A Deadly Myth: How Much Protein Do We Really Need?

[Scoot_4_20]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
The only problem is that all this strict dietary advice is given as though we all have the same needs.

We don't.

So advice that is excellent for you may kill me.

I used to think that too but I no longer do. I believe anyone can be healthier as a vegan, but it must be done right. Superfood in fresh fruit & vegetable juice must be taken every day in order to prevent deficiencies of certain nutrients such as B-12, etc.
Some people would just take B-12 and other supps but I'm not into that.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
When we were in the States last year, we were astounded at the low cost, and the portion sizes that were dished up...and the fried potatoes that came with breakfast.

And quite a few times, we "offended" business owners by the amount that we left on the plate, and we'd have to explain that the food was lovely, just too much.

We, my wife and I, often ordered 1 to share and sometimes we could not even finish 1 order.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: Scoot_4_20
I used to think that too but I no longer do. I believe anyone can be healthier as a vegan, but it must be done right. Superfood in fresh fruit & vegetable juice must be taken every day in order to prevent deficiencies of certain nutrients such as B-12, etc.
Some people would just take B-12 and other supps but I'm not into that.


Problem is that the concept of vegan is a truly modern phenomenon.

Once read an excellent article in New Scintist that demonstrated that "traditional" vegan cultures had as much as 10% of their protein, and a lot of good fatty acids from the bugs contaminating their staple food stores.

Modern practices eliminated these trace nutrients.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
We, my wife and I, often ordered 1 to share and sometimes we could not even finish 1 order.

Ditto.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: dmiko
What about Inuits who eat nothing but whale meat? Public is extremely misinformed and some still believe that meat causes problems, whereas that theory has been disproved long ago.



If you did a bit of research rather than cherry pick your data you'd find plenty of research papers that tracked the health and life span of primitive peoples. The conclusion for the Inuits was:

Originally Posted By: Research Paper
Inuit Greenlanders, who historically have had limited access to fruits and vegetables, have the worst longevity statistics in North America. Research from the past and present shows that they die on the average about 10 years younger and have a higher rate of cancer than the overall Canadian population.


If you really want to look at longevity, look at the Abkhasia of Southern Russia. At 90 years old they still run up and down the mountains, and don't exhibit the chronic health issues that prevail in the western world and diet. Not surprisingly, their diet was found to contain the following:

Originally Posted By: Research Paper
They followed a mostly plant-based diet, emphasizing fresh (as in "picked-it-this-morning" fresh) foods, whole grains and nuts. The day typically starts with a fresh salad of raw greens harvested from their garden. Nuts are typically served at every meal, bringing in antioxidant value.



Sounds like that blubber based diet does the Inuits well. Not.

 

[d00df00d]

What are your sources? "Research Paper" isn't particularly convincing.

Also, what about genetic factors, environmental factors, and access to health care? Surely, if we're interested in avoiding cherry picking of data, we should be considering as big a picture as possible.

 

[Scoot_4_20]

I'm a blood type O+, the type that they say needs animal protein the most, of all blood types. For years I ate organic high quality animal proteins, and many times I still felt as if I was not absorbing proteins well.

I've been vegan for many months now, and I feel I'm absorbing proteins a lot better than I was on meats. I eat no flour or pasta,, only sprouted grain bread like Ezekiel bread, sprouted lentils and mung beans, soaked nuts & seeds, and other cooked legumes, with whole grains and a lot of vegetables, and some fruit. If a type O can go vegan, and type can go vegan. I've also done things to cleanse and tone my GI tract, liver, and colon.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: Scoot_4_20

I've been vegan for many months now, and I feel I'm absorbing proteins a lot better than I was on meats. I eat no flour or pasta,, only sprouted grain bread like Ezekiel bread, sprouted lentils and mung beans, soaked nuts & seeds, and other cooked legumes, with whole grains and a lot of vegetables, and some fruit. If a type O can go vegan, and type can go vegan. I've also done things to cleanse and tone my GI tract, liver, and colon.


One of my exes decided that "we" were vegan. Then to compound it she decided that we were also going gluten free.

I hated that diet. I felt fatigued constantly. The increased roughage gave me stomach pains and digestive problems.

I started to sneak in dairy to my diet at lunch. A little slice of gouda with an Fuji apple or Havarti and Granny Smith. A cup of yogurt. etc... Stomach pains diminished. Energy started to return.

Like the above said, what works for some may not work for others.

I prefer to enjoy a variety of good quality fresh foods with an occasional outing of pure junkfood like Church's or Popeye's.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: Scoot_4_20
If a type O can go vegan, and type can go vegan.

I have a hard time imagining that blood type is the main factor here.

 

[Cristobal]

Look, gorillas are vegetarian; they are related to humans and look at the muscles they have. That said, I think that from plant sources, especially peanut butter, you can satisfy all your protein needs. A dietician should be consulted or do your own research to find all the amino acid sources.

From animal sources, a can of sardines a day, or a liter of milk, will give you all the protein you need.

 

[mcrn]

Originally Posted By: dmiko
What about Inuits who eat nothing but whale meat? Public is extremely misinformed and some still believe that meat causes problems, whereas that theory has been disproved long ago.

It is sugar and not fat that causes diabetes, heart disease and possibly even cancer. Insulin produced when our blood glucose levels are high inhibits the released of fatty acids from fat cells and switches on the glucose uptake by muscle cells. This results in obesity and other "diseases of Western civilization".

Think about it, what did "Western civilization" have and have been recently consuming more of and what native people didn't have? They could always hunt. They didn't have refined sugar, refined (white) rice, white flour.

Gary Taubes has a couple of books about it - "Good Calories, Bad Calories" and "Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It".

The whole issue turned into some holy war where blind beliefs (and sometimes moralizing) matter much more than science or fact.

I used to eat low-fat and always felt fatigued at the end of workday. I gained some weight too. After reading the above books, I started eating way more fat, meat and cheese and cut sugar and carbs. Not only did I loose weight and body fat (from 26% to under 20% so far), I feel energetic the whole day. My HDL went way up (good) and triglycerides are low.

To each their own but, but making decisions that your health depends on based on some stupid articles with unproven statements therein and also based on moralizing is just dumb.

P.S. Beef should be grass-fed and all food should be humanely raised. It is good for animals and good for us as well.



Totally agree and its refreshing to see someone else say this. I tell this to people all the time and some just dont believe me. Sugar is just about the worst thing for humans.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: Cristobal
Look, gorillas are vegetarian; they are related to humans and look at the muscles they have. That said, I think that from plant sources, especially peanut butter, you can satisfy all your protein needs.


Gorillas?

Chimpanzees share 98.5% of our DNA. And they are known predators. Don't believe me? Try being a Colobus Monkey that runs afoul of a troop of chimps.

They are also known insectivores.

But I don't want to base my diet on our closest living relative in the wild. They also eat their own feces.