Question

what is an example of a complementary protein combination - REMEMBER this would be 2 plant proteins which complement to make a complete protein

Answer 1

Protein combining (or protein complementing) is a dietary theory for protein nutrition that purports to optimize the biological value of protein intake. According to the theory, vegetarian and vegan diets may provide an insufficient amount of some essential amino acids, making protein combining with multiple foods necessary to obtain a complete protein.If you're following a vegetarian or vegan diet, focusing on complementary proteins is said to maximize nutrition and improve health. Including complementary proteins in your diet involves combining certain protein sources in order to achieve adequate intake of compounds called amino acids.Amino acids are considered the building blocks of protein. Although some amino acids can be synthesized in your body, others (called "essential amino acids") must be ingested from food.

For the vegetarians and vegans whose diets lack animal sources of protein, including complementary proteins in meals and snacks is said to protect against any deficiencies in amino acid intake. It's thought that combining two or more plant sources of protein can allow vegetarians and vegans to obtain sufficient levels of all the essential amino acids.

There are many different ways to include complementary proteins in a vegetarian or vegan diet. Here are some examples of food pairings that provide complementary proteins:

• soups or stews that include legumes and grains
• salads made with beans and nuts or seeds
• a peanut butter sandwich on whole-grain bread
• hummus with whole-wheat pita bread
• tofu or tempeh with brown rice or quinoa
• tofu stir-fry with whole-grain noodles and peanuts
• beans and brown rice
• yogurt with sunflower seeds or almonds

• It was once commonly believed that vegetarians and vegans needed to consume complementary proteins at each meal in order to stay healthy. However, it's now known that simply eating a wide variety of plant foods every day can allow you to get all the protein you need.

  According to the National Institutes of Health, top plant sources of protein include:

• almonds
• black beans
• garbanzo beans
• hazelnuts
• kidney beans
• lentils
• peanut butter
• peanuts
• pinto beans
• split peas
• sunflower seeds
• tempeh
• tofu,walnuts

Complete protein foods have all the essential amino acids. In general, animal foods such as meat, poultry, eggs, dairy and fish are complete protein sources. Incomplete protein sources have only low amounts of some of the essential amino acids. Combining two or more foods with incomplete proteins, to form complementary proteins, can provide adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids. Complementary proteins do not need to be eaten together, so long as the day's meals supply them all.