Almonds Have as Much Protein as Beef?

According to the nutrition website nutritiondata.com, beef sirloin (bottom, tri-tip, separable lean only, and trimmed to zero fat) has six grams of protein per ounce. Blanched almonds also have six grams of protein per ounce, according to the same site. They also contain six percent of the RDA for iron, while the beef sirloin contains just two percent. The almonds, however, contain quite a bit more unsaturated fat, because the beef sirloin has been trimmed to zero fat. They have 14 grams of unsaturated fat per ounce, with one gram of saturated fat, but it is plant-based fat and not animal fat. (Not all beef products listed on the site contain six grams of protein per ounce–some have more.) This comparison merely provides an example of how some vegetarian foods contain adequate amounts of protein, and in some cases are equal to the amount of protein in meat. People who bash vegetarian diets, often start with saying they are lacking protein, and therefore must be inferior.

So instead of having three ounces of beef sirloin tri-tip for eighteen grams of protein, one could have three ounces of almonds. Actually this type of beef is somewhat uncommon compared to ground beef. A University of Wisconsin food safety sheet on reducing fat in beef says a popular form of ground beef contains seventy percent lean meat, and thirty percent fat. The point of reducing the animal fat is to protect the heart, as animal fat can contribute to heart disease. They cite one statistic saying in just one year the per person beef consumption in the United States was nearly sixty-five pounds.

A website for the U.S Dept of Agriculture says about 3.5 ounces of ground beef that is thirty percent fat, also contains 11 grams of saturated fat. Everyone needs protein, but we also need to limit the amount of saturated fat. For example, the American Heart Association says a female aged 31-50 who is sedentary, should get less than 16 grams of saturated fat per day, so just 3.5 ounces of ground beef (that is thirty percent fat) would be well more than half of the daily saturated fat allowance. Three ounces of almonds though, would be only three grams of saturated fat, and nearly equal in protein as ground beef might have seven grams per ounce, rather than the six per ounce from almonds.

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Read more: Food, Diet & Nutrition, Eating for Health, Vegetarian

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Michele W.

4:32AM PST on Feb 11, 2012

Thank you

send a green star

Katherine H.

2:30PM PST on Jan 12, 2012

Yay! I love almonds! Thanks!

colleen p.

10:50AM PST on Dec 23, 2011

apricot pits are some what poisonous http://www.bigsiteofamazingfacts.com/how-much-cyanide-do-apple-seeds-peach-pits-apricot-pits-and-other-fruit-seeds-contain

10:49AM PST on Dec 23, 2011

Almond. magical, tasty and toxic? http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-almonds.htm

Dep P.

11:29AM PST on Dec 21, 2011

If almonds are roasted, th're no good for nothing. Raw almonds are exceptionally good for you for othe reason rather than what is noted in this article. The pits of apricots are full of vitamin B-17 which is known to not only fight cancer, but in higher amounts can cure cancer. When I say the pits of apricots, I'm speaking of the little seeds inside of the coarse hard shell pit that you see. You have to take a hammer or what really works well, is placing the pit in a vice and slowly break it and you'll find the seed, then eat it.
You can buy them online as wel, Much easier that way, lol

Teresa W.

7:18AM PST on Dec 21, 2011

Protein from what? From the parasites that live in almonds?

Genie O.

11:46AM PST on Dec 20, 2011

Paul Pitchford's chart also contains a comparison of B12 although notes that B12 in algae and seaweeds may not be as bio-available. For myself, my feeling of low blood sugar dissipates when I eat seaweed and spirulina.

11:39AM PST on Dec 20, 2011

There's a great chart on protein/3-1/2oz. or 100g of food in Paul Pitchford's "Healing with Whole Foods". I'm not a vegetarian but I've lightened my meat consumption greatly by having more nuts, seeds, spirulina, kale with my meals. The fat in other sources is also so much better than animal fat.

Soaking nuts DOES bump up the nutritional value as it brings the enzymes in the nuts back to life. Unfortunately the pasteurizing of raw almonds for retail stores kills a lot of the value of them. But still check it out!. If you miss the crunch, dehydrate them in a 180 or less degree oven for about an hour or so. More digestible and more nutrition. Thanks for talking about this Jake!

New G.

11:23AM PST on Dec 20, 2011

Thanks.

irene f.

12:18PM PDT on Oct 2, 2011

Cool! thanks for the info