It is amazing how people’s eating habits have evolved and diversified over time. However, food, in essence, serves the same purpose – it serves as fuel for the body. Humans are known to have hunted for meat or plucked fruits from trees from pre-historic days. Even back then, both plant- and animal-based foods were a part of the diet, their proportion governed not by choice or palette but by availability. Today, the choice of food is influenced by factors including type, taste, nutritional content, appeal and purpose. And, when it comes to food serving a purpose, there is an ongoing debate about protein — the building blocks for muscles, and which source — plant protein vs animal protein — works best and why.
Plant and animal sources of protein
Foods derived from plants and animals are all laden with various nutrients, which serve different purposes in the body. Vitamins and minerals are required for varied physiological functions. Experts reiterate that carbohydrates are our source of energy, whereas fats are a source of backup energy. Further, proteins are essential for building muscles and tissue repair and should constitute a major portion of our diet.
“Soy is the highest source of plant-based protein, followed by quinoa,” says Ryan Fernando, a sports nutritionist based in Mumbai and founder of Quanutrition.com. “We can also get protein from pulses and legumes.”
Fernando adds, “The common sources of animal protein are white and red meat. White meat includes fish, chicken and pork, while lamb, mutton and beef come under the umbrella of red meats. In addition to this, we can get animal protein from eggs. Dairy, such as cow’s milk, is a good source of protein, too. It has two separate bioavailable proteins — whey and casein.”
Role of proteins in building muscles
“Consuming protein alone will not build muscles,” says Shona Prabhu, sports nutritionist and founder of NutrifyMyDiet, Bengaluru. “One must provide the muscles with some resistance as well. Hence, resistance training is equally important,” she adds.
Moreover, the exact quantity of protein required can vary slightly from person to person. “Overall, we need to have a minimum of one gram of protein per kilogram of body weight,” adds Prabhu. “However, those who want to build muscles or focus on heavy workouts, as well as professional athletes, will require a little more. This quantity can range from 1.2–1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight,” she explains.
Plant protein vs animal protein
Proteins derived from both animal and plant sources have their own sets of pros and cons. You can choose your source of protein as per your preference and requirement.
“All the sources of food, irrespective of whether they are sourced from plants or animals, will have different ratios of amino acid in them,” explains Fernando. “The food that one chooses to consume should have most of the essential amino acids in it. Eggs and milk are two sources of animal protein that have them all, making them complete proteins. In the plant-based world, as per my knowledge, there no plant-based protein is complete in its amino acid profile. However, a combination of two or three plant-based proteins will give you a complete spectrum.”
Animal proteins are good as they contain all the essential amino acids, but they are high in fat and have low fibre content, highlights Prabhu. “As a result, consuming large quantities of animal protein increases the fat intake,” she explains. “Plant sources have less fat and contain much more fibre, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. However, since they lack some of the essential amino acids, combining the right sources can ensure you get them all. For instance, you can have grains with pulses.”
The winning protein source
Sportspeople and athletes, as well as those opting for a taxing fitness regimen, need extra proteins to balance the amount of wear and tear on their muscles. Since protein concentration and density are higher in animal protein sources, people focussing on plant-based diets need to compensate.
“Sometimes people can lack appetite as their body heats up due to overtraining,” cautions Fernando. “So, it would be difficult for them to ensure the intake of the required protein quantity from plant sources because the amount of food has to be higher when compared to that of animal-based sources,” says Fernando. “However, the choice is made by sports people themselves. I have had both. Sushil Kumar, the two-time Olympic medal-winning Indian wrestler, who is a vegetarian, performs while consuming just plant-based proteins. At the same time, I have had Kenneth Bednarek of the USA, a 200m sprinter and London Olympics silver medallist, who is a non-vegetarian. He produces great power outputs, too. So, it cannot be said that the protein will deliver the ultimate performance”
Takeaways
- Proteins, which aid in building muscles, tissue repair and recovery can be obtained from both animal and plant sources.
- Animal-based protein sources are red meat, white meat (lean) and dairy, whereas plant sources include pea protein, soy and quinoa.
- Animal-based protein sources have all the essential amino acids in a much higher quantity when compared to plant sources, which lack certain amino acids.
- When it comes to building muscles, both animal proteins and plant proteins can be consumed. But with plant proteins, one would need to consume a higher quantity compared to animal protein since the concentration and density of essential amino acids are lesser.
