Q: beans and amino acid balancing

[phantom power]

Once upon a time, I recall reading about some mixture of three common beans that provided a nutritionally complete balance of amino acids. Or maybe it was beans and a grain, or something. Anyway, I was thinking about using less meat, and I was trying to find a reference to these beans. Any vegetarians out there who can clue me in?

[Dora]

1. Rice

Beans and rice, rice and beans. Don't know why, but that's what I know.

added on edit: Try posting your question in the Cooking group. Someone there could answer your question, I'm sure.

[tigereye]

2. Diet for a Small Planet

was the old school bible for that stuff. I'm sure there are more up to date references around now....


is there a reason that a question about beans is in the Energy Forum?

:silly:

[AllyCat]

6. Food is energy? n/t

[phantom power]

7. Yes, my reasons are threefold

1) I have a theory that the conditional probability of vegetarians (and/or survivalists) is higher in this forum, than others.

2) My interest in the topic is tangentially linked to the possibility of meat becoming more expensive, due to oncoming environmental and energy problems.

3) I do almost all my posting in this forum, and I'm lazy.

[Warpy]

11. The information has been updated

to the point that you need all the 8 essential amino acids in your diet, but that you don't need to get them in the same meal. In other words, you can eat grains in the mornings and seeds and legumes at lunch and still get the full benefit.

Even though protein combining in recipes is obsolete, I still enjoy Lappe's recipes tremendously, and let's face it, most vegetarian foods taste better in combination.

It's just nice to know you don't have to be that fussy about it.

I'm sure there's room for the expelled methane in bean farts in a sane energy policy. The problem is coming up with collection devices that are both discreet and comfortable.

[tigereye]

12. you know

I'm going to save that quote! ;)

"I'm sure there's room for the expelled methane in bean farts in a sane energy policy."

[rog]

3. Quinoa ... a grain from South America

Great balance of all 8 amino acids.

Here are a bunch of Google hits that should help you.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22amino+acids%22+quinoa

.rog.

[AllyCat]

4. Hmmm...well most beans plus rice will provide all essential AAs

That's what I learned in nutrition class.

You might look at the ingredients in Ezekial bread (from Ez. 4:9). It is supposedly a perfect protein. Ingredients in a tortilla I like includes sprouted grains, but I think any will do.

Sprouted wheat, sprouted unhulled sesame seeds, sprouted soybeans, sprouted barley, sprouted millet, and sprouted lentils.

I've just always eaten a variety of organic whole grains and organic legumes to obtain the correct protein levels. I've not eaten meat in almost 20 years and am quite healthy.

Good luck!

[GumboYaYa]

5. Including legumes and grains in your daily diet will

ordinarily give you a complete protein. You don't have to eat them at the same time as long as you eat each daily.

The question about beans is in the energy forum, b/c it takes substantially more energy to produce meat than to produce veggies. Our addiction to meat is one of the largest wastes of energy in our culture. Short of getting rid of your car, going vegeterian may be the best way to conserve energy.

[Kolesar]

10. I became a vegetarian for "sustainability" reasons

1. sustainability
2. livestock have unpleasant lives
3. My "cheapskate" gene. I expect I am saving money dining on oatmeal

[rainy]

8. read: Nature's First Law

It is the best natural diet book out there! Basically is says that fruits and veggies are all we need and are all we were intended to eat. It goes through all of the negatives that will get thrown your way such as where will you get your protein, b-12 calcium etc.. and debunks all of the current misinformation with scientific proof that we were not meant to eat meat and cooked and or processed foods.
It is a must read for anyone interested in their natural diet.

Plus, this diet will give you an alkaline body vs. an acid body in which no cancer can grow nor can arteries clog. Plus, you achieve a perfect weight.

[midnight armadillo]

18. Question about this book

It is the best natural diet book out there! Basically is says that
fruits and veggies are all we need and are all we were intended to eat.
It goes through all of the negatives that will get thrown your way such
as where will you get your protein, b-12 calcium etc.. and debunks all
of the current misinformation with scientific proof that we were not
meant to eat meat and cooked and or processed foods.
It is a must read for anyone interested in their natural diet.


Well, how does this book account for the presence of the 4 canine teeth in the human jaw, which are admirably suited for ripping and tearing meat if we're not intended to eat it?

Humans are omnivorous, period. While I won't defend the modern American diet and certainly agree that making grains, fruits, leafy things, and veggies the centerpiece of your diet is an excellent idea, consuming some meat & fish isn't going to hurt. I pretty much just stick with poultry , fish, and low-fat dairy for animal proteins, myself. There is ample evidence that there are a wide variety of diets that are very healthy for humans, and which is best may depend on your genetic background.

George Carlin joke: If God didn't want us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them out of meat.

[Kolesar]

9. Those amino acids you are trying to get in beans actually exist in grains

They just exist in smaller proportions. You ought to be able to get enough of them even just eating grains. However, I recommend eating beans & seeds because they taste good!

"I read it on the internet"

[Speck Tater]

13. Beans plus Corn OR Rice OR Amaranth (nt)

[Dogmudgeon]

14. Amino Acid Pooling

As someone mentioned, you don't need to combine the foods to get complete protein. This has been called "Amino Acid Pooling", and I believe it was studied with Lappe's theories in mind. The latest version of Diet for a Small Planet has a chapter on it, if I'm not mistaken (if I am, it could be a newer book by Lappe).

Beano and other anti-flatus additives, by the way, are not particularly exotic or dangerous chemicals. They are enzymes from Apergillus niger and the body handles them very well. The stuff can be made in a small lab at very low cost. If beans become more popular as food (e.g., during periods of meat scarcity), it is sure to drop in price.

A vegetarian diet usually requires supplementation of B12 and iodine. Kelp and other sea vegetables are good for iodine, but the B12 will probably have to come from pills.

--p!

[Dora]

15. Vegans will need B12 supplementation, but others are OK

If you're an ovo-lacto vegetarian who eats dairy and eggs several times a week, then you should be okay on your B12 levels. It's vegans who don't get enough B12 in their diets and can start to exhibit symptoms of B-12 anemia, aka pernicious anemia. Which, by the way, is a lousy thing to have, but it is treatable and in a vegan's case, it is reversible.



I'm a carnivore who was diagnosed with pernicious anemia a couple of years ago, and I've since done a lot of reading on the topic: geeking over.

[amazona]

17. B12 not well digested in oral form

You can try pills that melt under the tongue but if you have pernicious anemia, then it is likely because you have lost the ability to digest B12 and you should have the injections or you just keep losing brain function. I knew someone who had this. It can happen to meat-eaters too. Apparently it just happens to a certain proportion of people over 50.

[Dora]

19. Yes, I inject.

Cyanocobalamin, 2x a month. It's made a phenomenal difference in my life (btw, 50 is years and years away from me yet).

[amazona]

16. yeah but you don't have to do that

This idea was popularized in Diet for a Small Planet. It proved to be superstition. You don't have to eat all of the amino acids together to get a complete protein. It's OK if you eat them at different meals. But if you are really worried about having a complete protein, all you really have to do is eat egg or soy (both are complete proteins) or you can be sure to have beans and a grain. It doesn't have to be much. A bean burrito is complete because the cornmeal in the taco shell is a grain! Another classic meal would be beans and rice. It is more difficult to avoid protein if you have to go on a low protein diet for any reason than it is to get enough protein. I tried it for a time to fight my allergies, and you'd be amazed how hard it is to actually eat and still have a low protein diet. You'll be fine.

P.S. Maybe don't eat soy or hold down the soy if you also have allergies.