Are plant proteins complete proteins?
Plant proteins are as complete as complete can be. The myth that they’re not, or are of a lesser quality than animal proteins, dates back to experiments performed on rats in the early 1900s. Forget the fact that rats aren’t humans, have different nutritional requirements, and need more protein than humans to support their furry little bodies. The meat, dairy, and egg industries have marketed the hell out of this ancient research, and even in the year 2009 most every Dick, Tom, and Jane thinks the only way to get complete protein is through meat, eggs, or dairy. In reality, proteins are composed of chains of roughly twenty different amino acids. Of those, eight are found outside our body and must be absorbed from our food. These eight are the “essential” amino acids. The remaining acids are “nonessential” because they can be synthesized by our bodies themselves. Plants supply all the essential and nonessential amino acids. All of them.
