The Biggest Myth of Them All—The Protein Myth

The biggest myth circulating is that animal protein is an optimal quality protein. Protein is supposed to be the one thing—hell, virtually the only thing—that animal foods have going for them. The belief in the primacy of animal protein may be the most dangerous dietary myth circulating. Researchers have been trying to shoot holes in that myth for years, but the man who has finally put the kibosh on it is Dr. T Colin Campbell, the lead researcher in the most comprehensive study of health and nutrition in human history. For over 20 years (the work is ongoing), his study has looked at diet, nutrition, disease, and death rates in over 2,400 countries.[i]

We once thought that the only way to consume complete protein was through animal protein and that it had to be superior to plant-based eating. We thought that to grow big strong muscles and to be an athlete, our protein had to come from animals. This myth is taxing the human body and our health care tremendously. Ten essential amino acids create a complete protein. Essential amino acids cannot be made by the body and obtained in our diet.

There are numerous complete plant protein sources, and the larger the variety we consume the better. Peas, brown rice, and hemp are a few that rival animal products. Ounce for ounce, sea vegetables contain more protein than meat does. They are also the highest in absorbable calcium, vitamins, and minerals, more so than any other food group. Dulse and nori are two examples of sea vegetables.

Will I get enough protein on a plant-based, raw diet? Even for a top athlete, it is more than enough. The World Health Organization suggests that, to maintain optimal health, we need about five percent of our daily caloric intake to be protein. The USDA says six and a half percent is better for health. The average American consumes 11-21 percent without even trying. In the U.S., we have a disease of excess protein and not a protein deficiency. The body cannot use excess protein and it becomes toxic in the body. Animal protein makes us acidic and weakens our body rather than strengthening it. Beans, grains, seeds, and nuts contain about 10 to 25 percent of protein. Vegetables are 20 to 50 percent, on average. Amino acids can only be found in plants or animals that consume plants. Direct sources of plant amino acids are the most efficient way for our bodies to obtain enzymes, neutralize acidity in the body, and build muscle.

Not all calories are the same in food. Whey protein is highly acid-forming but, sadly, has been a past staple in our society for athletes. Once dairy becomes isolated and pasteurized, it becomes even more acidic. The more man has touched the food and processed it in general the more acidic it becomes. Keeping food in its original state is best. Acid forming foods include meat and dairy, margarine, coffee, prescription drugs, artificial sweeteners, soft drinks, and flour-based foods (white pasta, cereals, and conventional baked goods). Eating too many acid-forming foods will promote inflammation, reduce immune function, and cause highly alkaline calcium to be pulled from the bones to keep the blood in its neutral state.

Do you want a highly alkalizing protein that is already in amino acid form and can be absorbed quickly? The body needs to convert protein into amino acids before it can use it, and animal protein is very inefficient in the body. Raw spinach is 45 percent protein, and dark raw lettuce greens are mostly 40 percent. Hemp also is a complete protein that can easily be added to salads or shakes. The most alkalizing foods are dark leafy greens because they have the most chlorophyll.

Try raw protein powders (hemp, rice, pea, artichoke, etc.). On my website www.AvoidDisease.com, I have a link to a few good ones. In the old days, we used to believe that complementary proteins were what we needed. Now, many studies have come to find that we do not need to combine amino acids. We can synthesize amino acids from a variety of foods. Almost all fruits and vegetables have the basic essential amino acids our bodies need. The rest of the amino acids our bodies make.

Consuming the highest quality protein is more important than the quantity we consume. We can benefit the most when we choose protein sources that complement each other while obtaining efficient amino acid absorption. If you want a healthy body weight and low fat, a plant-based diet is perfect. Plant protein is the most easily digested form of protein. Many athletes are now discovering this and achieving better performance and endurance, while not wasting organs or fuel on breaking down animal meat. Plant proteins do not have the growth hormones, steroids, or antibiotics found in many meat sources. Fish are acid forming and also have heavy metals, mercury, and parasites.

Quality, Nutrient-Dense Plant Proteins to Try:

• Hemp protein (one of the most complete amino acid profiles of any plant-based protein);

• Yellow pea protein;

• Brown rice protein;

• Flaxseed (also high in Omega-3s);

• Chlorella (a microscopic, freshwater green algae from Japan);

• Almonds, other nuts, and seeds (preferably sprouted because sprouting pre-digests the proteins in seeds, making the amino acids more available to the body);

• Legumes;

• Pseudograins (including quinoa and buckwheat); and

• Sea vegetables, such as nori and dulse.

When we consume animal fat and cholesterol (only found in animal products), we are clogging our blood and making our blood platelets stick together. If you were to take a vial of your blood after eating animal products, you would see the fat floating on the top. Anthony Robbins does this in one of his seminars to show people up front what their blood looks like. This is exceptionally difficult for your body to manage and it only slows your energy levels down. Working out does not automatically clean out our blood, and working out does not erase all the plaque buildup from our arteries and organs. Oxygenation from working out does help keep our body stronger to fight toxins. The only way to achieve a truly healthy body is to stop eating what is killing us, slowing us down, and making us weak. Our society is infatuated with health being defined by looks. If you have many muscles or a thin body shape, the assumption is that you must be healthy. Most body builders tax their organs by consuming too much animal protein. Thankfully, there are now many plant-based body builders showing the way (search "vegan bodybuilding" sometime online).

                                                                 WHAT ABOUT PROTEIN?

Raw foods contain all the protein your body needs. The world has been manipulated into asking the ridiculous question that all plants, animals, insects, and microscopic organisms seem smart enough to answer. Here’s the simple truth. Your body makes electricity, acid, adrenalin, serotonin & many other chemicals... hair, skin, blood, nails and bones, as well as protein & calcium (all protein requirements are made by the liver daily). Everything you are made of is protein instructed by DNA to become part of an organ or bone! It simply requires food to do so; good food for good long-term use; bad (or junk) food for bad short-term use. Ask an elephant, zebra, horse, rhino, ox, bull, gorilla or giraffe how many protein shakes they’ve had since the beginning of time. The Brachiosaurus, the largest dinosaur weighing 200 tons, thrived on a plant-based diet. In the wild, meat-eating lions sleep 18 hours a day & live only 18 years. Plant-eating elephants live 70years, sleeping only 4–6 hours. The countries with the highest consumption of protein actually have the highest rates of sickness, osteoporosis, and protein deficiency. Deficiency in the body usually does not stem from what is lacking, but stems from what is consumed... such as cooked, processed food.[ii]

 Proteins are highly complex molecules made up of linked amino acids. Amino acids are simple compounds containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and occasionally, sulphur. There are about 20 different amino acids commonly found in plant and animal proteins. Amino acids link together to form chains called peptides. A typical protein may contain 500 or more amino acids. Each protein has its own unique number and sequence of amino acids that determines its particular structure and function.

Proteins are broken down into their constituent amino acids during digestion and are then absorbed and used to make new proteins in the body. Certain amino acids can be made by the human body. However, the essential amino acids cannot be made, and so they must be supplied in the diet. The eight essential amino acids required by humans are leucine, isoleucine, valine, threonine, methionine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, and lysine. For children, histidine is also considered to be an essential amino acid.
Proteins are essential for growth and repair. They play a crucial role in virtually all biological processes in the body. All enzymes are proteins and are vital for the body's metabolism. Muscle contraction, immune protection, and the transmission of nerve impulses are all dependent on proteins. Proteins in skin and bone provide structural support. Many hormones are proteins. Proteins can also provide a source of energy. Generally, the body uses carbohydrates and fats for energy, but when there is excess dietary protein or inadequate dietary fats and carbohydrates, protein is used.

The first question people think of when starting to shift their diets and eating habits is, "Where do I get my protein?" We have been trained from birth to think that we must eat meat to obtain enough protein. We have all been deeply conditioned to believe that in order to get enough protein, we must eat meat. Most of us were raised eating three basic meals per day, and those meals were centered primarily on meat, milk, cheese, eggs, and refined grains in the form of bread and cereals. Many feel that if they do not eat meat, they are missing something, or they reward themselves by eating it. 

Remember when you used to ask your mother, "What's for dinner?" What would she say? Likely, she would say: hamburgers, hotdogs, steak, pork roast, chuck roast, beef stew, chicken, turkey, fish, and that would be it. One word to describe the kind of meat she was fixing for dinner. Now, when we ask what is for dinner, what is the answer? If the response was salad and vegetables, that would sound funny, wouldn't it? None of us are used to emphasizing fruits, vegetables, and salads in our diets. We have been conditioned to believe that we must eat meat every day to obtain enough protein. We have been programmed to center our meals on meat. For all the discussion, information, publicity, commercialization, and marketing of food, we are more obsessed with protein than any other nutrient. One would think that for all we hear about protein—whether it be in the form of protein bars or drinks or foods—that we would be well informed about protein. 

Not only are we more obsessed with protein than any other nutrient, we are also more confused about protein than any other nutrient. Most Americans don't know the basic facts about protein and, sadly, that includes many doctors, dieticians, teachers, government agencies, friends, and our well-intended mothers. We are constantly bombarded with misinformation about protein by the so-called experts.

What is the purpose of protein in the human body?

Protein is a very important nutrient that has many functions, according to Dr. Leslie Van Romer.

• Enzymes are forms of protein that catalyze all chemical reactions in the body.
• Antibodies are made of proteins, which fight diseases and clean up foreign bodies.
• The carrier agents that transport oxygen in the blood are made of protein.
• And, of course, as we all know, protein is essential for the structure, growth, repair, and function of all the cells that make up our tissues, organs, and glands.

Our best sources of outside protein do not come from animal products. If you research the journals and the books by experts such as John McDougall, M.D., Neal Bernard, M.D., Joel Fuhrman, M.D., T. Colin Campbell, PhD., and many others, you will discover that the best sources of protein for human health—without the excess fat, cholesterol, chemicals, animal protein, and calories—come from plant foods.

It can be hard to believe that plant foods contain enough protein for human health. Let's use our common sense and think about protein logically. What is one of the main purposes of protein? Protein is necessary for growth, right? When do we grow the most? From birth to two years of age? What is the best food for growing babies? Human breast milk. How much protein is in human breast milk? 4.5 percent. The World Health Organization recommends that 4.5 percent protein is necessary for human health and fitness. How much protein do oranges contain? 8 percent. Carrots? 10 percent. Tomatoes? 16 percent. Potatoes? 11 percent. Brown rice? 8 percent. Romaine lettuce? 36 percent.

According to the World Health Organization, we consume plenty of protein from plant foods. One more logical question to ask yourself when you are wondering whether or not you are obtaining enough protein is, "Where do some of our great, big, strong mammals get their protein for growth and maintenance for their muscles and bones?" Do elephants eat chicken? Do horses eat fish? Do apes eat cheese? Do giraffes eat eggs? Of course not! These animals grow, maintain large muscles, and thrive by eating plant foods, and not even a huge variety at that. So the next time you eat beef or chicken or turkey or fish, don't fool yourself into thinking that you are eating it because you have to consume protein. Be honest. The reason, and the only reason, why you are eating animal products is because you like them, and you choose to eat them.

Webster's dictionary defines food as "any substance taken into and assimilated by a plant or animal to keep it alive and enable it to grow and repair tissue; nourishment; nutrient." Animal foods don't accomplish that task very well at all because they lack carbohydrates, the body's natural fuel for energy, and they lack enzymes, fiber, and disease-fighting antioxidants and phytochemicals. All that is supplied by animal foods is dead protein (which is difficult for the body to break down), fat, cholesterol, stored toxins, and some minerals (which can be supplied by other foods more efficiently). Yes, technically, this alleged food could keep you alive if you had nothing else to eat, but then your body would have to burn protein and fat for fuel, which would put you in a state of ketosis and would pose a threat to your kidneys. (Just ask the deceased Dr. Atkins.) The fat is, to an unwelcome degree, saturated and destructive to your arteries, while the protein is unhealthy, excessive, acidic, and sulphuric.

What about organic animal protein? Well, organic plaque in our organs would lead to organic blood clots. Catchy! The concept does seem to sell to some. If you like your plaque to form organically, or if you like your parasites and bacteria organic then sure! If you want to tax your organs and clog your bloodstream in an organic fashion, that's fine. If you want to be acidic the organic way. I think you understand my point. It is the animal products themselves that are not good for our body. Organic might be better for the animal in the short term, but not for human consumption. While it is better to have fewer chemicals in what we eat, our government does not regulate this well. Even if there were "100% clean" meat (if there was such a thing), it is not efficient for our body to try to utilize with respect to our organs, intestines, immune system, and our blood flow. Quality digestible protein is what counts…not just the grams of protein. Now, the next time someone asks you “Where do you obtain your protein?” your eyes will probably roll back in your head too. And you'll be smiling! I have lived endless years being asked that question and would have loved to have had a copy of this blog to hand out whenever I was asked!

Percentage of Calories from Protein

Vegetables

Spinach                49%

Broccoli               45%

Mushrooms          38%

Zucchini               30%

Green beans         26%

Cucumbers           24%

Green peppers      22%

Artichokes           22%

Celery                  21%

Eggplant              21%

Tomatoes             18%

Onions                 16%

Beets                    15%

Pumpkin               12%

Potatoes               11%

Yams                      8%

Fruits
Lemons                16%
Honeydew melons 10%
Cantaloupes           9%
Strawberries           8%
Oranges                  8%
Watermelons          8%
Bananas                 5%

[i] Campbell, supra

[ii] www.planetraw.com

[iii] www.vegsoc.org/info/protein.html