What is completing proteins, or complimentary proteins? You see, protein is comprised of amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. When a protein source that you eat has all of the essential amino acids that protein you eat goes towards building your amino acid pool in your body. So it is helping you to create, or maintain, lean muscle tissue. There are 8-10 essential amino acids and 20-22 total; sometimes science doesn't agree, but for this article we will go with 8 essential and 20 total. Lean muscle tissue is the most critical factor when it comes to your metabolism, and if it will be fast or slow. Of the total 20 amino acids, the body can manufacture 12. The other 8 cannot, so you must obtain these through the diet. Foods such as eggs, meat, fish, chicken, other poultry, milk, and other dairy products contain all 8 essential amino acids. So these foods are great to help with your lean muscle tissue. However, some foods do not provide all 8 essential aminos and must be combined with other foods to form a complete protein. Most nutritionists agree that all vegetables, grains, and legumes are incomplete proteins because they do not have all 8 essential aminos. Which is not true. They do contain all 8, but just not in a high enough capacity to be considered a complete protein. So we must combine foods to make it so, and help with our lean tissue and increase the speed of our metabolism. Here's a quick list of the legumes that do not form a complete protein: 1. Beans 2. Chickpeas 3. Soy 4. Lentils 5. Dried peas Here's a quick list of Nuts and Seeds that do not form a complete protein: 1. Peanuts 2. Walnuts 3. Pumpkin seeds 4. Sesame seeds 5. Cashews 6. Sunflower seeds 7. Other nuts 8. Nut Butters Here's a quick list of Grains that do not form a complete protein: 1. Wheat 2. Rice 3. Oats 4. Barley 5. Buckwheat 6. Rye 7. Pasta 8. Cereals 9. Cornmeal 10. Bulgur Also remember no vegetable forms a complete protein. To form a complete protein from the lists of foods above all you need to do is combine one food from one group to one food of another group. That's it. So for example a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread is complete. Tofu with brown rice is complete. Sesame seeds sprinkled on a spinach salad are complete. You can also eat any one of the food groups listed with one of the complete protein sources (eggs, milk, chicken, etc...) and you will form a complete protein. I always recommend eating protein with every meal, so now you know how to complete proteins if you don't have a true complete source of protein to eat! Which will equate to more lean muscle tissue, higher thermic effect of food, and a higher metabolism. Happy eating!
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