We can safely say that protein is the best-known nutrient in food for active individuals.

The benefits of it are nearly endless, especially for people involved in vigorous training.

Many cells, tissues, blood, and antibodies can be rebuilt using protein, which makes it a vital component of our recovery.

Most of your tissues, hormones, and enzymes are made up of some sort of protein.

Is article is about plant protein and includes some key points about it.

Plant VS. Animal Protein

There are two types of protein-containing foods; complete and incomplete.

Whether they are complete or incomplete depends on the amino acid profile of that food.

Complete proteins contain all essential amino acids and are usually animal foods.

On the other hand, we have plant foods, which have an incomplete protein content, due to the fact that most plants lack certain essential amino acids.

Now, even though animal products are by far the easiest and most efficient way to get your full amino acid profile, you can do the same with just plants.

The simplest and best way to do so is to combine different sources of plant proteins (i.e beans and rice).

In doing so, you will allow each food to compensate for the lack of certain amino acids, in the food it is combined with.

This is in fact one of the main principles of vegetarian and vegan nutrition, as it allows you to meet your daily protein needs with ease!

Often it is wrongly considered that plant-based individuals are severely deprived of protein.

However, this is not really a fact about vegan nutrition.

The fact is that if a plant-based individual has a rational, balanced nutrition plan, there will be no deprivation of protein!

The Best Plant Protein Sources

Nuts, peas, beans, soy products, and grain plants are some of the best plant protein sources that can replace conventional animal products.

Different proteins are found in these various foods, each with its own set of amino acids.

The facts? All of these products are at the top of the list of plant protein sources!

Nevertheless, there are MANY other plant products that you can use to meet your essential protein needs.

Below is a list of the most common plant-based products and their protein content (per 100g).

Plant foods	Protein content per 100 gr
Avocado	2
Asparagus	2.2
Almonds	21
Bananas	1.09
Beans	21 to 25 depending on the type of beans
Broccoli	2.82
Brussels sprouts	3.38
Short grain white rice	6.5
Long grain white rice	7.13
Medium grain white rice	6.5
Mushrooms	1.8
Canned mushrooms	3.4
Green peas	5.42
Green beans	1.82
Green olives	1.03
Kale	2
Apricots	1.4
Non-peeled potatoes	2.02
Cauliflower	1.98
Long grain brown rice	7.94
Medium grain brown rice	7.5
Cashew	18
Kiwi	1.14
Iceberg salad	1.2
Dill	1
Wheat germs	7.49
Linseed	1
Hazelnuts	15
Lentils	26
Pasta	10.8
Lettuce	1.21
Oats	16.89
Walnuts	15
Eggplant	1
Millet	11.02
Rye	10
Sweet potato	1.57
Soy	36.9
Spinach	2.86
Sesame	18
Pumpkin	1
Zucchini	1.2
Nuts	26
Peanut butter	25
Bread	7.1
Corn	9.42

How Much Protein Should You Eat?

This is perhaps one of the most frequently asked questions in the fitness world, whether it’s about fat loss or muscle gain.

Now, there is no definitive answer to this question, due to the fact that we all process and use protein at slightly different rates.

But there are general guidelines which recommend consuming 0.8-1g of protein per lb. of bodyweight.

The more muscle mass you have, the higher on that range you would be.

For instance, if you weigh 200 lbs and have 10% body fat, you would need about 1g of protein per lb. of bodyweight.

Oppositely, if you weigh 200 lbs but are at 20% body fat, you’d need less protein.

Whether you’re trying to build muscle or lose fat, consuming ~1g of protein per lb. of body weight appears to be the optimal range, for both muscle gains and muscle retention.

Conclusion

Even though protein from animal foods is superior to plant protein, there really is no reason why someone wouldn’t be able to meet their protein needs by eating just plants alone.

As long as you combine different sources of plant protein (i.e legumes, grains and beans), you will reach your protein intake goals!

Ultimately, your best bet would be to consume up to 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight every day, derived from a variety of sources.

Whether you are meeting your needs or not, can be judged on how you perform, recover, and feel.

What is YOUR favorite plant protein source?

When most people hear the term “protein,” they may immediately think of a particular brand of supplement.

First and foremost, supplements are not the focus of this article.

Instead, we’ll look at different types of proteins and how they’re processed by the body.

It’s worth noting that the protein you get from supplements and the protein you can find in food is almost the same.

The only exception is that certain powdered proteins are well-isolated and absorb more quickly than others.

That simply means that whey powders aren’t particularly potent or effective.

Supplements were designed to complement and improve your diet plan.

They’re also handy and can be used in a pinch, such as after a workout or even for breakfast if you’re running low on calories.

Let’s Talk Protein

Your body is technically a big, protein-based biological machine.

Aside from water, protein is the most common element we see in the body and more importantly, it regulates a variety of vital processes.

In a sense, protein is the building block of most of your tissues, enzymes, and hormones.

However, not all protein was made equal, meaning that the protein coming from different food sources, will be metabolized by the body in a slightly different way.

There are high-quality sources of protein, but also, low-quality ones.

The Biological Value (BV) Of Proteins

Proteins’ biological value is used to determine how well they are digested, absorbed, and preserved by the body after consumption.

The biological value can be used to demonstrate the efficiency of the consumed protein.

There are two primary measures that help us understand more about the biological value of proteins.

Firstly, we have the amino acid profile of each protein-containing food.

Proteins are made from amino acids.

There are 20 amino acids, 9 of which are essential, meaning that the body needs them but can’t produce them on its own.

That is to say that the more complete a certain food’s amino acid profile is, the higher its biological value.

The second thing used to measure the biological value of proteins is protein retention, or in other words, how long the protein stays in the body.

The BV Standard

In nutritional science, the biological value of proteins goes on a scale from 0 to 100.

Whole eggs (both yolk & egg white) are the standard for the biological value of proteins, measuring at 95-100 BV.

If we take the yolk out of the egg, the biological value drops with 5-10 points, down to 90-95.

With whole eggs being the golden BV standard, other foods are compared to them, in order to determine the bioavailability, as opposed to optimal quality protein (whole eggs).

Side note: Whey/isolate protein supplements have a BV of 100+.

What Are The Best Protein Sources?

Below, we have listed the biological value of the most common protein sources we can find on the market nowadays, including both food and supplements:

1. Whey isolate protein blends – 100-150 BV
2. Whole eggs – BV 100
3. Cow milk – BV 91
4. Egg white – BV 88
5. Fish – BV 83
6. Beef – BV 80
7. Chicken – BV 79
8. Casein – BV 77
9. Rice – BV 74
10. Soy – BV 59
11. Beans & legumes – BV 49
12. Peanuts – BV 43

Now, what this 12-point table means for you, is that your primary sources of protein should be the ones on the top of the list, which have higher biological value.

Nevertheless, you can combine those with other, lesser bioavailable sources of protein, such as plant protein.

Ultimately, your best bet is to put a couple of food sources at the core of your protein intake, while also diversifying with a variety of other food sources.

Conclusion

The biological value of proteins (BV) tells us more about the amino acid content of each food, as well as how long its protein is retained in the body and how efficiently it is used.

Animal sources of protein appear to be superior, due to the better amino acid profile, as well as overall bioavailability.

This is why, if you are not vegetarian or vegan, foods like beef, eggs, fish, and chicken, should make up the majority of your daily protein intake.

In the last part of this article series, you learned that protein and fats are the two essential macronutrients in your daily nutrition.

These two contain essential amino & fatty acids, which regulate many processes, growth of tissues & body composition.

For the goal of building muscle mass, however, there is one more very important nutrient in the foods you consume.

In this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know about carbs and why they are an important aspect of your nutrition.

What Are Carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates, also known as “carbs” are the sugars, fibers, and starches, found in vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, milk, and other food products.

This nutrient provides 4 calories per gram and when metabolized, gets converted to blood glucose & muscle/liver glycogen.

Glycogen is basically the stored form of carbohydrates.

Most of that glycogen gets stored in the muscles and a lesser portion goes to the liver.

Carbs Are The KING Of Intense Performance

Now, during intense bouts of training activity, the body uses ATP (adenosine triphosphate) as its main energy source.

However, the stores of that ATP are generally limited, and as your workouts continue, the body needs to find more sources of energy to REGENERATE that ATP, in order to continue the activity.

This is where muscle glycogen comes into play. In a process called “glycolysis”, the body uses muscle glycogen to restore ATP and continue muscular contraction.

What About Keto?

Carbs have often been demonized and this is the exact reason why trends like the ketogenic diet come to the surface.

There are actually many people that consider the ketogenic diet to be optimal for high-intensity performance.

But the truth is that during a keto diet, the body starts utilizing fatty acids as the main energy source, due to the lack of carbohydrates.

Fats have 9 calories per gram, as opposed to carbs that have just 4 calories per gram.

This makes fats more than twice as caloric as carbohydrates.

That exact caloric value, combined with the more complex structure of fats, makes them unsuitable for high-intensity performance.

This is because high-intensity performance is optimized when you have an energy source that can be broken down RAPIDLY.

Quite logically, when we have a nutrient with a simple structure and 4 calories per gram (carbs) and a nutrient with a more complex structure and a higher caloric value, the winner is obvious.

Studies have shown that no matter the trends, carbohydrates remain the KING of high-intensity performance, due to the fact they are the only nutrient that can be broken down into energy rapidly enough, during high-intensity training bouts.

Can you build muscle and get stronger on zero carbs? Yes, but the rate of progress will likely be suboptimal.

What Carbs Should You Choose?

When we look at carbs, there are two main types we can differentiate between:

1. Simple carbs
2. Complex carbs

Simple carbohydrates are called that due to their simple structure, which the body breaks down easily during digestion.

This means that simple carbs are quick energy for the body and this can be used in certain scenarios.

However, this quick and easy digestion leads to sudden spikes and drops in your blood sugar levels.

Simple carbs are mainly found in refined sugar products, such as raw sugar, brown sugar, syrups, fruit juice concentrates, candy, doughnuts, etc.

On the other hand, we have complex carbs, which have a more complex structure and release energy gradually.

If your goal is to build muscle mass, complex carbs are what you should primarily focus on.

This type of carbohydrate will not lead to any blood sugar spikes and will grant sustainable energy, that is released gradually, as we already mentioned.

Complex carbs are mainly found in grains, legumes, and starchy vegetables.

Here’s a list of the best complex carbs you can use in your muscle-building nutrition plan:

1. Brown rice
2. Lentils
3. Oats
4. Kidney beans
5. Whole grain bread
6. Whole grain pasta

Conclusion

If you are trying to build muscle mass, you should know that you can’t go without performing well in the gym.

And well, quite frankly, optimal athletic performance is a matter of providing the body sufficient energy.

Specifically for intense performance, the most potent energy source is muscle glycogen.

This implies that a suboptimal consumption of carbohydrates may actually hinder your workout performance, due to the low levels of muscle glycogen. In conclusion, if you want to keep up with your gains, eat your grains!