Seitan isn’t easy to find and prepare in most of the US.
You can buy the wheat gluten for cheap, but it takes a lot of time to make seitan from that. The prepackaged seitan often comes in small quantities and has a lot of preservatives.
My coastal elitism is showing. It’s easy to find in the areas of Baltimore, Chicago, and NYC where I have lived. Obviously not a representative sample of cities, but I think it’s a valid protein source to include for this kind of article that talks about the future of high protein diets.
The more I have looked into this, the more it seems overstated. You do not need every source of protein to have a perfect amino acid profile. Seitan has every essential amino acid. Aside from competitive body building, this is not something to worry about.
My understanding is it's low in lysine, meaning you just need to consume lysine rich foods as well. Might bring down the protein/kcal a bit but it can stand at 25g protein/100kcal depending on how it's prepared.
It's true that seitan is relatively low in lysine (You can see it's profile compared to ideal amino acid ratio given by the NAM here: https://tools.myfooddata.com/protein-calculator/168147/oz/1/1). The NAM lists Lysine requirements as 31 mg/kg/day for adults. For a man weighing 200 lb/ 91 kg this is a recommended 2821 mg of lysine. The source says 1 oz of vital wheat gluten has 794 mg lysine.
However, this doesn't necessarily mean it is a bad protein source. A standard 2 oz serving of seitan -- assuming it's half water and half vital wheat gluten -- provides around 30% of your daily lysine. This is great as far as proteins go! Seitan has more protein and more lysine than a 2 oz egg for comparison. The relatively low percentage of lysine is not a problem in absolute terms, given you eat enough seitan. This can be achieved with a modest 7 oz of seitan per day. Any excessive amino acids will be excreted.
If you are concerned about the maximizing utilization of amino acids or can't eat enough protein in absolute terms, lysine supplementation is possible. Lysine is added to pig feed and humanitarian flour rations for the corresponding reasons. I personally supplement since I'm not great about combining food sources.
Thanks for this analysis, Lewis, but I'm old enough to have seen protein fads & pushers come & go many times, about once a decade at least since the post-World War II & Great Depression years. Protein fads tend to collapse of their own weight within a year or two, so as with any other food fad, trying to project dietary trends from the short term tends to go far awry. Over time, the major consumption trends always tend to center on the same foods people have eaten for centuries, in amounts roughly proportional to affluence & production capacity: wheat, corn, beans, lentils, rice, oats & chickpeas, with relatively small amounts of meat, coming mostly from the animals most economically produced in or near the points of consumption. Where raising any animals is costly, mostly due to water scarcity, diets and indeed whole cultures shift toward consumption of plant protein, as in much of India, China, and Africa, even though relatively few people in those places are completely vegan or vegetarian. As global warming increases water scarcity, it is unlikely that current U.S. & other developed world trends will deviate far from global historical trends in the long run of history, no matter what we see going on right here & now.
1. This protein craze is an unfortunate development really. Not only does it condemn animals to more suffering, there is also precious little scientific to support those high levels -- upwards of 1.2g/kg - that are being pushed by health influencers. Conversely, there is plenty of evidence that gains from protein taper a little over 1g/kg. But I do think that much like fad diets promising miraculous health and wellbeing outcomes, this one will eventually fizzle out.
2. I am actually cautiously optimistic that plant proteins would be embraced more in coming years by far more people. The primary reason is because, compared to even a few years ago, the more scientifically minded fitness experts are now conceding that plant proteins can be no less beneficial to muscle growth provided that it is taken in sufficient quantity (perhaps controlling for leucine). You mentioned Andrew Huberman in your post promoting that ridiculous 2.2g/kg but on the other hand, two of his guests in the last several months - Alan Aragon and Christopher Gardner - made the point that plant proteins are just as good as animal derived ones.
I agree with the overall sentiment of the article. Just one concern though I think it's important that plant based alternatives should mimic the protein content of the product they are mimicking. For instance, vegan yogurt I like to get the one with higher protein otherwise personally it's harder for me to reach my protein goals as an active athlete
Good Q. I think there's a major difference between the cruelty footprint of caged and free-range eggs. Pasture-raised are the best if you can find them
No other source, sorry. But I should have clarified that I didn't just ask ChatGPT how many hours per serving for all of the products. I took it through a series of prompts, starting with commercial lifespans and servings per animal, and it provided external sources that I (quickly) verified for each of those inputs. So I'd be surprised if it's more than ~2X off
Yes! I stopped eating meat because of the way the animals are treated. You can Get plenty of protein from a vegetarian diet, even a vegan diet. If you pay attention to the ingredients. And it's not just about the cruelty, it's about the entire life of the earth. Cows alone emit more methane ... Well, I forget the statistic, but you get the picture.
I hope you don’t mind that I’m reaching you via comments. Substack has limited my messages today to let you know I’ve included you in my post.
I wanted to let you know that I’ve included Coefficient Giving Farm Animal Welfare Newsletter in my new post listing over 200 vegan resources on Substack. I hope you like it! I’m hoping to help readers discover more of the vegan publishing community here.
Please let me know if you’d like any updates or edits to your entry. If you feel this guide is useful, you’re welcome to share or restack so others can find it too. But no worries if not. Have a wonderful day!
Personal experience fwiw but Kevin Hart and Tom Brady have protein brands and are both mega influencers. I use Kevin Hart’s a lot and it tastes great. I also use BodyHealth PerfectAmino bars. All of this is plant based. Aside from me personally liking it, it’s good data that major influencers are changing the dynamics of the market by pushing their own more ethical and arguably healthier options.
I also heard (testimonial evidence for what it’s worth) that humans can’t process much more than 30 grams or so of protein in a day. So maybe another component is education on that front and incentivizing the use of amino acids and creatine that will help people use the most of more appropriate portions of the protein they consume, overall helping them make healthier decisions while leaving the unnecessary animals out of it.
After hearing that on average, most people eat more protein than they need, I just started reducing or leaving out animal products about 10+ years ago without worrying about protein intake. Eventually I started eating legumes and paying more attention to protein, but unfortunately I still have the impression that there are quite many vegans and vegan activists out there who decry protein and do not consume enough.
My current understanding of daily protein recommendations in g per kg of body weight: 0.8 g is minimum according to the German Society of Nutrition (DGE), people who are physicially active and the elderly should eat 1.1-1.2 g and people who rely on plant-based protein should target at least 1 g.
Therefore I think that instead of talking about a "protein hype", it might make much more sense to draw attention to the fact that there are some people who should eat more of it, while for others overconsumption can be harmful. Informing people about the results of the Rotterdam analysis on the relationship between protein quality and the risk of heart disease may help: protein from meat and milk increases risk, plant-based protein (especially from potatoes and grains) overall has no effect, while plant-based protein from legumes, nuts, vegetables, and fruit was associated with a reduced risk.
This may not always incentivize legume consumption but maybe at least boost the demand for plant-based protein powders compared to whey-based ones and may neutralize the threat of "ultra-processed products". Nevertheless, I do see some culinary potential in traditional foreign products like crunchy tempeh, well seasonsed hummus or Turkish lentil soup with lemon, where people don't see the legumes as much.
Whey protein is of higher quality and cheaper than meat and plant-based protein. Milk already is popular and has a strong lobby. It is much easier to convince people to get their protein that way than to get them to be vegan.
I wish seitan made it onto more of these charts. It is reliably above 20gp/100kcal and easy to find and prepare.
Good point! That was an oversight. I'm also a big fan of seitan
Seitan isn’t easy to find and prepare in most of the US.
You can buy the wheat gluten for cheap, but it takes a lot of time to make seitan from that. The prepackaged seitan often comes in small quantities and has a lot of preservatives.
My coastal elitism is showing. It’s easy to find in the areas of Baltimore, Chicago, and NYC where I have lived. Obviously not a representative sample of cities, but I think it’s a valid protein source to include for this kind of article that talks about the future of high protein diets.
I agree so much, and you can find "natural" without much fat
unless you're celiac. It's pure gluten!
Seitan isn’t a good source of protein, it has a bad protein profile
The more I have looked into this, the more it seems overstated. You do not need every source of protein to have a perfect amino acid profile. Seitan has every essential amino acid. Aside from competitive body building, this is not something to worry about.
Yeah, seems about right tbh, it is overstated
What makes you say that?
I gave the reason in my original comment
My understanding is it's low in lysine, meaning you just need to consume lysine rich foods as well. Might bring down the protein/kcal a bit but it can stand at 25g protein/100kcal depending on how it's prepared.
It's true that seitan is relatively low in lysine (You can see it's profile compared to ideal amino acid ratio given by the NAM here: https://tools.myfooddata.com/protein-calculator/168147/oz/1/1). The NAM lists Lysine requirements as 31 mg/kg/day for adults. For a man weighing 200 lb/ 91 kg this is a recommended 2821 mg of lysine. The source says 1 oz of vital wheat gluten has 794 mg lysine.
However, this doesn't necessarily mean it is a bad protein source. A standard 2 oz serving of seitan -- assuming it's half water and half vital wheat gluten -- provides around 30% of your daily lysine. This is great as far as proteins go! Seitan has more protein and more lysine than a 2 oz egg for comparison. The relatively low percentage of lysine is not a problem in absolute terms, given you eat enough seitan. This can be achieved with a modest 7 oz of seitan per day. Any excessive amino acids will be excreted.
If you are concerned about the maximizing utilization of amino acids or can't eat enough protein in absolute terms, lysine supplementation is possible. Lysine is added to pig feed and humanitarian flour rations for the corresponding reasons. I personally supplement since I'm not great about combining food sources.
Could you give a link to some research about lysine addition to pigs feed? And other similar data examples showing how "natural" meat production is.
Thanks for this analysis, Lewis, but I'm old enough to have seen protein fads & pushers come & go many times, about once a decade at least since the post-World War II & Great Depression years. Protein fads tend to collapse of their own weight within a year or two, so as with any other food fad, trying to project dietary trends from the short term tends to go far awry. Over time, the major consumption trends always tend to center on the same foods people have eaten for centuries, in amounts roughly proportional to affluence & production capacity: wheat, corn, beans, lentils, rice, oats & chickpeas, with relatively small amounts of meat, coming mostly from the animals most economically produced in or near the points of consumption. Where raising any animals is costly, mostly due to water scarcity, diets and indeed whole cultures shift toward consumption of plant protein, as in much of India, China, and Africa, even though relatively few people in those places are completely vegan or vegetarian. As global warming increases water scarcity, it is unlikely that current U.S. & other developed world trends will deviate far from global historical trends in the long run of history, no matter what we see going on right here & now.
Thanks for the piece. A couple of observations:
1. This protein craze is an unfortunate development really. Not only does it condemn animals to more suffering, there is also precious little scientific to support those high levels -- upwards of 1.2g/kg - that are being pushed by health influencers. Conversely, there is plenty of evidence that gains from protein taper a little over 1g/kg. But I do think that much like fad diets promising miraculous health and wellbeing outcomes, this one will eventually fizzle out.
2. I am actually cautiously optimistic that plant proteins would be embraced more in coming years by far more people. The primary reason is because, compared to even a few years ago, the more scientifically minded fitness experts are now conceding that plant proteins can be no less beneficial to muscle growth provided that it is taken in sufficient quantity (perhaps controlling for leucine). You mentioned Andrew Huberman in your post promoting that ridiculous 2.2g/kg but on the other hand, two of his guests in the last several months - Alan Aragon and Christopher Gardner - made the point that plant proteins are just as good as animal derived ones.
I agree with the overall sentiment of the article. Just one concern though I think it's important that plant based alternatives should mimic the protein content of the product they are mimicking. For instance, vegan yogurt I like to get the one with higher protein otherwise personally it's harder for me to reach my protein goals as an active athlete
yes and most vegan cheese is zero protein, all coconut oil :(
Thank you for this this clear and useful. Eggs come out looking very "cruel".
Does this include eggs from free range hens?
Good Q. I think there's a major difference between the cruelty footprint of caged and free-range eggs. Pasture-raised are the best if you can find them
Brilliant Lewis. Well done!
Very interesting! Do you by any chance have another source for the 'Hours of Animal Life per Serving' tabel?
No other source, sorry. But I should have clarified that I didn't just ask ChatGPT how many hours per serving for all of the products. I took it through a series of prompts, starting with commercial lifespans and servings per animal, and it provided external sources that I (quickly) verified for each of those inputs. So I'd be surprised if it's more than ~2X off
This might be relevant: https://faunalytics.org/animal-product-impact-scales/
From memory the "days of suffering" here is the same as "days of animal life"
Very well-written and sensible analysis by Lewis.
Yes! I stopped eating meat because of the way the animals are treated. You can Get plenty of protein from a vegetarian diet, even a vegan diet. If you pay attention to the ingredients. And it's not just about the cruelty, it's about the entire life of the earth. Cows alone emit more methane ... Well, I forget the statistic, but you get the picture.
Hi Lewis,
I hope you don’t mind that I’m reaching you via comments. Substack has limited my messages today to let you know I’ve included you in my post.
I wanted to let you know that I’ve included Coefficient Giving Farm Animal Welfare Newsletter in my new post listing over 200 vegan resources on Substack. I hope you like it! I’m hoping to help readers discover more of the vegan publishing community here.
Here’s the link if you’d like to take a look:
https://plus.shovelandcrunch.com/p/vegan-substack-resources-guide-a
Please let me know if you’d like any updates or edits to your entry. If you feel this guide is useful, you’re welcome to share or restack so others can find it too. But no worries if not. Have a wonderful day!
Shell
Personal experience fwiw but Kevin Hart and Tom Brady have protein brands and are both mega influencers. I use Kevin Hart’s a lot and it tastes great. I also use BodyHealth PerfectAmino bars. All of this is plant based. Aside from me personally liking it, it’s good data that major influencers are changing the dynamics of the market by pushing their own more ethical and arguably healthier options.
I also heard (testimonial evidence for what it’s worth) that humans can’t process much more than 30 grams or so of protein in a day. So maybe another component is education on that front and incentivizing the use of amino acids and creatine that will help people use the most of more appropriate portions of the protein they consume, overall helping them make healthier decisions while leaving the unnecessary animals out of it.
After hearing that on average, most people eat more protein than they need, I just started reducing or leaving out animal products about 10+ years ago without worrying about protein intake. Eventually I started eating legumes and paying more attention to protein, but unfortunately I still have the impression that there are quite many vegans and vegan activists out there who decry protein and do not consume enough.
My current understanding of daily protein recommendations in g per kg of body weight: 0.8 g is minimum according to the German Society of Nutrition (DGE), people who are physicially active and the elderly should eat 1.1-1.2 g and people who rely on plant-based protein should target at least 1 g.
Therefore I think that instead of talking about a "protein hype", it might make much more sense to draw attention to the fact that there are some people who should eat more of it, while for others overconsumption can be harmful. Informing people about the results of the Rotterdam analysis on the relationship between protein quality and the risk of heart disease may help: protein from meat and milk increases risk, plant-based protein (especially from potatoes and grains) overall has no effect, while plant-based protein from legumes, nuts, vegetables, and fruit was associated with a reduced risk.
This may not always incentivize legume consumption but maybe at least boost the demand for plant-based protein powders compared to whey-based ones and may neutralize the threat of "ultra-processed products". Nevertheless, I do see some culinary potential in traditional foreign products like crunchy tempeh, well seasonsed hummus or Turkish lentil soup with lemon, where people don't see the legumes as much.
Whey protein is of higher quality and cheaper than meat and plant-based protein. Milk already is popular and has a strong lobby. It is much easier to convince people to get their protein that way than to get them to be vegan.