“If All You Ate Were Potatoes, You’d Get All Your Amino Acids”

The sentence above is haunting me.

Doug asked:

“I still don’t understand why more care isn’t necessary to avoid deficiencies of the essential amino acids. Is it the case that these amino acids are present in all fruits and vegetables? (I didn’t think this was so, but you mentioned on that other thread that thinking has changed in this regard.) Or is it simply that easy to avoid a deficiency of an essential amino acid by consuming any mixture of fruits and vegetables?”

Doug, I would answer “Yes.” to your last question. I thought it summed up the facts well.

Plants are capable of manufacturing all 20 amino acids, which include the essential amino acids (EAAs), although amounts vary. I checked a number of foods (potatoes, broccoli, tomatoes, asparagus, corn, rice, oatmeal, beans, and others) and found all EAAs in each of these foods. Even an apple which is listed as having 0 grams of protein has all the EAAs, albeit it small amounts.

Since I said in an earlier comment, “No mixing of foods is necessary. If all you ate were potatoes, you’d get all your amino acids,” I felt obliged to back it up. Below is my back-up.

• The first column lists all 8 EAAs for adults.
• The second column lists the World Health Organization’s recommended intake per body weight.
• The third column lists the specific RDI for a 120 lb adult.
• The fourth column lists the amount of each AA in a medium potato, with skin.
• The fifth column lists the amount of each AA in 5 medium potatoes.
• The last column lists the % of recommended intake (for a 120 lb adult) for each AA when 5 potatoes are consumed.

Click for larger.- The WHO’s recommended intakes represent the minimum amount for an individual with the highest need, multiplied by a factor of 2 for safety.
– Methionine + Cysteine = Total Sulfur Amino Acids
– Phenylalanine + Tyrosine = Total Aromatic Amino Acids
– WHO: World Health Organization
– EAA: Essential Amino Acid

For a 120 pound adult, five potatoes (960 calories) supply over 100% of the recommended intake for all essential amino acids. They also supply 25 grams of total protein.
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It’s pretty difficult for an adult to eat a plant-based, vegetarian diet that doesn’t provide all EAAs, as long as caloric needs are met.

Finally – The pool of AAs that our body uses to manufacture its own proteins isn’t limited by what we eat. Normal daily turnover of our cells provides a substantial pool from which to draw amino acids. Bacteria that line our colon also manufacture AAs, including EAAs, that we can utilize.

It is a misconception that plants provide “incomplete protein”, regardless of what Ms. Lappe advanced in her 1971 book, “Diet For A Small Planet.”