Tuesday, August 19, 2008

But what about protein?

Not surprisingly, I've already been asked "But where will you get your protein?". There's a well-written article, which also discusses the issue of calcium, here. I'll post an excerpt...

Protein does not create protein in your body. Amino acids create protein in your body. And the best source of amino acids are leafy green vegetables.

When you eat meat, fish, or chicken, you’re not getting as much protein as you think you are. Take chicken, for example. Say there are 20 grams of protein in a chicken breast. Once you cook it, you destroy half the protein. Now your body has to digest and assimilate this heavy, dense source of 10 grams of protein, that will take up to 100 hours. How much do you think is getting stuck in your body as toxic waste by the time it reaches your colon? How much protein from a cooked chicken breast will you actually get? Maybe a few grams, if you’re lucky.
Also, on a FAQ section found at Health Freedom, they discuss the protein question.

This is the #1 question people have when they are considering a raw food diet. People think that protein comes only from meat, dairy or at least soy, and that without eating at least some of those foods, they won't get enough.. As a matter of fact every living cell contains protein: every plant cell has protein as a basic constituent in its cytoplasm. Vegetables contain protein! Seeds and nuts obviously contain proteins. Seaweeds and algae are very rich sources also. Factually, your body doesn't use whole proteins - it must break these down into amino acids. Plant proteins generally break down for assimilation more quickly than animal proteins and are often found already in the form of amino acids.

The horse, cow, deer, elephant, and gorilla are naturally vegetarians -where does all their muscle and body mass come from? Grass, leafy greens, and in the case of the gorilla, fruit! The meat and dairy industries have spent millions on advertising to convince people the only way to get protein is from meat and dairy products, and they have been very successful. In fact, the protein in meat is coagulated and in a form that the body cannot assimilate easily, and cannot use effectively. The consumption of meat and dairy (and the fat within it) has been linked to all kinds of fatal illnesses, including heart failure..

The fact is, your body needs 22 amino acids in order to build protein molecules and muscles. Of these 22 amino acids, there are 8 which the body cannot make and must get from outside sources. All 8 are available in raw plant foods. And in raw plant foods they are in a form which is easily assimilated and used by the body. All the protein your body needs can be gotten from raw nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits.


So, I hope I've answered your question, but please feel free to ask more questions! I'll be glad to research the answers, for you and for my own knowledge.

1 comment:

maybe strawberry said...

i agree! the way things are advertised on tv, people are so misinformed!