Combining Foods to Create Complete Proteins

I was reading today about amino acids: there are 9 essential amino acids that we need to eat in our food; 6 non-essential amino acids; and 10 conditionally essential amino acids, depending on the health of the person and their regular diet. The amino acids listed under these headings are the choice of Dr. Elson M. Haas, listed in his book Staying Healthy with Nutrition.

This list of 10 conditionally essential amino acids must include some of the essential and non-essential amino acids, because there are only 22 in total: Alanine, Arginine, Asparagine, Aspartic acid, Cysteine, Glutamic acid, Glutamine, Glycine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylaline, Proline, Pyrrolysine, Selenocysteine, Serine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Tyrosien, and Valine. Of these, the most likely to be deficient are Lysine, Methionine, and Tryptophan.

Many foods already offer complete proteins: beef, chicken, pork, fish, shellfish, milk, eggs. Foods such as legumes, grains, vegetables, and nuts offer incomplete proteins. But, in combination, foods with only some of the required amino acids can complement other foods with only some of the required amino acids and - voila! - complete proteins!

The subject of combining foods to create complete proteins fascinates me. Here’s a list of food combos that, together, create complete proteins:

grains and beans
grains and seeds
millet and aduki beans
brown rice and sunflower seeds
soybeans and rice
soybeans and sesame seeds
soybeans and corn
soybeans and wheat
soybeans and rye
peanuts and grain
peanuts and coconut
grain and legumes
grain and leafy greens
dried beans and corn
dried beans and rice
peas and wheat
So, I had rice and fish for dinner and now I’m eating almonds. Lots of protein and lots of fibre. All I’m missing are the vegetables.
Best of health, naturally

By Nina

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