A while back I wrote about a wide array of sources for getting protein as a vegan. What I didn’t mention is that, as long as you’re getting a variety of healthy vegan foods in your diet, you’ll likely never have to worry about protein. Protein really isn’t something we need be concerned with. But we do need plenty of carbs. AND carbohydrates (complex carbs) are GOOD FOR YOU! Mind blowing, I know.

Here’s a really great excerpt from the book Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World , which I’ve been deeply engrossed in reading lately:

The diet that has sustained humans for centuries is optimally 10% protein, 10% fat, and 80% carbohydrates, nearly all from plant sources. Contrary to the claims of high-protein, low-carb diet fans, not all carbohydrates are bad for you. Carbohydrates, in their unprocessed forms add fiber and essential nutrients to our diet. In addition, they are the primary source for fuel in our body, especially the brain. Dr. Michael Greger explains in his book Carbophobia that when a body isn’t able to use carbohydrates as fuel, it thinks it is starving. By having to rely on fat and protein as fuel (as in a high-protein diet), the body produces chemicals known as ketones as a by-product, which are toxic and must be excreted through the lungs and kidneys (a state known as ketosis). Because the normal by-products of carbohydrate metabolism are not available, the body has no source of fuel to run correctly and thus no energy. Some side effects of this ketosis include bad breath, fatigue, weakness, headaches and dizziness, depression, nausea, and vomiting, not to mention the constipation, muscle cramps, and lack of sex drive from the diet.

This is why I’m so angry about the Atkins diet craze. It’s not a healthy way to lose weight. And since your body thinks you’re starving, it’s no wonder people balloon out as soon as they start eating carbs again. Starvation mode messes with your metabolism. Anyway, protein diets such as these lead people to assume that the only way to be healthy is by getting heaps of animal protein. But vegans win this battle. As a vegan, your cholesterol is much better, you don’t smell bad (not due to eating meat, anyway), you probably never have to worry about constipation, and the vegan diet, overall, is just much healthier than the Standard American Diet (as long as you’re not living off of Oreos and Twizzlers).

Stick with the majority of your diet consisting of fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, nuts, lentils and legumes and not overdoing the processed foods, and you’re golden. Not to mention, vegan protein is easier to absorb, and therefore we don’t need to consume as much to get the allotted protein.

So next time someone grills you about getting enough protein, assure them that 10% protein is easy- it’s the 80% carbs you need to focus on!