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I'm vegetarian and have been hearing that in addition to protein synthesis being more difficult for us, some amino-acids may be more difficult to acquire. Does anyone know of which vegetables have those aminos or know of a good source?

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This question is off topic now, since the FAQ has changed. – Informaficker Oct 21 '12 at 23:10
I'm not opposed to the change, but what specifically about the FAQ makes this off topic? – somehume Oct 23 '12 at 15:11
Basically all questions unrelated to exercise or physical appearance are off topic now, this specific one would fall under "nutrition unrelated to exercise" I guess. – Informaficker Oct 23 '12 at 15:39
Yes, it's a nutrition question unrelated to exercise or a specific exercise routine, which makes it off topic. It wasn't off topic when it was asked a year ago, though, so it's not like the OP did anything wrong. – YYY Oct 23 '12 at 21:33
Thanks for the heads up. – somehume Oct 25 '12 at 16:13

2 Answers

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Many plant foods have all the essential amino acids, but the ratios may be far-off of what your body needs, meaning you'd have to eat a huge amount in order to get an adequate dose of the rarer amino acids.

Look at this answer which examines the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) demonstrating not only which foods are complete, but how well they correlate to our dietary needs when taking into account digestibility and ratios. As a quick summary, soy has a very good ratio, followed by chickpeas, fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Grains aren't so good.

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up vote 2 down vote

The following vegetables give you a complete essential amino acid profile.

Quinoa - can be eaten like rice.

quinoa

Soybean - as tofu, milk, miso

enter image description here

Spirulina - great as a sweat drink

spirulina

Buckweat

Buckweat

Hempseed

hempseed

Amaranth

Amaranth

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2  
References > pictures. – Matthew Read Apr 11 '11 at 14:56
Thanks, I can look into it. This is a good pointer. – somehume Apr 11 '11 at 23:44

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