​Paring beans with this one staple can give you complete protein​

Beans are a proven ‘longevity food’ and undoubtedly they provide the body many of the rich nutrients. But there’s one critical nutrient profile where beans lag a little. Even though beans are a great source of protein, they are not the ‘complete’ ones. Beans do not contain all the nine essential amino acids that make up a ‘complete protein’.
But did you know, there’s one common staple, that can provide all the nine essential amino acids when beans are paired with them. The pair is widely liked by Indians. Yes, it's beans and rice.

To talk about the basics, there are a total of 20 different amino acids, and the body can make 11 of them itself. The remaining nine have to be taken through food.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, a food is considered a complete protein when it contains all nine essential amino acids that our bodies can’t produce on their own. Complete protein with all the nine essential amino acids are fish, eggs, beef, pork etc. These are mainly non-vegetarian sources.
On the other hand, incomplete proteins are mostly vegetarian sources that contain some of the nine essential amino acids. And some of these are beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds etc.

According to MD Anderson Cancer Center, beans contain 7 essential amino acids: Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Phenylalanine, Threonine and Valine. It misses two: Methionine and Tryptophan.
Rice on the other hand, has Methionine and Tryptophan (the two that beans miss), but does not have Lysine, Isoleucine and Threonine.This way, pairing them together sort of ‘completes the puzzle’ and provides a complete amino acid profile.

This combo holds more importance for vegetarians as there aren’t many vegetarian options that can provide a complete amino acid profile. MD Anderson Cancer Center notes that beans can also be paired with nuts or seeds to form a complete protein. But combining grains with nuts or seeds wouldn’t be a good option. That’s because both are missing the same amino acids.

Though this combo is a practical and easy way to obtain a complete protein profile, some other combos are yogurt and seeds, hummus with pita.
However, one key point, as noted by Harvard’s Department of Nutrition, is that you do not need to eat them in the same meal. Research shows amino acids are pooled in the body over the day.