Protein...

I eat vegetarian 95% of the time and am thinking about taking the plunge to become a full vegetarian.

 

I have been tracking my protein on the days I eat completely veg, and it comes out to 70-90 grams daily, most of the time about 80.  My sources include dairy, hummus and other beans, nuts and nut butters, and grains.

Is this adequate protein?  Would I have any ill effects from this amount of protein?

 

I do cardio 30 mins a day and have a high-stress lifestyle.

It all depends on your calorie intake.  Only 5-6% of your calories need to come from protein in order to replace protein lost in the body.  I try for about 10%, but usually only get 8-9.  You are probably eat way more than you actually need, I wouldn't worry about not getting enough!  I don't think eating too much vegetable protein has the same risks as eating too much animal protein.

Remember that all vegetables have protein in them, generally a percentage of 10 or more.

 

A typical number of protein is 0.8 gm/kg of body weight, most people get far more protein then they need.

You don't have to worry about getting adequate protien on a veg*n diet.  I get on the average of 13g a day.  And that is b'cause I love nuts, otherwise it would be under 10g.

Original Post by busy91:

You don't have to worry about getting adequate protien on a veg*n diet.  I get on the average of 13g a day.  And that is b'cause I love nuts, otherwise it would be under 10g.

 

I can't see how you could only get 13g a day. It would be very hard to find enough calories without going over 13g a day. As an example 700 calories of rice has over 13g of protein. Just what are you eating? As a side note 13g of protein a day would be far too little.

If anything 80g is too much. You probably don't need as much protein as you think you do. The difference between getting protein from a veggie diet and protein from a meat-eating diet is that you kind of have to build it up over the day or look at the whole meal rather than just having one piece of very high-protein food. Do I make sense? Anyway, if you eat dairy you've really got nothing to worry about!

That is quite a high number, I'm sure it's more than enough.  On average it works out to a number in grams equal to half your body weight in pounds.  IE, 140 pounds = 70g protein.

Excess protein is processed by your kidneys and excreted in urine-- Which is the key of Atkinsian diets; by replacing most calories with unecessary protein, the body is running on a real calorie deficit and putting massive strain on the kidneys. 

I digress-- The amount you're getting is more than adequate-- I would recommend supplementing your workout with some weight training to make use of all that good protein.  Check out www.stumptuous.com

Original Post by busy91:

You don't have to worry about getting adequate protien on a veg*n diet.  I get on the average of 13g a day.  And that is b'cause I love nuts, otherwise it would be under 10g.

Wow, my all vegan, all raw breakfast smoothie has over 10 grams or protein!!  I don't know how you do this unless you eat nothing but sweets and fruit...

yup 80 gm is actually alittle high and over what you really need i think.  so if your on that, i think your just fine.  between beans, nuts, hummus, veggies, etc. you sound like your on the right track

 Your protein needs vary wildly with how active you are - from 0.8g/kg which is the minimum to sustain life for a truly sedentary adult, to 1.8g/kg for people engaged in heavy resistance training.

See the Journal of American College of Nutrition on protein needs and this NSCA article.

 Note that sedentary means just that -  your only exercise is walking to the end of the driveway to check the mail, the heaviest weight you lift is a box of Krispy Kreme, you work in an office, and in your spare time you're vegging out in front of the TV. That's the activity level the RDA is based on.

 Even just walking 30 minutes a day 3 days a week means you need more, roughly 1.0g/kg of bodyweight for a mildly non-sedentary lifestyle. Having small children to take care of counts as 'activity' for the purposes of these calculations, btw.

 It's also a good idea to try to fit this into the WHO recommendations for diet:
(pdf - page 56):

• Total fat - 15 to 30%
  
  • Saturated fatty acids - <10%
  • Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) - 6 to 10%
    
    • Omega-6 Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) - 5 to 8%
    • Omega-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) - 1 to 2%
  • Trans fatty acids - <1%
  • Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) - By difference
• Total carbohydrate - 55 to 75%
  • Free sugars - <10%
• Protein - 10 to 15%
• Cholesterol - <300 mg per day
• Sodium chloride (sodium) - <5 g per day
• Fruits and vegetables - 5400 g per day
• Total dietary fibre - From foods
• Non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) - From foods

They suggest to limit your consumption of meat and to get most of your calories from plant-based foods. Of course, the number of grams this amounts to depends on how many calories you need to consume in a day. (Thanks to MikeLane for this one!)

 Me and Mike's run the numbers and it mostly works out except for the edge cases of dieting weight lifters who still need 1.8g/kg of protein, there the protein needs actually do outstrip the need for other macronutrients. Outside of that though, the numbers more or less work out to roughly the same level.

 There's never been any documented cases of renal failure attributable to overconsumption of protein, not surprising considering that humans evolved as hunter-gatherers who probably got about 50% of their calories from animal sources. This is irrelevant to a vegan except to note that a vegan lifestyle is more unnatural for our species than an omnivore diet.

 Protein is expensive though, both to produce and to buy so overconsumption is pointless. 

 Though running the math (NCSA guideline for endurance athletes is 1.4g/kg, stress adds a bit to protein needs, so .. using 1.4g/kg isn't extraordinary.) 80g/1.4g/kg=57 kg. 57kg*2.2kg/lbs=125lbs.

 Unless you weigh less than 125lbs you're not overconsuming protein, rather the opposite in fact. 'Course, if you were completely sedentary and living a stress-free life 80g would be adequate for a 220lbs adult, but this is not you.

O my you are eating WAYYYY too much protien right now.  Women that have finished growing 18 - 50 need about 40 - 45 grams of protein a day.  Sounds like you are eating double that.  You will have no trouble making the switch!

Uh, not to start a flame war or anything, but... Missmayhem, can you provide a reputable cite for that? 'Cause though I've misplaced the reference now the minimum protein requirement for a sedentary adult is 50 grams per day.

 40g of protein is only enough for a sedentary adult weighing 40g:0.8g/kg=50kg, 50kg*2,2lbs/kg=110lbs. Barely possible, if you're never physically active; but that's rarely the case.

 This myth going around causing women to underconsume protein compared to their actual requirements is incredibly harmful to your overall health. 'Course, a lot of men overconsume protein and Atkins-level intake is just dumb IMAO, but either extreme isn't healthy.

 It's completely possible to fulfill all your requirements on a vegan diet, that's not an issue - with a bit of plannning you can get all your needs filled from plant sources. As long as you know what those needs actually are, that is.