We continue our mini-series of myth busters with another question we are frequently asked. Is all Soya genetically modified (GMO)?

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Our bean pasta is made from Organic Soya beans. We are often asked questions about soya, including whether certain groups need to avoid it.

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A nutrition study on carbohydrate intake and risk of death has been causing a media stir this week.

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At Liberto we love to offer great tasting food that is good for our health. We also love to read the most current evidence about how our diet can impact our families’ health for the future.

This recently published study looked at the effects of swapping portions of animal protein for plant protein on heart health.

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Do you have high cholesterol? You might like to try the Portfolio Diet.

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Our Vegan Protein Shakes are super powered by select additional ingredients. In this series of blogs we will go through why we hand selected each addition to boost our shakes! This month, the wonderful Maca & Baobab!

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Our Vegan Protein Shakes are super powered by select additional ingredients. In this series of blogs we will go through why we hand selected each addition to boost our shakes! This month, the wonderful Maca & Baobab!

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Our Vegan Protein Shakes are super powered by select additional ingredients. In this series of blogs we will go through why we hand selected each addition to boost our shakes! This month, our probiotics and prebiotics!

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Our Vegan Protein Shakes are super powered by select additional ingredients. In this series of blogs we will go through why we hand selected each addition to boost our shakes!  To begin, our super seed mix!

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Our new range of vegan protein shakes are made using pea protein.

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A portion of Liberto bean pasta really packs a punch….

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We know that plant based eating is healthy, however did you know it is also good for the environment?

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A new study has been published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showing the health benefits of plant protein.

The study analysed a large group of people’s diet and their risk of mortality (death) over a period of 32 years.
They found that people who ate more plant based protein had a lower risk of death. They also found that by replacing protein from meat sources with protein from plant sources risk of death could be cut by as much as 34%! This largest reduction in risk came from reducing intake of red processed meat (e.g. sausages & burgers).

Interestingly this study found that people who ate the highest amounts of meat protein were more likely to be heavier, less physically active, have higher intakes of saturated fat and lower intakes of fibre. People with high intakes of meat protein also had higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

As you may expect people who ate more plant protein had healthier diets and lifestyles. It seems our sources of protein (whether plant or meat) can be a marker of a healthy diet, this is because we need to consider which other nutrients come ‘packaged’ with the protein. For example, plant based protein is often packaged with fibre, vitamins, minerals and low levels of fat. Whereas, red meat protein is packaged with saturated fat, sodium and nitrates.

The authors of this study concluded:

‘Public health recommendations should focus on improvement of protein sources.’

This means increasing intake of plant based proteins, and cutting down on meat protein especially processed and red meat.

This study provides more convincing evidence that we should all be focusing on a plant based diet for our future health and happiness.

For tips on how to make your diet more plant based click here to see our blog post on the topic.

To read the study in full on JAMA’s website click here.

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Reference: Song M, et al. Association of animal and plant protein intake with all-cause and cause-specific mortality. JAMA Internal Medicine 2016.

Make sure you are meeting your protein requirements from healthy sources.

How much protein do we need?

If you are vegan, vegetarian, or following a plant based diet, it’s important to make sure you are still meeting your daily protein requirements. We need protein to maintain our muscle mass, skin, hair and nails to support our immune system and to make enzymes for essential bodily processes. As our muscle is constantly being broken down and repaired we need to eat protein every day.

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 g/kg of body weight per day. On average this amounts to: 56 grams per day for a sedentary man and 46 grams per day for a sedentary woman. To calculate your minimum requirement: times your weight in kg by 0.8.

Some people will require more protein than this, such as those who are very active, athletes, the elderly and pregnant women. Some studies have shown for optimal use of the protein we eat it’s important to spread intake out through the day. So try to include a source at breakfast, lunch and your evening meal.

Healthy protein sources

Plant based sources of protein often come in a healthier ‘protein package’. While they can sometimes be less concentrated sources of protein than meat, meat protein can come ‘packaged’ with saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. The good news is that plant based proteins often come ‘packaged’ with fibre, and have low levels of fat, saturated fat and sodium!

If you eat fish, oily fish are a great source of protein and also heart healthy fats such as Omega 3 fatty acids. If you don’t eat fish you can get Omega 3 from nuts such as walnuts, seeds such as flaxseeds, vegetable oils and soya beans and tofu.

Plant protein sources

To help you get enough protein see below for some good sources of protein:

Values derived from manufacturers packaging and McCance and Widdowson’s The Composition of Foods.

All of the Liberto range are high in protein!

If you’re looking to boost the plant based protein in your diet check our our Liberto range – all are high in protein! Our pastas are made from soya beans so one 50g serving contains 46% of your RDA for protein! If you want a quick & easy protein boost, our Chilli Sin Carne pasta sauce contains 16.5g protein per 225g jar (the protein coming from soya and kidney beans).