Basic Nutrition Comparison for Common Sources of Protein

One of the big questions that comes up is around nutrition, protein and vitamins. In particular people want to know how much protein they are getting if they substitute an animal source with a plant based-source. These kinds of questions are totally valid and I love getting them because it forces me to look up the answers and become better informed myself.

These tables are based on readily available information on the internet. Most of these stats come from https://www.fatsecret.ca as well as the Nutritional information published on bags of legumes. Amounts of vitamins and nutrients vary between different cuts of animal flesh but this should act as a guide for those wondering how all these sources of protein stack up. We hope you find this useful.

While it is true that most plant-based sources of protein do not include all the amino acids required by the body, the current thinking that I have read is that if you follow a varied, whole food, plant-based diet then you will get all the amino acids you need to be healthy. This seems to update the older thinking that you had to combine legumes with grains at a meal to get a complete protein.

Click here for a pdf chart of the protein and calories of some of our favourite foods. This has everything from almonds to walnuts and everything in between. This a good little chart to put on your fridge to help you get enough protein every day. The standard of .8 g. of protein per kilo of body weight is tough to get. Now days some people are recommending 1 g. of protein per pound of body weight which seems extreme.

Note that the legume portions are for dry beans which typically more than double in size when cooked.

	Beef	Chicken	Pork	Lamb	Salmon	Egg	milk
Serving Size	100 g	100 g	100 g	100 g	100 g	100 g	100 g
Calories	276	237	271	292	146	147	50
Total Fat	18.58 g	13.49 g	17.04 g	20.77 g	5.93 g	9.94 g	2 g
Saturated Fat	7.19 g	3.76 g	6.17 g	8.76 g	1.26 g	3.1 g	1.21 g
Trans Fat	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Polyunsaturated Fat	.52 g	2.94 g	1.44 g	1.5 g	1.99 g	1.36 g	.01 g
Monounsaturated Fat	8.56 g	5.3 g	7.58 g	8.75 g	2.13 g	3.81 g	.53 g
Cholesterol	88 mg	87 mg	90 mg	96 mg	45 mg	423 mg	7 mg
Sodium	400 mg	404 gm	384 mg	394 mg	46 mg	140 mg	41 mg
Total Carbohydrates	0	0	0	0	0	.77 g	4.71 g
Dietary Fiber	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sugar	0	0	0	0	0	.77 g	5.16 g
Protein	25.35 g	27.07 g	27.34 g	24.23 g	21.62 g	12.58 g	3.29 g
Vitamin D	0	0	0	0	0	1 mcg	0
Calcium	30 mg	15 mg	25 mg		36 mg	53 mg	117 mg
Iron	2.35 mg	1.25 mg	1.09 mg		.56 mg	1.83 mg	.08 mg
Potassium	287 mg	221 mg	351 mg	307 mg	423 mg	134 mg	148 mg
Vitamin A	0	48 mcg	2 mcg		30 mcg	140 mcg	46 mcg
Vitamin C	0	0	.3 mcg		1 mcg	0	.1 mcg
Vitamin B12	1.3 ug	.03 ug	.05 ug	2.6 ug	2.8 ug	1.3 ug	.36 ug

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	Yellow Split Peas	Firm Tofu	Chickpeas	Black Beans	Lentils	Cheddar
Serving Size	100 g	100 g	100 g	100 g	100 g	100 g
Calories	341	145	330	350	353	403
Total Fat	1.16 g	8.72g	6 g	1 g	1.063 g	33.14 g
Saturated Fat	0.16 g	1.26 g	1 g	0	.516 g	21 g
Trans Fat	0	0	0	0	0	0
Polyunsaturated Fat	.46 g	4.92 g	1.33 g	.61 g	.516 g	.94 g
Monounsaturated Fat	.24 g	1.92 g	.67 g	.12 g	.198 g	9.39 g
Cholesterol	0	0	0	0	0	105 mg
Sodium	15 mg	14 mg	10 mg	5 mg	6 g	621 mg
Total Carbohydrates	60.37 g	4.28 g	60 g	63 g	60 g	1.28 g
Dietary Fiber	25.5 g	2.3 g	19 g	15.2 g	30.5 g	0
Sugar	8 g	0g	3 g	2 g	2.03 g	.52 g
Protein	24.55 g	15.78 g	18 g	21.6 g	25.8 g	24.9 g
Vitamin D	0	0	0	0	0	0
Calcium	55 mg	683 mg	60.4 mg	123 mg	56 mg	721 mg
Iron	4.43 mg	2.6 mg	3 mg	5.02 mg	7.54 mg	.68 mg
Potassium	981 mg	237 mg	433 mg	1483 mg	955 mg	98 mg
Vitamin A	7 mcg	8 mcg	0	0	2 mcg	256 mcg
Vitamin C	1.8 mcg	.2 mcg	1 mg	0	4.4 mcg	0
Vitamin B12	0	0	0	0	0	1.1 ug