Omnivorous exponents of a Vitamin B-for-bacon diet may see their love of meat bolstered by newly-published research showing that vegans who get enough protein in their diets usually still lack vital amino acids found in animal foods.
While most of the vegans studied ate an adequate amount of total daily protein, according to a team of nutritionists at Massey University in New Zealand, a significant proportion did not achieve the required levels of the amino acids lysine and leucine.
“Meeting adequate total daily protein intake in a vegan diet does not always guarantee a high protein quality diet, and simply considering total protein intake without delving into protein quality will overestimate protein adequacy among vegans,” the team warned in research published by the medical journal PLOS One.
Led by PhD candidate Patricia Soh Bi Xue, the team said their findings “underscore that meeting total daily protein requirements does not necessarily mean meeting indispensable amino acid requirements”.
“While the human body can synthesize most of the amino acids we need to live, we completely rely on the food we eat to provide the nine ’indispensable amino acids’ we cannot make ourselves,” the researchers said.
“Achieving high protein quality on a vegan diet requires more than just consuming enough protein.
“It also depends on the right balance and variety of plant foods to supply all the amino acids in the quantities that our body needs,” the team said, calling for more research into how vegans can boost their amino acid intake. – dpa
