How Much Protein Do Vegetarian Women Need? Daily Amounts, Food Sources and a Sample Day
This quick tip was one of the first things I posted for vegetarian women: women aged 19 to 49 need about 45 grams of protein a day. Here is where that number comes from, which foods help you reach it, and what a typical day looks like.
How much protein does a woman need?
The 45 grams is the UK figure. The UK Reference Nutrient Intake is 0.75 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, which gives 45 grams a day for women aged 19 to 50 (based on a 60 kg woman). In the United States the Recommended Dietary Allowance is 0.8 grams per kilogram, and Harvard Health quotes 46 grams a day for women. Both are minimums for an average woman. You need more during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and often when you train hard.
Which vegetarian foods give the most protein?
The old list gave no portion sizes, so I replaced it with figures from USDA FoodData Central, rounded to the nearest gram:
– Lentils, cooked, 1 cup: about 18 g
– Firm tofu made with calcium sulfate, half a cup: about 22 g (softer tofu has about half as much)
– Chickpeas, cooked, 1 cup: about 15 g
– Canned vegetarian baked beans, 1 cup: about 12 g
– Soy milk, original, 1 cup: about 8 g
– Cow’s milk, whole, 1 cup: about 8 g
– Whole-wheat bread, 1 slice: about 4 g
– Cooked brown rice, 1 cup: about 5.5 g
What does a day with 45 grams look like?
The old plan was muesli with a quarter pint of milk for breakfast, two slices of toast with 8 ounces of baked beans for lunch, and 7 ounces of brown rice with 5 ounces of tofu, plus fruit or vegetables, for dinner. Using the USDA values, that day adds up to roughly 46 to 60 grams, depending on the muesli brand and the type of tofu. So the plan still works, and it reaches either the UK or the US target.
Do vegetarians need extra protein?
No. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics says that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are nutritionally adequate, and eating a mix of beans, grains, soy, dairy or eggs and nuts across the day covers your needs. The nutrients that deserve more attention are iron and vitamin B12, which our post on vitamin deficiency and who is at risk explains. For more menu ideas see high-protein vegetarian meals.
April 22nd, 2007 at 12:31
I tracked everything I ate in an online tracker for a couple weeks, and one of the surprising things I learned was that even as a vegetarian, I got plenty of protein in my diet. It’s really a myth that vegetarians have trouble getting enough.