The vegan diet is becoming increasingly popular around the world, and studies indicate that it might also provide a number of advantages, including improved heart health, stable blood sugar levels, weight loss, and low cholesterol. Additionally, vegan food has a rich nutritional profile. A storehouse of potassium, magnesium, and other vital vitamins, they also contain fibre, antioxidants, and other healthy plant compounds. Vegans avoid animal-based dairy products in favour of plant-based alternatives such as soy milk, almond milk, or tofu. It also includes all plant-based proteins, such as legumes, nuts, and seeds.
But recently, nutritionist, Bhuvan Rastogi, took to his Instagram handle and shared why relying on legumes and grains for protein is inadequate. He explained briefly why vegans must include dense protein sources in their diet rather than relying solely on legumes, grains, or nuts, which may not be sufficient to meet their protein requirements. He further tells that relying solely on nuts and nut butter to meet the RDA for protein is not the best approach for vegans.
Here are the 5 vegan dense protein sources proposed by Bhuvan:
Soya milk
Filtered soya and water with additives make up soya milk. Only soya milk offers comparable protein among the vegan milk substitutes that are currently available. It has low fat and carbohydrate levels as well. In general, soya milk has 8g of protein and 4-5g of fat per 250 ml, which is very similar to skim milk.
Tofu
The curd product of soya milk is tofu. It is a high-protein, low-carbohydrate option. Tofu contains 3g of fat, 4.5g of carbohydrates, no fibre, and 7-9g of protein per 100g. Depending on how much water is in the tofu, the protein content can change. As a result, the protein content can range from 4g in silken tofu to 16g in the super firm variety. Tofu is incredibly adaptable because it can be baked, stir-fried, and blended into soups to make them more creamy and rich in protein.
Tempeh
It is compressed fermented soybean in the form of cubes or strips. The protein content of tempeh is higher than that of soya milk and tofu, and like paneer, it has a higher level of satiety due to the presence of fat and fibre. Tempeh has 19 g of protein, 7 g of fat, 8 g of fibre, and 2 g of carbs without fibre per 100 g.
Soya chunks/granules
These defatted soya legumes are also referred to as a soya-textured vegetable protein. It is a protein choice with incredibly little fat and carbohydrate. 52g of protein are present in 100g of soya granules or chunks.
Vegan protein supplements
They are the densest plant-based protein source. Soya and pea are the most popular. With no fat and very few carbohydrates, this is a very good source of protein.
