- Plant-based protein does not contain all of the essential amino acids.
In fact, all plant-based foods (chia seeds, chickpeas, soybeans, potatoes, peas, lentils, quinoa, hemp seeds, brown rice, buckwheat, walnuts, and hazelnuts—to name a few) contain essential amino acids. Since these occur in different concentrations, it makes sense to combine protein-rich, plant-based foods. So don’t just eat broccoli or spinach, but add color to your meals with a colorful mix of different types of vegetables, legumes, seeds and fruit. In this way, you can effortlessly meet your daily protein requirements.
- They don’t help build muscle the way animal protein does.
Why not? Check out the world’s largest and strongest animals such as gorillas, elephants and rhinos. All herbivores that do not show «muscle wasting». On top of that, there are many successful bodybuilders and athletes who eat only plant-based foods. Interesting right?
- Plant-based, protein-rich foods contain a lot of carbohydrates and are therefore richer in calories.
Not necessarily. Compared to animal foods, many vegetable protein suppliers have a low fat content and usually fewer calories. For example, chia seeds are high in fiber and contain healthy omega-3 fatty acids, and are low-calorie foods, like many other vegetables (broccoli, spinach, kale, mushrooms, asparagus, hemp seeds, etc.). In general, it is known that a high-protein diet helps to reduce body weight.
- The daily protein requirement cannot be covered by vegetable protein.
It’s a fact that almost all of us eat more protein than we need to. Anyone eating an eight-ounce steak typically served in restaurants is already exceeding the recommended protein intake. Plant-based foods provide enough protein if your diet includes a variety of different foods, such as legumes, nuts, vegetables, and grains.
(More on this in the table below)
- Eating plant-based proteins is worse for the environment.
That’s not true. It has been proven that the production of animal-based foods in particular contributes to serious environmental pollution, such as land and water consumption, global warming due to an increase in CO2 and the loss of biodiversity. A plant-based diet uses far fewer natural resources.
- Plant proteins are bad for your health.
But on the contrary! A long-term study from Harvard Medical School shows that eating more plant-based protein can reduce your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease ². An excess of animal protein, which inevitably comes about with a diet made up of lots of meat, sausage and cheese, is considered extremely unhealthy and has been associated with a dramatic increase in the risk of cancer for many years. Vegetable proteins do not have the same negative effects, but have many positive properties that improve our health.