Quote Originally Posted by badger View Post
I may be wrong on this, but I understood that there's no such thing as an "incomplete" protein. All foods have protein, and nobody's ever lacking protein in the developing countries.
Proteins are made up of amino acids. 23 of 'em. When your body breaks down food, it splits up the protein into the individual amino acids which are then available for your body to use to rebuild muscles, enzymes, etc.

"Complete" proteins contain all 23 in varying concentrations. "Incomplete" are missing one or more.

When the body is rebuilding, the enzymatic factory uses a recipe (DNA), and it adds the amino acids back in a very specific order and cannot deviate. If, in the soup of free amino acids, it can't find the one amino acid it needs, it stops and won't complete the instructions until that amino acid comes along.

For most of us, this isn't really an issue unless you have NO variety in your diet. But rice and beans don't even have to be eaten in the same meal to get the complementary benefits.

-- gnat! (For me, I feel like I ride better the day after a steak dinner...)