Question for Vegans/Vegetarians

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I have a question for the Vegans and Vegetarians on this list. I know that most protein comes from eating meat, but obviously those in these classes don't eat meat. Do you track your protein, trying to make sure you get non-meat sources in every day-or do you just eat however you want and let it go at that?

Tofu, edamame, lentils, beans, peas, protein powders/bars/shakes, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, whole wheat pasta.

I don't think tracking protein/macros is necessarily a vegan vs. non-vegan thing. Some people are very health conscious or trying to reach particular goals. Some people just focus on eating a healthy diet and don't obsess over the numbers.

If you are trying to be a bodybuilder or athlete, you should track protein. But for the average person, assuming you're eating nutritious foods, you probably don't need to count religiously.

Thanks for the reply. I was wondering because many websites I have seen on nutrition say that Americans get more than enough protein, and I was thinking how do non-meat eaters get all of this protein, and do they purposefully have to eat some of these non-meat sources? Or do they eat many of these sources because they truly like them?

I am a quasi-vegetarian (if there is some a term) in that I don't eat meat most of the time but I don't avoid it either. I just don't like it all that much and it is expensive compared to other foods, at least if you want fairly lean meat. I have had some injuries recently and have had a couple of people suggest it might be due to not eating enough protein. I don't seek out protein sources and just kind of ate whatever I wanted that was fairly cheap-usually rice and vegetable.

I have started eating protein powder for lunch as I try to heal up a broken foot. I was just surprised that the average American gets so much protein. I guess they eat meat a lot.

Many vegetables have enough protein in them, and even that idea about them lacking certain essential amino acids doesn't seem true of my diet. I never thought about it till recently when I carefully analysed the foods I normally eat and found out there was nothing to worry about. The only things that were low were vitamin D and possibly calcium so I fixed that. I thought I might be undernourished because I don't eat a lot, but I wasn't.

what sorts of vegetables are you getting your protein from?

I try to make sure I take enough protein because I have digestion issues, and otherwise feel sluggish. Apart from everything mentioned, you can find enough protein in soy milk and soy products like soy or bean pasta. Likewise, beans, lentils etc in general. But also protein chocolate bars, shakes etc.

But I think bigger issues are getting enough iodine, B12 and omega-3 (and iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin D etc). You can get those from algae (and/or fortified foods), however, but I also take a multivitamin.

When checking adults who follow plant-based diets, mostly these micronutrients are listed as lacking, not so much levels of protein.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10665534/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8746448/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 1420306567

The ones with the highest concentrations of protein are:

Cheese
Lentils
Walnuts
Eggs
Hummus
Bread (wholemeal)

Opinion is divided on the optimum daily intake of protein. CDC say 45-158g/day, DRI says 45, NCBI says 45 (based on my weight and age), some say as high as 147 (30% of calories consumed), others say 112 is excessive. CHatGPT says 56. There are adverse health effects associated with consuming too much protein. When I measured my intake it was 58g/day. I've been vegetarian going on vegan for several decades but haven't noticed any symptoms of deficiency:
https://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow ... tein-signs