Context

The Canada Food Guide has further information which could be synthesized into a more consumer friendly format, on topics such as iron etc. In British Columbia, the Canada Food Guide is a primary resource utilized for teaching purposes. It would be beneficial for the recommendations to be supported by research which inform the consumer about choices regarding protein consumption. often. Plant-based protein foods can provide more fibre and less saturated fat than other types of protein foods.Humans need 9 essential amino acids humans to survive - the building blocks of protein. Most plant-based protein sources do not contain all 9 essential amino acids.

Canada Food Guide

Recent recommendations from the Canada Food Guide are to eat more plant proteins for main courses, when studies have shown that not all proteins are equivalent - nuts vs beef. I think it is important that the public has accurate and whole information when being advised to make changes which could impact their health.

"Animal protein is broadly recognised as having higher nutritional quality than plant-based protein. This alludes to its amino acid composition, digestibility and ability to transport other important nutrients such as calcium and iron." Day et al., 2022.

"Proteins from animal sources, particularly dairy proteins, are important for providing adequate nutrition for human, particularly infants for their cognitive and physical development." Day et al., 2022.

What's the difference between proteins?

What is protein?

Authors Day et al., (2022) find "In nature, proteins exist as well-defined three-dimensional structures (the tertiary structure) as a consequence of attractive and opposing molecular forces, including electrostatic forces, ion-pairing, van der Waals interactions, hydrogen bonding, the hydrophobic effect and conformational entropy. The hydrophobic effect is the dominant driving force in protein folding and leads to the compactness of a globular protein. Steric constraints and hydrogen bonding are largely responsible for the unique internal organisation of a protein comprising a combination of secondary structures such as α-helix, the β-sheet, and the β-turn."

"The protein foods group includes animal-based—red meats, poultry, fish, and eggs—and plant-based—soy products, beans, peas, and lentils, and nuts and seeds—protein-rich foods." Connolly et al., 2023

The dynamic conformation of a protein determines the performance of particular functional properties such as solubility, gelation, emulsification, and foaming properties. It also influences the nutritional function of the protein in a food, e.g. the accessibility to digestive enzyme attack, fragmentation into peptides, and availability of EAAs. Day et al., 2022

Protein foods differ in metabolizable energy (up to 3-fold) and macronutrient contents, including protein quantity and quality. For example, regarding protein quantity, one oz-eq of pork loin contains ~7 g of total protein, whereas one oz-eq of almonds contains ~3 g of total protein. Connolly et al., 2023

Why does it matter?

When one or more EAAs are deficient in a protein source, it can limit the capacity for protein synthesis in the human body. Day et al., 2022

Animal Proteins

Animal - animal proteins contain all essential amino acids required for human development.

Each protein source contains several classes of proteins which are structurally different, for example, the two major groups of proteins in milk – caseins and whey proteins. Day et al. 2022

Dairy, soy, egg and meat are considered complete sources of protein, as they contain all nine of the EAAs in adequate proportions for human body needs. Day et al. 2022

Plant Proteins

Plant - plant proteins contain some of the essential amino acids required for human development.

A fundamental difference between animal and plant proteins is that the plant proteins are mostly storage proteins with large and compact structures. Day et al. 2022

Plant proteins can be divided into four major classes based on their solubility and extractability in various solvents - albumins, globulins, prolamins and glutelins. Day et al. 2022

Day et al. find "Plant proteins of each of these classes exhibit different functional properties for food applications due to the molecular structures of the proteins." (2022).

Nutritional differences in Animal and Plant Proteins

Below is a table indicating protein digestibility for humans at various ages, from birth to adult. Ideally, to achieve good digestibility of protein, humans are looking to consume items with the highest scores.

"In summary, for the human body to make maximal use of dietary protein, there needs to be a readily available supply of all EAAs. The provision of EAA can be from plant or animal source. Where EAAs are lacking (limiting) complementary protein sources should be provided to ensure high quality protein and subsequent nutritional value." Day et al., 2022.

Essential Amino Acids (EAAs)

As amino acids have different affects on the human body, it is important to understand foods which contain protein profiles containing the most effective amino acids.

Nine of the twenty amino acids cannot be synthesised by the human body and so are referred to as EAAs. They are histidine, lysine, isoleucine, leucine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.

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