Why I am a Vegan

[Jade]

These athletes are breaking the Vegan stereotype (Video)

I can get into that but they still require much larger protein intake than most think. 

http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/protein.php

• Endurance athletes - "Nitrogen balance studies suggest that dietary protein intake necessary to support nitrogen balance in endurance athletes ranges from 1.2 to 1.4 g/kg/day."
  
  
• Strength athletes - "Recommended protein intakes for strength-trained athletes range from approximately 1.2 to 1.7 g/kg/day." and "The amount of protein needed to maintain muscle mass may be lower for individuals who routinely resistance train because of more efficient protein use."
  
  
• Vegetarians - "Because plant proteins are less well digested than animal proteins, an increase in intake of approximately 10% protein is advised. Therefore, protein recommendations for vegetarian athletes approximate 1.3–1.8 g/kg/day."
  

One cool thing they note is that it's per kilogram of weight rather than pound which brings down my total intake needed. It also confirmed a long suspected belief that one should determine the daily caloric intake relative to ones goal eight rather than current weight. This negates the added unnecessary fat within the body which one is trying to rid themselves of anyways so in was always confused why one would include it. With that said, I'd still require around 154g of protein. 

On a positive note, I found that tempeh is packed with protein and does not effect men negatively which was a long held belief due to the massive amounts of estrogen contained with soy. But the cost seems a bit high for nongmo versions. Anyone have better suggestions for brands? 

Edit Actually I calculated it wrong. I only need 130 g of protein so im getting into the more manageable area

Trader Joe's has good tempeh!

Also, I firmly believe that the soy/estrogen thing is a huge exaggeration/myth perpetuated by the meat industry. If people actually cared about the estrogen they were consuming, they would stop consuming dairy. Hardly anyone eats enough soy to compete with the average estrogen intake from milk. And, the estrogen in soy is naturally occurring, the estrogen we inject cows with is made in a laboratory. Not to mention the growth hormones that they are injected with, which I'm sure correlates to increased cancer in humans. Cows have insanely high cancer rates for beings that only live 8-48 months.

And, to add to the digestibility of plants - the reason most people have trouble digesting them is because we don't chew enough. Americans were raised on processed food that basically dissolves in saliva. Plant fiber takes mastication, usually at least 30 chews per bite is recommended to break down the plant matter well enough so that all of it can be digested. This is also a good way to practice mindfulness.