These nutritional relationships have been determined from rat
bioassay studies. However, the more limited results available from human studies with soy and other legumes confirm the ap
plicability of this general concept in human nutrition. This
knowledge helps us to understand and evaluate how nutritionally effective combinations of plant protein foods can be achieved.
Our reason for discussing amino acid complementation is to
introduce the question of timing of ingestion of complementary proteins. There is some concern, at least at the consumer level,
about the need to ingest different plant proteins at the same time,
or within the same meal, to achieve maximum benefit and nutritional value from proteins with different, but complementary,
amino acid patterns. This concern may also extend to the question
.