Low inflammatory Vegan Sources of Protein

[Julie G]

I've been exploring strategies to incorporate more plant-based proteins into my diet. The traditional vegan recommendations quickly tripped me up as Drs. Gundry/Bredesen are cautious about legumes and opposed to grains because of their inflammatory nature. I understand that soy is also to be avoided for multiple reasons: GMOs, hexane, and endocrine disruption among a few. George & Theresa have been very helpful behind the scenes in sharing information. The following is my current list. What am I missing?

-hemp hearts
-hemp tofu
-plants, like spinach
-nuts and seeds
-tempeh (supposedly OK because it's fermented soy/grain free)
-quorn
-psyllium
-flax
-vegan eggs
-algae based protein

I'm unfamiliar with many of these foods (hemp, tempeh, quorn, vegan eggs, and algae-based protein. I'd love to learn more: where to source, recipes, pics.

Also, Dr. Gundry uses "complete protein" on a CMP to determine whether or not a patient is achieving an adequate protein intake. Is this reliable? Could a disrupted gut interfere with absorption? Could underlying inflammation (CIRS) do the same? I ask as my protein levels are sometimes below the reference range. Lastly, do we have evidence that plant sources of protein are less bioavailable in general? I'm thinking of the conversion pathway from EPA to DHA as an example. Or would this depend on specific snips? Huge thanks in advance for any help.

[Thx4thegenes]

Hi Juliegee!

The only thing that grab my attention and the mold issues you have/had, would be to stay away from Quorn products. I remembered something nasty about it a while back. I just did a quick search and found this. I didn't read it all, but it gives you an idea of what I'm talking about:

https://cspinet.org/eating-healthy/foods-avoid/quorn

Thx

[buck3Maureen]

Hi Julie,
I didn't see beans on the list. Is there a reason it's not so good?
I found a little cookbook online called 'High Protein Vegan Cookbook' by Jack Green that I like. He uses nuts, chickpeas, quinoa, tofu and tempeh a lot. You could probably sub tempeh for the tofu in many. What I like is that the recipes come together quickly and there is a lot of flavor in them. On the down side there is no index or page numbers-- its very small so I just numbered the page -50, and then made his list of recipes point to a page .

Regarding tofu if you purchase organic would that mean that it is GMO free?
Maureen

[Julie G]

Good warning, Thx4thegenes. My HLA-DR/DQ susceptibility is for post Lyme, not mold so I suspect I'd be OK. I eat all types of mushrooms and even truffles without a problem. That being said, I'm not thrilled with eating refined or processed food. I may give the crumbles a try but will proceed cautiously.

Maureen, I didn't include beans because neither Dr. Gundry or Bredesen are both cautious about them (and grains) because they lead to inflammation. That being said, Dr. Gundry does say that pressure cooking them will destroy the lectins, but we still have to beware of glucose spikes. So, some soaked or pressure cooked beans with EVOO in small quantities would probably be fine.

Regarding tofu if you purchase organic would that mean that it is GMO free?

Yes, that's my understanding. It would also be free from hexane, but the endocrine disruption would still be present. For that reason, my guess is that both grain-free tempeh and organic tofu should be eaten sparingly, maybe once a week (?)

I like eating whole foods best, but plan to try some of these lightly processed products to see if they might provide a good alternative to help me reach my 12% protein goal. I've been playing around with CRON-O-meter and find it pretty easy to keep my macronutrient ratios intact with a vegan approach by incorporating lots of plants (typical for me) nuts and seeds. The problem that I'm having with this strategy is that my manganese intake gets too high so this approach wouldn't be sustainable over time. It's also startling to see the dramatic deficiencies a vegan menu creates in terms of B-12, Vitamin D, choline & Omega-3 index (presumably) since CRON-O-meter doesn't distinguish between ALA, EPA and DHA or I haven't adjusted my settings. (Any help would be appreciated.) This feels significant given the importance of these nutrients in brain health. Vegans obviously have to be that much more vigilant about supplementing, tracking, and tweaking levels.

Please keep your ideas and tips coming. I suspect that many are curious and need help in this area.

[Maceo]

Never thought about excess Mn in a vegan diet! LPI has this to say about toxicity http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/minerals/manganese

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[Maceo]

Since D3 mainly originates in the skin from exposure to sunlight, I wouldnt bank on dietary D anyway. 5000IU daily from a lichen D3 plus K2 supplement should do the trick.

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[Julie G]

Thanks, Maceo. The Linus Pauling link also suggests that the upper limit of manganese is 11 mg/per day. Per CHRON-O-meter, I'm right there suggesting toxicity. I need to play with CHRON-O-meter more to find some good low inflammatory protein alternatives that are lower in manganese...

[apod]

This looks like a great list to me so far -- quorn is the only one that stands out as a little sketchy (I've never tried the stuff, however.)

I would be curious if the potential inflammatory reaction to a food (short of an allergy) should more often be thought of on per-meal terms rather than a per-ingredient basis, where a larger emphasis could be placed on meal prep & overall diet. (Eg. while something like LivingFuel's SuperGreens / SuperBerry product lineup is a fairly processed source of legumes, I would imagine the net effect is often rather anti-inflammatory in the context of a post-workout recovery smoothie in a whole foods diet... this meal is possibly as benign as say the polyunsaturated fats / omega-6 that might increase inflammatory lipid oxidation via high consumption of nuts... which are also somewhat rich in lectins and can present digestive issues for some.) This seems to be the case from Gundry's "lectin-blocker" product and recommendation for pressure-cooking legumes.

In the pubmed literature, beans / legumes are often viewed as quite anti-inflammatory, if not cardioprotective + neuroprotective, which are the 2 primary inflammation-related concerns. (eg. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23468309 /
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4963669)

Thinking about ideal food prep, I've been meaning to up my game to switching over to soaked nuts / seeds, but I never plan far enough out in advance and need to refine my method (eg. how much salt to brine, how long to soak, and what to do about the floaters?) I do like the crunch / taste of dry nuts, where I'm not sure if dehydrated soaked nuts are really superior to fresh raw from an oxidation stance. It seems like I've read that soaking might increase the protein assimilation.

I would also be curious to see how others blood glucose readings respond to soaked, pressure cooked, cooled + reheated, hulled pulses with spices and fat in the meals vs something like blueberries / fruit in general or any sort of root vegetable. I would imagine that the postprandial BG response is unlikely to look much different than say eating an apple... which seems like a fairly healthy snack for a whole-foods eating, regularly exercising, non-diabetic, yet is comparatively much lower in fiber / resistant starch / plant protein / polyphenols and higher in (inflammatory) fructose than say red lentils with turmeric, spices, and high-poly evoo.

It would be nice if measuring inflammation was like measuring glucose / lipids (short of hsCRP & TNF-a) !

[Julie G]

Thanks for weighing in, apod. Great insights, as usual. I like the idea of pressure cooking legumes/pulses, then cooling them, and reheating. It would be easy to check the glycemic effect with PPBG. Per Dr. Gundry the lectins will have been destroyed so inflammation shouldn't be a big player with proper preparation. The recent data from the PURE Study convinces me of their cardiprotective properties, not to mention the longevity effect noted in the Blue Zone data.

Great minds think alike. I've been toying with ramping up my nut/seed prep: soaking in brine (12 hrs?,) roasting on low heat (200 F?) until crunchy, then seasoning. My husband still eats commercially dry roasted nuts and I want to convert him to a healthier option. I'm sure I'll enjoy them too. This method is supposed to reduce the inflammatory effect while protecting them from oxidation.

Proper prep, which takes time, seems to be the key to safely utilizing these natural plant proteins. I have to admit (perhaps without giving the processed proteins a fair shake) beans, pulses, nuts & seeds seem a lot more palatable to me and align more closely with my whole food practice.

[ajc]

Hi Julie
Just a quick note re lectins in pea protein. NuZest a NZ company make a pure pea protein with lectins removed and no added anything else.
Be careful of quinoa as some people with gluten sensitivity cant tolerate it due to cross reactions. See Dr Perlmutter's list of cross reactive foods on his website and in Grain Brain

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