I. Essential and non-essential amino acids There are 20 amino acids used in the human body for protein synthesis, of which 8 are not synthesized by the human body and are called essential amino acids, including: methionine (also called methionine), tryptophan, valine, lysine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine and threonine. Other amino acids can be synthesized in adults through essential amino acids, so they are called non-essential amino acids, including: alanine, proline, glycine, serine, cysteine, asparagine, glutamine, arginine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, tyrosine and histidine; II. This type of protein is also known as high quality protein. Incomplete protein refers to the types of essential amino acids are not comprehensive or the content is not balanced, mainly including cereals, beans, some nuts and other plant protein, such as cereals with low lysine content, beans with low methionine content. This kind of protein is significantly less absorbed and utilized by the human body after consumption than complete protein. In contrast, the legendary beauty and beauty collagen mainly contains glycine, proline and hydroxyproline (derivatives of proline), with little content of other amino acids and almost no essential amino acids, which can be called the odd (la) out (ji) of proteins. Third, the complementary role of protein Mixing two or more incomplete proteins, so that the essential amino acids contained in them to complement each other, more towards the ratio required by the body, thereby improving the absorption of protein utilization, known as # protein complementarity #. In order to give full play to the complementary role of food proteins, in the deployment of meals, should follow three principles: 1, the more distant the biological species of food, the better: but how do we know how big the difference between two plant species? Take plant seeds as an example to teach you a simple method. We know that peanuts, soybeans after cooking easy to break open into almost equal size of the two petals (there are still very small buds in the middle), such plants are called dicotyledons, including a variety of beans, peanuts, chestnuts, cashews, etc.; and rice, corn can not be broken open into two petals, at least not equal two petals, such plants are called monocotyledons, including rice (rice), corn, barley, wheat (flour), sorghum, etc.. Mixing dicotyledons with monocotyledons is a good way to match them. Mixing lysine-deficient grains with methionine-deficient beans, as mentioned above, can make the ratio of essential amino acids more reasonable and improve the absorption rate of protein, which is more beneficial to human health. The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents recommends a daily intake of beans and bean products precisely for the purpose of combining with grains as a staple food. It is important to note that dry beans must be soaked in water for 2 to 3 hours before they can be cooked with rice, which is the key to ensuring that the beans can be cooked thoroughly and well. 2, the more types of collocation the better: for example, beans and grains of the two collocation than beans, corn, grains according to the 20:40:40 triple collocation, this three-in-one combination to improve the absorption of protein utilization to the same as beef. The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents also clearly states that food should be diversified and the more types of collocation the better. 3, the closer the consumption time the better, the best at the same time: all kinds of amino acids must exist in the tissues at the same time, in order to be used by the body to synthesize all kinds of protein, to complete metabolism, growth, defense and other physiological functions. So we recommend consuming beans not as a meal or bedtime addition, but at the main meal along with other foods. This is also the reason why I recommend adding beans to cooked rice. IV. Postscript I recently met two whole vegetarians (who don’t eat any meat or food of animal origin, including milk, eggs, etc.) and I admire their perseverance! I also had the idea of being a vegetarian, but I couldn’t hold on to it in less than 3 days. For religious, environmental, and health reasons, veganism seems to be gaining popularity. How can vegetarians get balanced and adequate nutrition? I have two suggestions: one is to use the complementary effects of proteins to get high quality protein, and the other is to take proper multivitamin and complex micronutrient supplements.