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What Is A Complete Protein? Complete vs Incomplete Proteins | Ask The Fitness Nerd

Completely Confused About Complete Proteins? Learn What A Complete Protein Is and How Balance Your Protein Intake

Dear Fitness Nerd,

Can you explain exactly what a complete protein is? I’m 23 and pretty into fitness, working out, etc. I lift weights several times a week and run daily.  But I’m also a vegetarian and concerned I may not be eating enough protein every day to support my activity levels.  I’m also worried that since I primarily eat plant sources of protein, I might not be getting a complete protein. Can you help me out here? Thanks!   – Jessa (San Diego - CA)

A complete protein is a protein source that contains all eight essential amino acids in the sufficient proportions to support normal biological functions.   In adults, the eight essential amino acids are:

• Phenylalanine
• Valine
• Threonine
• Tryptophan
• Isoleucine
• Methionine
• Leucine
• Lysine

These amino acids are called “essential” because the body cannot make them, so they have to be supplied through diet.  Recently, histadine has been added to this list as well, as scientists discovered that adults cannot synthesize it.

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What’s The Highest Protein Content Food? | Ask The Fitness Nerd

Which Food Has The Highest Protein Content? We Dig Into The Numbers and Settle a Bet. Sort Of …

Dear Fitness Nerd,

Can you tell me what is the highest protein content food? My buddy and I have a bet going on this one. He says eggs and I say whey protein isolate has the highest protein. Who’s right? I have $25 bucks riding on this. Thanks. — Josh (Dayton, OH) 

Josh, let me take a shot at this.

Unfortunately, this could actually come to a draw, because you both are kind of right but also both wrong. If I sound like a Zen Buddhist monk, my apologies. This will make more sense in a minute. The good news is by the time your done, you will have a pretty good understanding of how to accurately compare protein content in foods.

How To Determine Protein Content In Food

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