How does protein effect your mental and emotional wellbeing? 

Protein is a macro nutrient needed every day and in sufficient amounts to maintain optimal health. The bottom line is that protein is critical for good health.

Why Protein Quality is Important

Most of us know or have heard that our bodies require 9 essential amino acids and complete proteins to function well.

The challenge, however, is that most single plant proteins (e.g. chickpeas, rice, nuts) do not offer a “complete protein.”

Because of this, it’s important that over the course of a day or two, you consume all of the essential amino acids so your body can have the complete proteins it needs.

The good news is that soybeans offer a lot of complete protein per serving, among many other benefits.

A half-cup of soybeans offers 15.7g of complete protein, versus 7.2g of incomplete protein from chickpeas (garbanzos), or 9g for lentils.

How Protein Can Effect our Mental and Emotional Wellbeing

Depression & Anxiety

Many of the brain’s neurotransmitters, including serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline, and GABA, are made with some essential amino acids (components of proteins). Low levels of these brain chemicals have been linked to depression.

Too little protein in a diet can also lead to sleep problems, which can contribute to depression symptoms.

Adequate dopamine can also decrease anxiety levels, and sufficient protein is needed to produce dopamine.

Additionally, getting enough protein can help keep blood sugar levels stable. A drop in blood sugar can increase the production of adrenaline (the “fight or flight” hormone), which can increase feelings of anxiety.

Trouble Focusing

Clear thinking is easier when you have the right levels of certain brain chemicals, including the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine—and amino acids from your diet are needed to produce these chemicals.

Our Personal Story

Vegetarian Traveler Founders Chuck and Christy have personally experienced the benefits of increasing their protein intake—for them it could not be more important in living a healthy and strong life!

As people who stopped eating animals in the 1970’s, they’ve experienced the challenges of frequent times when getting enough protein in a meal or in a day was really hard to do, or just plain impossible.

This is why we sincerely care about helping to move society toward more plant-based eating by offering help to stay on that path.

It’s why we’ve specifically created our Munchy Crunchy Protein high-protein snacks and toppers so that you can easily increase your daily protein intake using high quality plant protein made with whole food and simple, natural ingredients.

This is our commitment to you!

Wonder whether you’re getting enough protein in your diet? Check out this Protein Calculator!