suppliers, Manufacturers, Factory - Wholesale Quotation - BIOWAY (biowayorganicinc.com)

Millet Peptide Powder Suppliers & Manufacturers & Factory - Wholesale Price Millet Peptide Powder - Nutraonly
Not yet on the market:
Hyfé Scales Production of Mycelium Protein Powder Ahead of Schedule (yahoo.com)

Novel mycelium food: When will it hit the European market? (foodnavigator.com)

Scientists are still trying to figure out how to make it work:
Extraction of plant protein from green leaves: Biomass composition and processing considerations - ScienceDirect

Leaf protein concentrate - Wikipedia
In case your horse is into bodybuilding:
Potato protein | Equistro