Nutrition Science and Everyday Application - beta v 0.1

336 ALICE CALLAHAN, PHD, HEATHER LEONARD, MED, RDN, AND TAMBERLY POWELL, MS, RDN
Foods Lacking Amino Acids Complementary Food Complementary Menu
Legumes Methionine, tryptophan Grains, nuts, and seeds Hummus and whole-wheat pita
Grains Lysine, isoleucine, threonine Legumes Cornbread and kidney bean chili
Nuts and seeds Lysine, isoleucine Legumes Stir-fried tofu with cashews
Table 6.4. Complementary protein sources
The second component of protein quality is digestibility, as not all protein sources are
equally digested. In general, animal-based proteins are more fully digested than plantbased
proteins, because some proteins are contained in the plant’s fibrous cell walls and
these pass through the digestive tract unabsorbed by the body. Animal proteins tend to be
95 percent or more digestible; soy is estimated at 91 percent; and many grains are around
85 to 88 percent digestible. 3
Self-Check
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/nutritionscience/?p=552#h5p-16
Attributions:
• “Proteins, Diet, and Personal Choice”, section 6.4 from the book An Introduction to
Nutrition (v. 1.0), CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
References:
• 1 Thomas, D. T., Erdman, K. A., & Burke, L. M. (2016). Position of Dietitians of
Canada, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American College of
Sports Medicine: Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Journal of the Academy of