If you are a vegan or have decided to start following this diet and lifestyle, congratulations because you're making a wonderful decision. Avoiding animal products is saving animals' lives, but it also reduces the enormous pollution of our planet. This diet excludes any food that comes from animals. This is where you should consider how you'll get your proteins. Even though this diet is rich in plant-based proteins, sometimes it's important to help your body with a protein supplement.
Proteins are an essential part of your diet, and a lack of them may result in losing muscle mass. If you don't know which vegan protein powder you should get first, you can always get a blend of vegan proteins and provide your body with the right amounts. It’s important to stay true to a healthy vegan diet, because no supplement is a substitute for healthy nutrients. Before you get any vegan protein powders, here's what you need to know.
Plant Protein Blends
Plant protein blends are a perfect source of proteins; this mix will help you digest the product and use the fermented or sprouted plant proteins. Including it in your vegan diet would only mean enriching your source of proteins. Even though you're consuming healthy vegan food rich in proteins, sometimes it might not be enough, so boosting your protein source would help your body stay healthy.
Adding this type of supplement to your diet means getting proteins from more than one source (besides your leafy greens, nuts, legumes or soy). If you're working out, plant protein blends will help you keep your muscles strong and healthy. Besides that, the protein will help your muscles recover after a workout.
Important Proteins
There are two very common proteins that are excellent for building and keeping muscle mass lysine and leucine. Leucine is the best amino acid if you want to repair your muscle mass and delay age-related muscle loss. You'll come across various powdered plant proteins mixed as blends. Plant-based blends provide the optimal amount of essential amino acids.
Make sure to get vegan proteins that are dairy-free and gluten-free, raw and soy-free. You can get a mix of organic pea protein, hemp and organic brown rice protein. These blends will provide you with lysine (pea protein); rice protein will provide you with methionine.
Pumpkin Seed Protein
Whole pumpkin seeds are known to be a rich source of proteins and healthy fats. When they come in the form of powder, most of the fat is removed, so your calorie intake will be lower. Did you know that 28 grams serving of pumpkin seed protein have about 103 calories and 18 grams of protein?
This is a perfect combination for people who follow the vegan diet that wants to lose some weight but keep the right amount of proteins in their system. Pumpkin seed protein is rich in nutritious amounts of zinc, iron, magnesium and minerals; these are crucial for strengthening your immunity.
Pea Protein Powders
Pea vegan protein isn’t made from sweet green peas but from yellow split peas, which are known to be a rich source of proteins. A serving of 28 grams has about 21 grams of proteins and 100 calories. Pea protein is rich in the essential BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids), leucine, valine and isoleucine (this protein will stimulate your body to make muscle protein which is essential for keeping your muscle mass healthy). Being vegan doesn't mean that you should stop working out; simply add pea protein to your diet (with the help of supplements and food of course). The muscle gains with pea protein are similar to those of people who consume whey protein.
Soy Protein Powder
Soy protein is a complete protein, which is rare for plant proteins. It's packed in BCAAs that support muscle strength and growth. A serving of 28 grams of this protein contains about 95 calories and 22 grams of protein (this depends mainly on the brand of course). Make sure to get soy protein powder that is not genetically modified. If you're allergic to soy, you should avoid it.
Why Use Vegan Protein
A scoop of vegan protein includes 21 grams (be sure to check with your brand). Always check the ingredients are the protein source (the best sources are pea protein and organic rice protein) instead of fillers or sweeteners. If there are added sugar and carbs, check the amounts; proteins with added fruits, vegetables, vitamins and proteins are also a good choice.
How Do Protein Powders Taste?
The taste varies from brand to brand and what you'll get should fit according to your preferences. You can get banana-flavoured or chocolate-flavoured protein powders, or, you can enrich them with added fruits of your choice. Also, you can blend the powder with unsweetened rice or almond milk. Go for a vegan protein blend of pea and brown rice so you can be sure you get enough amino acids and quality vegan proteins. You can always choose 'clean' proteins such as chia seeds, pumpkin, sunflower seeds or pea proteins.
