Most of us think that the only source of protein is meat, chicken, fish and other sea foods. Plant based products and other dairy products can also be a good source of protein. Nowadays you can get plenty of plant-based protein powders that can be used as a supplement for providing necessary protein. They are not only quite convenient and tasty source of protein but also can meet our requirement of daily protein intake.
Let us know the various benefits of plant-based protein. Proteins as most of you must be aware contains 20 different kinds of amino acids. Out of that, our own body can produce 11 types of amino acids. The balance 9 amino acids must be received from your food intake. Any single vegetable cannot provide all 9 sources of these amino acids and hence people who are vegetarian need to mix different vegetables to get these balance amino acids. Therefore, best vegan protein powder for muscle gain can be obtained from various combinations of protein which is 100 per cent protein like animal protein.
However, according to few experts, plant-based proteins are often not a complete protein as some of the plant sources may not be organic or can be sourced from genetically modified plants. Therefore, if you are looking for good quality plant-based protein powder, use the following tips:
- Make sure that your plant protein is organic
Make sure that the source of plant used for your protein powder is not something grown by using chemicals and pesticides. In fact, it is really a big concern as some of the protein powder are also sourced from genetically modified plants. So, always prefer organic plant source.
- Prefer for complete protein powder
Certain single source of plant-based protein does not contain all types of amino acids that is needed by us. Also, such source of protein e.g. ground chia seeds which is a complete protein but they are not total protein. Therefore, you must choose a combination of different plant-based protein source so that it makes complete protein powder.
- Sustainable source
Make sure that the sources of plant-based protein are sustainable and they are grown in such a fashion that it does not harm the environment. There are number of plant-based protein powder available that claim the product is not from any GM plant and they are sustainable. You can also confirm the same from their manufacturers.
- Quality ingredients
Most of the protein powders are bitter in taste and hence many manufacturers use certain sweeteners like sugar, honey, coconut etc. Avoid products that contain following sweeteners:
- Acesulfame-potassium
- Agave
- Aspartame
- Brown rice syrup
- Coconut sugar
- Sucralose
- Rich in nutrients
All protein sources are not created in the same way and some are rich in micronutrients and hence check the ingredients and make sure that it contains sufficient minerals and vitamins.
- Prefer non-genetic modified plant
We really do not know about the long -term effects of genetically modified plants and hence you must avoid those protein powders which contains GM plants.
- Must be gain free
Also prefer grain-free plant protein.