Protein & Amino Acids
Understanding protein requirements and how Platebreaker tracks individual amino acids for protein quality.
Protein Requirements
Section titled “Protein Requirements”How Protein Targets Are Calculated
Section titled “How Protein Targets Are Calculated”Your daily protein target is based on:
- Body weight: Typically 0.8-1.0 g per kg of body weight for sedentary adults
- Activity level: Athletes and very active individuals need 1.2-2.0 g/kg
- Age: Older adults may need slightly more (1.0-1.2 g/kg)
- Special conditions: Pregnancy and breastfeeding increase protein needs
Example: A 70kg moderately active adult needs approximately 70-84g protein per day.
Protein Quality
Section titled “Protein Quality”Not all protein sources contain the same amino acid profile:
- Complete proteins: Contain all 9 essential amino acids in adequate amounts
- Incomplete proteins: Lack or are low in one or more essential amino acids
Different foods have different amino acid compositions, which is why Platebreaker tracks individual amino acids separately from total protein.
Amino Acid Tracking
Section titled “Amino Acid Tracking”Platebreaker tracks 11 amino acids with default targets:
9 Essential Amino Acids
Section titled “9 Essential Amino Acids”Your body cannot make these—you must get them from food:
- Histidine
- Isoleucine (branched-chain amino acid)
- Leucine (branched-chain amino acid)
- Lysine
- Methionine
- Phenylalanine
- Threonine
- Tryptophan
- Valine (branched-chain amino acid)
2 Conditionally Essential Amino Acids
Section titled “2 Conditionally Essential Amino Acids”Your body can make these, but may need dietary sources during certain conditions:
- Cysteine (from methionine)
- Tyrosine (from phenylalanine)
How Amino Acids Are Tracked
Section titled “How Amino Acids Are Tracked”Individual Targets
Section titled “Individual Targets”Each amino acid has its own daily target based on:
- Your body weight
- Authority recommendations (mg per kg of body weight)
- Life stage and special conditions
Relationship to Total Protein
Section titled “Relationship to Total Protein”Amino acid targets are non-additive to protein targets:
- Meeting your protein target doesn’t automatically mean meeting all amino acid targets
- But meeting all amino acid targets means you’ve met your protein target
- Platebreaker’s search rankings account for this to avoid double-counting
Search Rankings
Section titled “Search Rankings”When Platebreaker ranks recipes:
- It considers both your total protein gap and individual amino acid gaps
- A recipe high in protein but low in lysine (e.g., wheat-based) will score lower for someone needing lysine
- This helps ensure protein quality, not just quantity
Bioavailability
Section titled “Bioavailability”What We Account For
Section titled “What We Account For”Platebreaker does calculate amino acids separately for each ingredient:
- Different foods have different amino acid profiles
- Cooking methods are applied where USDA has retention data
- This provides more accurate protein quality tracking than using average values
Current Limitations
Section titled “Current Limitations”Platebreaker cannot yet account for:
- Amino acid bioavailability differences: Some amino acids are absorbed more efficiently from certain foods
- Protein digestibility: Animal proteins are generally more digestible (90-95%) than plant proteins (70-90%)
- Anti-nutritional factors: Phytates, tannins, and other compounds can reduce amino acid absorption
Why: Research data on amino acid bioavailability and digestibility is incomplete and varies significantly across foods. As more comprehensive data becomes available, Platebreaker will incorporate these factors.
What this means for you: Current amino acid tracking may overestimate bioavailable amounts, especially for plant-based diets. Consider this when interpreting your amino acid intake.
Learn more about absorption and bioavailability