Complete Vs. Incomplete Proteins Dietary protein is required for the body as there are essential amino acids the body cannot create and must obtain from ones diet. Complete proteins contain all of these essential amino acids versus Incomplete proteins which do not. Complementary proteins are combinations of two or more incomplete proteins that supply all essential amino acids.
Complete Proteins Incomplete Proteins Animal Based Plant Based Meat Poultry Dairy Eggs Fish Vegetables Grains Legumes/Beans Nuts/Seeds Complementary Proteins Grains+Legumes/Vegetables Nuts/Seeds+Vegetables/Legumes Grains Vegetables Nuts/Seeds Legumes sufficient quantity to supply the needs of the body. They support life even if supplied as the sole source of protein. These proteins are of animal origin (e.g) milk, meat, poultry, egg and fish. The quality of these proteins is much superior to those of incomplete proteins.
) Incomplete proteins: These proteins are deficient in one or more of the essential amino acids and therefore, they do not support life on their own. All plant sources of proteins (i.e) vegetables, fruits, cereals, pulses, nuts and oilseeds contain incomplete proteins to varying degrees. - - Proteins and lipids Complementary proteins : If two sources of incomplete proteins are combined in the same meal, the resulting protein may be of better quality. These are called as Complementary proteins (e.g) Pongal prepared using moong dhal and rice is of better quality than rice or dhal cooked separately.
Rice is deficient in aminoacid lysine, but rich in methionine. Pulses are rich in lysine, but deficient in methionine. So, rice and pulse combination will complement each other. Rice Kheer is another example, where animal and vegetable proteins –milk and rice are cooked together.
. Food sources of proteins Animal sources are complete proteins which includes meat, egg, fish and poultry and they are good protein foods in both quantity and quality. Milk is a valuable source of protein (casein) because although it does not contain a large quantity of protein, the quality is excellent. Good sources of plant proteins are legumes, pulses, nuts and oil seeds, but their quality is poorer than that of animal