01 Oct Give Peas a Chance

Contrary to popular belief; the vegetable and plant kingdoms provide a highly valued source of protein – the large vegetarian mammals of Africa are good advertisement for this. And in light of this, we urge you to give peas a chance. The fabled princess who slept on the pea can vouch for the fact that these funky little green numbers should not be overlooked. The earliest cultivated pea, dated 9750 BC, was found in Spirit Cave on the Thai-Burma border. In these ancient times dried peas formed an essential part of the diet because they could be stored for long periods and provided protein during the famine months of winter, so this is no new aged fad – peas have been around forever!

So why is protein important in the first place?

Proteins are macronutrients composed of amino acids chains joined together by peptide bonds. There are 20 known amino acids and these provide the main source of nitrogen to living organisms. Nine of these are considered essential amino acids to humans because we cannot manufacture them from other amino acids already present in the body. They must therefore be provided by our food.

What makes pea a good source of protein?

Pea Protein Isolate comes from GMO-free, french-grown, yellow peas, Pisum sativum, grown in an environmentally-friendly manner without the use of Nitrogen-enriched fertilisers. The protein isolate is obtained by chemical-free wet processing in which peas are combined with water to form a liquid suspension. The amino acids are separated from the rest of the pea suspension using the different electric charges of proteins as compared to other pea components. This leaves us with an average protein concentration of 85-88% per dried pea isolate powder. Pea Protein Isolate is a complete protein and a good source of all 9 essential amino acids as well as all 6 conditionally essential amino acids, with especially high levels of arginine, glutamic acid, lysine and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs).

Er, all very well, and if I don’t speak science?

In a nutshell, pea protein is great tasting and easily digestible, unlike a lot of protein powders on the market. It is a 100% source of protein with essential amino acid content. It is also allergen free.

Pea Protein Isolate  is, therefore, a superb product for vegetarians and vegans, those who would like to reduce their animal protein consumption, as well as anybody with increased protein requirements related to training / exercise or health-related conditions.  It is best consumed as part of a shake or smoothie and combines well with sweeter flavours such as date and banana and also tastes great as part of a Superfood smoothie.

We sell Health Nations protein pea isolate  at R95 for 500g – a very good price we have no doubt you will agree!