proteins for vegetarians?

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amy214
amy214 Posts: 18
in Introduce Yourself
I'm not vegan, but i do not eat any meat and no eggs.. i do have dairy products though.. i read somewhere that having too much soy milk increases your estrogen levels too high.. so i'm somewhat skeptical about it. i like the regular milk a lot more anyway. What are good protein sources for me? besides tofu.. i know its good for protein.. will slowly incorporate it into my diet.

Also, i discovered today that yogurt has good amounts of proteins! didnt know that!

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  • lraymond558
    lraymond558 Posts: 30
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    EDAMAME BEANS!!! you just steam or boil them and then lightly salt them. you pop their inside little peas out and eat them and GAH they are so good. i think it's something like 1/2 cup has 10g protein which is 4g mroe than one egg and has 8g fibre which is like 1/3 of what you need in a day! theyre wonderful !!

    also beans have quite a bit of protein- kidney, black, canned brown in tomato sauce, any really :)

    tofu has a good amount too, as well as the "veggie" burgers and chicken and such you can buy at grocery stores.

    if you are worried about the soy milk, you should try almond milk. i havent had it but i hear it is super yummy. and it has like 70 cal per cup or something small like that and good protein and calcium as well.

    hope it all helped !
  • That_Girl
    That_Girl Posts: 1,324 Member
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    Different veggies have protein.

    Breads and some other grains have protein.

    You can check out my food diary...I'm a vegetarian with limited soy <3

    ETA: Although the past few days have been PMS sooooooo HAHAHA Yea.
  • MsAbbz
    MsAbbz Posts: 2
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    greek yogurt in particular has a lot of protein and is very filling
  • teramae
    teramae Posts: 78 Member
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    I am a veggie too (not vegan). I typically go over my protein daily, but I have a protein shake (Whey protein, as I avoid soy as much as I can, but will occasionally have a boca burger or something). Quorn products have a decent amount of protein and are soy free. Good whole grain bread will have about 5 grms of protein, and I usually have at least one to two servings a day. Good luck
  • SaraTonin
    SaraTonin Posts: 551 Member
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    Cottage cheese gets a bad rap. If you buy low fat it has SO MUCH protein!

    Protein shakes.

    Nuts nuts nuts.
  • misslucy12
    misslucy12 Posts: 2
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    I really like textured vegetable protein. Things from Morning Star and there's a Safeway brand mandarin meat-free chicken that's really good. Most types of beans, cheeses, and peanut butter. Then of course there's tofu. Getting enough protein is always fun as a vegetarian. (:
  • Steen918
    Steen918 Posts: 9
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    I'm a vegetarian too! YAY!

    Greek yogurt
    natural peanut butter
    quinoa
    dark red kidney beans
    tofu
    seitan
    tempeh

    Yum yum yum!
  • habibti
    habibti Posts: 56 Member
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    In looking over my food diary, in the past week I've gotten most of my protein from lentils and beans (all homemade - lentil loaf with green lentils, palak chana, moong beans, low fat hummus made with yogurt instead of tahina, yellow and red lentil daal's) and I've also started having Genisoy protein powder drink with skim milk on days that I do intense workouts.
  • runteachrun
    runteachrun Posts: 7
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    there are some great nonfat greek yogurts and i usually cut up an apple and dip it in it! Also, there are some great low-cal protein shakes that taste decent! and non-fat milk has like 8 grams per cup!
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    Soy has phytoestrogens, which can increase your body's estrogen levels. That's why men aren't supposed to eat too much soy.

    Without eating meat or eggs the types of protein you can eat will have a lot of carbs and/or fat.
  • That_Girl
    That_Girl Posts: 1,324 Member
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    Soy has phytoestrogens, which can increase your body's estrogen levels. That's why men aren't supposed to eat too much soy.

    Without eating meat or eggs the types of protein you can eat will have a lot of carbs and/or fat.

    Women shouldn't eat that much soy either. It does mess with your fertility in the long run. Just putting that out there. When I had my female problems (which led to surgery last November) my doctor, knowing I was vegetarian, told me to lay off the soy because it was making the tumor thrive because of the Estrogen. I cut it out and hardly have it now. I don't need hormone therapy at this point. Yay!
  • Dom_m
    Dom_m Posts: 336 Member
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    Soy has phytoestrogens, which can increase your body's estrogen levels. That's why men aren't supposed to eat too much soy.

    Without eating meat or eggs the types of protein you can eat will have a lot of carbs and/or fat.

    Women shouldn't eat that much soy either. It does mess with your fertility in the long run. Just putting that out there. ...

    There is little strong evidence that eating soy beans or soy products increases your estrogen levels in any dangerous sense in either men or woman. Also, the comment above seems to imply (maybe not intentionally) that eating protein with "a lot of carbs and/or fat" is a bad thing, but actually this is quite appropriate.

    I know its not the most authoritative source, but this from wikipedia is based on recent literature reviews addressing this question:
    (the conclusions are basically: no evidence of health problems in healthy people except possible increase in risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women, health benefits include reduced risk of cancer in Asians and reduced risk of prostate cancer in men)

    Phytoestrogen

    Soybeans contain isoflavones called genistein and daidzein, which are one source of phytoestrogens in the human diet. Because most naturally occurring estrogenic substances show weak activity, normal consumption of foods that contain these phytoestrogens should not provide sufficient amounts to elicit a physiological response in humans.[85]

    Plant lignans associated with high fiber foods such as cereal brans and beans are the principal precursor to mammalian lignans which have an ability to bind to human estrogen sites. Soybeans are a significant source of mammalian lignan precursor secoisolariciresinol containing 13–273 µg/100 g dry weight.[86] Another phytoestrogen in the human diet with estrogen activity is coumestans, which are found in beans, split-peas, with the best sources being alfalfa, clover, and soybean sprouts.

    Coumestrol, an isoflavone coumarin derivative is the only coumestan in foods.[87][88]
    Soybeans and processed soy foods are among the richest foods in total phytoestrogens (wet basis per 100g), which are present primarily in the form of the isoflavones daidzein and genistein.[89]

    *Women*
    A 2001 literature review suggested that women with current or past breast cancer should be aware of the risks of potential tumor growth when taking soy products, based on the effect of phytoestrogens to promote breast cancer cell growth in animals.[90] A 2006 commentary reviewed the relationship with soy and breast cancer. They stated that soy may prevent breast cancer, but cautioned that the impact of isoflavones on breast tissue needs to be evaluated at the cellular level in women at high risk for breast cancer.[91] A high consumption of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are found in most types of vegetable oil including soybean oil, may increase the likelihood that postmenopausal women will develop breast cancer.[92] Another analysis suggests an inverse association between total polyunsaturated fatty acids and breast cancer risk.[93] A 2011 analysis of the literature concluded that:- "Our study suggests soy isoflavones intake is associated with a significant reduced risk of breast cancer incidence in Asian populations, but not in Western populations."[94]

    *Men*
    Because of the phytoestrogen content, some studies have suggested that soybean ingestion may influence testosterone levels in men. However, a 2010 meta analysis of 15 placebo controlled studies showed that neither soy foods nor isoflavone supplements alter measures of bioavailable testosterone concentrations in men [95] It has been hypothesized that soy foods and enterolactone may increase the development of prostate cancer although no significant associations were observed for the soy isoflavones.[96] Furthermore, soy consumption has been shown to have no effect on the levels and quality of sperm [97]A 2009 meta-analysis of the research on the association between soy consumption and prostate cancer risk in men concluded that,"consumption of soy foods is associated with a reduction in prostate cancer risk in men."[98]
  • That_Girl
    That_Girl Posts: 1,324 Member
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    Well, I just went by what my doctor told me. I didn't want that tumor to thrive! They removed it and it hasn't come back (benign but painful) so I'm thankful.

    Eat what you want to eat. It's a choice. I'm just saying what I heard and have read. I limit my vegetarian daughters' soy because I'd rather be safe than sorry.
  • sooh2011
    sooh2011 Posts: 134 Member
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    Soy has phytoestrogens, which can increase your body's estrogen levels. That's why men aren't supposed to eat too much soy.

    Without eating meat or eggs the types of protein you can eat will have a lot of carbs and/or fat.


    There is no estrogen in soy like the estrogen our bodies produces. Phytoestrogens act against estrogen and are beneficial.
  • That_Girl
    That_Girl Posts: 1,324 Member
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    Well, eat what you want. People can research and do what they want regarding food.

    However, just because I don't eat meat, that doesn't mean my protein has more carbs and fat than meat.

    At least I never go over my goals...and I'm 99% satisfied with my daily intake of food.

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