Protein source containing all nine essential amino acids
A complete protein or whole protein is a food source of protein that contains an adequate proportion of each of the nine essential amino acids necessary in the human diet .[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] [ 4] [ 5]
^ "Protein in diet" . Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia . U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institute of Health. September 2, 2003. Retrieved 2006-10-28 .
^ Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids . Food and Nutrition Board of Institute of Medicine, National Academies Press. 2005. p. 691. doi :10.17226/10490 . ISBN 978-0-309-08525-0 .
^ "All About the Protein Foods Group" . US Department of Agriculture. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2018 .
^ Mariotti, François; Gardner, Christopher D. (Nov 2019). "Dietary Protein and Amino Acids in Vegetarian Diets—A Review" . Nutrients . 11 (11): 2661. doi :10.3390/nu11112661 . PMC 6893534 . PMID 31690027 .
^ Young, VR; Pellett, PL (May 1994). "Plant proteins in relation to human protein and amino acid nutrition" . The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition . 59 (5 Suppl): 1203S–1212S. doi :10.1093/ajcn/59.5.1203S . PMID 8172124 .