Protein is definitely one of the nutritional components that the body needs. At least 20 percent of your body is formed by protein. In fact, it is recommended that you consume at least 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight.
Protein can be obtained from foods that are good foods derived from processed meat or obtained from plants. However, is there a difference between animal and vegetable protein?
The main difference is animal and vegetable protein
Protein is indeed needed by humans, but you also need to be careful in choosing foods that will be your source of protein. One of the main differences between animal and vegetable protein is its amino acid content.
Amino acids are one of the protein-forming compounds, so when you consume protein, the body will break down proteins into amino acids.
Amino acids are not only one type, but there are various types of amino acids needed by the body. The body can produce non-essential amino acids, but you need essential amino acids through food.
The amount of essential amino acids in animal and vegetable protein is different, animal protein tends to have more complete types of essential amino acids than vegetable protein.
Some vegetable proteins have low levels of the amino acid tryptophan, lysine, methionine, and isoleucine and sometimes only a handful of plants have only two types of essential amino acids, such as soybeans.
However, not all vegetable proteins have incomplete amino acids. Quinoa and buckwheat are some examples of vegetable proteins that have complete protein-forming amino acids.
If you want to get protein from plants, you should mix various types of vegetables to get complete amino acids.
Apart from the amount of amino acids, amino acids contained in vegetable proteins take longer to digest and use in the body than animal protein.
What about the nutritional content in animal and vegetable protein?
Besides the amount of amino acids, the difference between animal and vegetable protein also lies in its nutritional content. In vegetable protein, some of the nutrients that are lacking can be:
- Vitamin D , found in fish oil, eggs and milk products
- Vitamin B12 , found in meat, fish, poultry, and dairy products
- Heme-iron , found in meat, especially red meat
- Zinc , found in beef, mutton, and pork. The content of zinc in animal protein is more easily absorbed and used by the body
- Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) , an essential omega-3 fatty acid that is important for brain health, is found in fatty fish
In addition, eating healthy fat nutrients found in meat, such as fatty fish, was found to reduce the risk of suffering from heart disease and stroke . Animal protein in eggs is also known to make you feel fuller.
Is animal protein better than vegetable protein?
After seeing the facts above, you might feel that animal protein is superior to vegetable protein.
But don't jump to conclusions because vegetable protein also has health benefits. In fact, adopting a vegetarian diet can reduce weight, cholesterol, and blood pressure that can trigger cancer and heart disease.
Nevertheless, research is still needed to study the health benefits of vegetable protein.
Notes
Animal and vegetable proteins have their own charm. You only need to mix which protein suits your needs.
However, when consuming animal protein, avoid eating processed red meat can actually increase your chances of having heart disease, stroke , and premature death.
