I have often heard people saying that any combination of a cereal (rice, wheat, maize, etc) and a legume (pulses, pea, gram, etc.) provides the complete range of amino acids.
Is it true?
asked Jul 3, 2021 at 15:51
-
See also vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/questions/2667/…– Michael AltfieldCommented Apr 16, 2023 at 14:38
Add a comment
|
3 Answers
Yes, that is correct. Grains and legumes, for example, can be called complementary amino acid sources because when you combine the one with the other, you get all of the essential amino acids. Nuts and seeds are also complementary to legumes because they contain tryptophan, methionine, and cystine.
App for calculating amino acid complements
An online tool on MyFoodData will show how well two or more food sources fare viz. amino acid combination. The above link shows, as an example, how well lentils pair with rice. Check out the projected amino acid breakdown (see table below) and percent of daily recommended intake achieved by your chosen food combination (see image below).
| Amino Acid | Lentils (Cooked) | Cooked White Rice | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight (g) | 198 | 158 | 356 |
| Tryptophan (mg) (%RDI) | 160 (57%) | 49 (17%) | 209 (75%) |
| Threonine (mg) (%RDI) | 640 (61%) | 152 (14%) | 791 (75%) |
| Isoleucine (mg) (%RDI) | 772 (55%) | 183 (13%) | 955 (68%) |
| Leucine (mg) (%RDI) | 1295 (47%) | 351 (13%) | 1646 (60%) |
| Lysine (mg) (%RDI) | 1247 (59%) | 153 (7%) | 1401 (67%) |
| Methionine (mg) (%RDI) | 152 (21%) | 100 (14%) | 252 (35%) |
| Cystine (mg) (%RDI) | 234 (81%) | 87 (30%) | 321 (112%) |
| Phenylalanine (mg) (%RDI) | 881 (101%) | 228 (26%) | 1109 (127%) |
| Tyrosine (mg) (%RDI) | 477 (55%) | 142 (16%) | 619 (71%) |
| Valine (mg) (%RDI) | 887 (49%) | 259 (14%) | 1146 (63%) |
| Histidine (mg) (%RDI) | 503 (72%) | 100 (14%) | 602 (86%) |
| Arginine (mg) | 1380 | 354 | 1734 |
| Alanine (mg) | 746 | 246 | 993 |
| Aspartic acid (mg) | 1976 | 400 | 2376 |
| Betaine (mg) | ~ | 0 | 0 |
| Glutamic acid (mg) | 2770 | 828 | 3598 |
| Glycine (mg) | 727 | 193 | 919 |
| Proline (mg) | 746 | 201 | 947 |
| Serine (mg) | 824 | 223 | 1046 |
App for calculating recommended intake
Another app on calculator.net can tell you how much protein the American Dietetic Association (ADA), The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and World Health Organization (WHO) think you should be consuming based on your age, gender, height, weight, and personal activity level, and body fat %, if you choose the more accurate Katch-McArdle BMR formula (click ➕ Settings). Here is a sample output:
Scientific basis
The Essential amino acid Wikipedia article also observes that sufficiently caloric consumption of varied foods is adequate to achieve the recommended protein intake and that combining foods with complementary amino acids provides for complete proteins:
Foodstuffs that lack essential amino acids are poor sources of protein equivalents, as the body tends to deaminate the amino acids obtained, converting proteins into fats and carbohydrates. Therefore, a balance of essential amino acids is necessary for a high degree of net protein utilization, which is the mass ratio of amino acids converted to proteins to amino acids supplied.
Complete proteins contain a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans. Whole foods plant and natural animal sources provide all of the essential amino acids. Near-complete proteins are also found in some plant sources such as quinoa.
The net protein utilization is profoundly affected by the limiting amino acid content (the essential amino acid found in the smallest quantity in the foodstuff), and somewhat affected by salvage of essential amino acids in the body. It is therefore a good idea to mix foodstuffs that have different weaknesses in their essential amino acid distributions. This limits the loss of nitrogen through deamination and increases overall net protein utilization.
The following table of protein source vs limiting amino acid is then provided:
| Protein source | Limiting amino acid |
|---|---|
| Wheat | lysine |
| Rice | lysine |
| Maize | lysine and tryptophan |
| Legumes | methionine/cysteine pair and tryptophan |
| Egg, chicken, milk | none; egg is the reference for complete protein |
The article continues:
The amino acid distribution profile is less optimal in plant foods than in animal foods. but it is not necessary to consume plant foods containing complete proteins as long as a reasonably varied diet is maintained. Numerous pairs of different plant foods can provide a complete protein profile. Certain traditional combinations of foods, such as corn and beans, or beans and rice, contain the essential amino acids necessary for humans in adequate amounts. The official position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is that protein from an appropriate planned combination of a variety of plant foods eaten during the course of a day can be nutritionally adequate when caloric requirements are met.
Yes. Protein requirements are so easy to satisfy that you don't need to worry about it.
Before I learned about the now-debunked myth of combining proteins from the 1950s, I did calculate the precise ratio of (black) beans to (brown) rice to combine to unnecessarily maximize the absorption of all amino acids. I found that the ideal ratio was
equal parts (by volume, after cooking) of black beans and long-grain brown rice
Source https://green.michaelaltfield.net/2014/10/20/complete-protein-ratios/
...which is roughly what's served in various international rice-and-beans cuisines.
But if you're not looking to exceed your daily protein requirements (ie if you're not a body builder), then you can stop worrying about sourcing protein and just make sure to eat a variety of whole foods.
You can also get another take on the protein intake calculation based off of this calculator from The Wellness Way.
It breaks it down based on your weight, activity level, and fitness goal:
