Busting the Myth of Incomplete Plant-Based Proteins

Getting ‘complete’ proteins from plants is easier than you think

Plants have got you covered

If you think that you need to eat copious amounts of rice and beans to get “complete” plant-based proteins, think again. Covering your essential amino acids from a plant-based diet is easier than you think.

The widely held belief that plant-based proteins are “incomplete” or “missing” amino acids traces back to a 1971 book, Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé, who trumpeted the lower environmental toll of a plant-based diet. Lappé recommended “protein complementing” — strategically pairing plant proteins at each meal, in order to achieve a certain balance of amino acids. While there was a kernel of truth at the root of her advice, she was way off the mark in terms of what it takes to cover one’s amino acid needs.

In the tenth anniversary of her book (1981), Lappé retracted her emphasis on strategic food pairings and clarified the very limited scope of this concern.

“With three important exceptions, there is little danger of protein deficiency in a plant food diet. The exceptions are diets very heavily dependent on fruit, or on some tubers, such as sweet potatoes or cassava, or on junk food (refined flours, sugars, and fat). Fortunately, relatively few people in…