The value of protein in your diet.

How Good Is Your Protein? | Biological Value Of Proteins

When most people hear the term "protein," they immediately think of a particular brand of supplement.

First and foremost, I'd like to emphasize that supplements are not the focus of this essay.

Instead, we'll look at different types of proteins and how they're processed by the body.

It's worth noting, however, that the protein you get from supplements and the protein you can find in food is almost the same.

The only exception is that certain powdered proteins are well-isolated and absorb more quickly than others.

Supplements were designed to complement and improve your diet plan.

They're also handy and can be used in a pinch, such as after a workout or even for breakfast if you're running low on calories.

Let’s Talk Protein

As you probably already know, your body is technically a big, protein-based biological machine.

Aside from water, protein is the most common element we see in the body and more importantly, it regulates a variety of vital processes.

In a sense, protein is the building block of most of your tissues, enzymes, and hormones.

However, not all protein was made equal, meaning that the protein coming from different food sources, will be metabolized by the body in a slightly different way.

That is to say, there are high-quality sources of protein, but also, low-quality ones.

The Biological Value (BV) Of Proteins

Proteins' biological value is used to determine how well they are digested, absorbed, and preserved by the body after consumption.

To put it simply, the biological value can be used to demonstrate the efficiency of the consumed protein.

Now, there are two primary measures that help us understand more about the biological value of proteins.

Firstly, we have the amino acid profile of each protein-containing food.

For those of you who do not know this, proteins are made from amino acids.

There are 20 amino acids, 9 of which are essential, meaning that the body needs them but can’t produce them on its own.

That is to say that the more complete a certain food’s amino acid profile is, the higher its biological value.

The second thing used to measure the biological value of proteins is protein retention, or in other words, how long the protein stays in the body.

Plant VS. Animal Protein

There are two types of protein-containing foods - Complete and incomplete.

Whether they are complete or incomplete depends on the amino acid profile of that food.

Complete proteins contain all essential amino acids and are usually animal foods.

On the other hand, we have plant foods, which have an incomplete protein content, due to the fact that most plants lack certain essential amino acids.

Now, even though animal products are by far the easiest and most efficient way to get your full amino acid profile, you can do the same with just plants.

The simplest and best way to do so is to combine different sources of plant proteins (i.e beans and rice).

In doing so, you will allow each food to compensate for the lack of certain amino acids, in the food it is combined with.

This is in fact one of the main principles of vegetarian and vegan nutrition, as it allows you to meet your daily protein needs with ease!

The BV Standard

Now, in nutritional science, the biological value of proteins goes on a scale from 0 to 100.

Whole eggs (both yolk & egg white) are the standard for the biological value of proteins, measuring at 95-100 BV.

If we take the yolk out of the egg, the biological value drops with 5-10 points, down to 90-95.

With whole eggs being the golden BV standard, other foods are compared to them, in order to determine the bioavailability, as opposed to optimal quality protein (whole eggs).

Side note: Whey/isolate protein supplements have a BV of 100+.

Now, this theoretical information is important, but it brings us to the next logical question.

What Are The Best Protein Sources?

Below, we have listed the biological value of the most common protein sources we can find on the market nowadays, including both food and supplements:

1.Whey isolate protein blends - 100-150 BV

2.Whole eggs - BV 100

3.Cow milk - BV 91

4.Egg white - BV 88

5.Fish - BV 83

6.Beef - BV 80

7.Chicken - BV 79

8.Casein - BV 77

9.Rice - BV 74

10.Soy - BV 59

11.Beans & legumes - BV 49

12.Peanuts - BV 43

Now, what this 12-point table means for you, is that your primary sources of protein should be the ones on the top of the list, which have higher biological value.

Nevertheless, you can combine those with other, lesser bioavailable sources of protein, such as plant protein.

Ultimately, your best bet is to put a couple of food sources at the core of your protein intake, while also diversifying with a variety of other food sources.

How Much Protein Should You Eat?

This is perhaps one of the most frequently asked questions in the fitness world, whether it’s about fat loss or muscle gain.

Now, there is no definitive answer to this question, due to the fact that we all process and use protein at slightly different rates.

Nevertheless, there are general guidelines, which recommend consuming 0.8-1g of protein per lb. of bodyweight.

The more muscle mass you have, the higher on that range you would be.

For instance, if you weigh 200 lbs and have 10% body fat, you would need right about 1g of protein per lb. of bodyweight.

Oppositely, if you weigh 200 lbs but are at 20% body fat, you’d need less protein.

Whether you’re trying to build muscle or lose fat, consuming ~1g of protein per lb. of body weight appears to be the optimal range, for both muscle gains and muscle retention.

Conclusion

The biological value of proteins (BV) tells us more about the amino acid content of each food, as well as how long its protein is retained in the body and how efficiently it is used.

Even though protein from animal foods is superior to plant protein, due to the better amino acid profile, as well as overall bioavailability, there really is no reason why someone wouldn’t be able to meet their protein needs by eating just plants alone.

Now, doing this is generally harder, but as long as you combine different sources of plant protein (i.e legumes, grains and beans), you will be good to go!

This is why, if you are not vegetarian or vegan, foods like beef, eggs, fish, and chicken, should make up the majority of your daily protein intake.

If you have any questions, feel free to send us a message