Proteins from vegetable sources

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Protein and Healing

The second in a three-part series on:

How much and what type of proteins .

http://getalife.net.au/mag/protein_healing2_html

 

Kathryn Alexander D.Th.D

 

In the first of this series of articles on Protein and Healing, I mentioned

that the recommended daily protein requirement is around 1g of protein/kg

of body weight. To the average person this represents 50-70g protein daily.

The best type of protein for healing is derived from vegetable sources;

more specifically, protein in its least concentrated form as found in

vegetables. You will obtain an average of 2% protein in most vegetables; an

average of 8-14% in cereal grains (dry weight); 21-35% in legumes (dry

weight); and 12-27% in nuts. Animal protein is more concentrated at 16-25%

raw weight. Remember, as grains and legumes swell with water during

cooking, the protein content of these foods, per cooked weight, will be

reduced by two-thirds.

 

Many professional nutritionists often complain that patients on the Gerson

Therapy, whether for cancer or chronic degenerative disease, cannot

possibly be getting enough protein as the diet seems to consist only of

vegetables! However, not only do our patients heal but their bodies are

regenerated and restored to full functioning capacity.

 

So it's time to get the calculator out. How much protein does a patient on

a detoxification therapy taking up to 6kg of vegetables and 3 kg apples

daily. 3.75 kg of these vegetables are juiced, along with 3kg of apples

daily. The juices alone provide around 60g of protein daily (taking a

conservative 1.6% estimate of protein content in vegetables). Potatoes are

also on the menu (6g protein from this source); oatmeal (another 7g) and

additional quantities of both cooked and raw vegetables. I would say that

on average the patient is consuming between 75 and 80g of quality protein

daily. If 200g of non-fat yoghurt is added to the regime, then we are

looking at an additional 7g of protein daily.

 

Having satisfied traditional dietary recommendations, we come to a more

pressing matter - that of digestibility. This concept is usually totally

ignored. Scientists will refer to the gross amounts of nutrients found in

foods with little reference to its true biological value to the human

being. The biological value of a food depends on two criteria: the strength

and efficiency of the patient's digestive system, and the accessibility of

nutrients within a given food. The bottom-line remains: that no amount of

" good " food is beneficial to the patient if they cannot adequately digest

it, if the nutrients remain bound within the food and unavailable, if the

food contains enzyme inhibitors which render it indigestible, and if the

cooking process has rendered it a " non-food " .

 

By the time we become sick, our digestive system is already impaired. How

can we then heal on a diet therapy if we are unable to digest our food? It

was against this scenario that Dr. Gerson formulated a diet which would

fulfil the nutritional requirements for healing and regeneration, even for

the most compromised digestive system.

 

Assisting the digestion means that you take living foods, unprocessed,

which come with their own quota of enzymes required for their digestion.

The juicing of vegetables, taken fresh every hour, ensures maximum

digestion and assimilation of a plentiful supply of nutrients. By removing

all the fibre, the digestion does not have to " compete " to release and

absorb the nutrients. All natural foods contain living enzymes: it is the

processing of foods which destroys their life-force and taxes the pancreas

to release greater quantities of digestive enzymes to complete the task.

Additionally the food enzymes help in the assimilation of minerals. The

slow cooking at low temperatures of vegetable dishes also ensures maximum

breakdown of indigestible fibres, the conversion of starches to the more

digestible sugars, and maintaining a greater integrity of the enzyme and

protein structures.

 

As the healing proceeds we begin to add foods which have a higher protein

value. This becomes important when patients are winding down their dietary

healing program and they start to ask, " How much protein, and what type is

safe for me to eat? " They immediately recognise, that by cutting down their

juices to perhaps only four daily, that the nutritional and protein content

of their diet is going to suffer considerably. They will be looking to

foods that provide concentrates of nutrients, particularly from the grains,

legumes and dairy products.

 

As the patient is healing so the digestion strengthens, and it becomes

possible to include the more difficult to digest foods. However, what most

people fail to realise is that grains, legumes and dairy produce are of

little nutritional benefit, even to people with the strongest digestion, if

they are not prepared correctly. These foods need to be " pre-digested "

through various techniques that prepare the food for the best assimilation.

 

The easiest example of this is the natural souring process of raw milk,

where the lactose is digested by the lactobacillus bacteria. Products such

as buttermilk, natural whey and yoghurt are high in lactic acid which

assists both in the digestion of the product itself and in the general

digestion. Isolated protein powders, such as whey powders, are processed at

high temperatures which denature the amino acids and the product becomes

useless as a food. Similarly, pasteurisation destroys all the natural

enzymes, nutrients will not be absorbed and the protein profile (lysine and

tyrosine) of the milk is damaged. It is now difficult to obtain raw milk

products, but if you can, then this is obviously the way to go. The

inclusion of pre-digested dairy products is important on the vegetarian

diet as it supplies good amounts of tryptophan (an amino acid) that is

lacking in many vegetarian foods.

 

This brings us to seeds, and by this I mean anything that sprouts -

legumes, grains and nuts. There are two major problems with this group of

foods: the amount of phytate they contain, and the presence of enzyme

inhibitors. Phytate is particularly nasty in that it will bind to calcium,

magnesium, iron and zinc and take it out of the body. Phytate is found in

the outer covering, or bran of the seed. Soy beans are particularly high in

phytates. Traditional methods of soaking or fermenting seeds will

neutralize the phytates in most seeds. It is a form of pre-digestion, and

one that ensures maximum absorption of nutrients.

 

Soaking oats in warm water overnight before cooking the next morning will

neutralise the phytic acid; similarly soaking any grains and legumes for

12-24 hours before cooking will decompose phytic acid; natural fermentation

of grains or flour products through soaking in an acidic medium such as

buttermilk (high in lactic acid) or in water with whey or yoghurt added

will also pre-digest the food and neutralise the phytic acid. Many

traditional cultures allow a natural fermentation of their grains for a 36

hour period before cooking. This allows lactobacilli and other useful

organisms to break down and neutralise the phytic acid. Similarly if you

soak grains for 7 hours in warm acidulated water, this too, will neutralise

most phytic acid.

 

The traditional leavening process of bread using sour dough techniques also

pre-digests the grain. These techniques have been largely been discarded in

favour of the quicker fermentation methods using yeast. It is doubtful

whether the phytic acid is destroyed with rapid yeast fermentation. It is

known that yeast proving diminishes and destroys much of grain's

nutritional value. Fermentation using a sour dough starter is a much longer

process requiring a fermentation period of 7 days for the starter alone,

and seven hours for the bread proving. The nutritional value of sour dough

bread is much greater than the traditionally yeast leavened breads.

 

Gluten, a protein high in wheat (also found in rye, oats and barley), is

very burdensome on the digestion. However, during the soaking and

fermenting process, the natural microbes (lactobacilli) break down or

pre-digest the gluten, and many people who suffer wheat intolerance/allergy

are more able to digest the product when prepared using these methods.

 

Many traditional breads are not leavened but made from sprouted wheat or

rye. The germinating or sprouting of seeds will also neutralise phytic

acid. However, a word of caution, raw sprouted grains/seeds/legumes contain

irritating substances in their shoots, so it is not a good idea to include

too many in the diet. These substances are neutralized through cooking.

Alfalfa seeds should not be included in any healing diet as they contain an

immature amino acid, L-canavanine, which is known to inhibit the immune

system and contribute to inflammatory disorders.

 

There is another case for the germination of seeds. All seeds, in their

dormant state, contain enzyme inhibitors. These compounds stop the seed

from germinating until conditions become favourable. They also neutralize

our own enzymes in the digestive tract. These enzymes are not de-activated

by cooking, so if we eat grains or legumes that have not been adequately

prepared before cooking, the digestion of all proteins taken at that meal

will be impaired.

 

The correct preparation of both grains and legumes is to soak them for at

least 12 hours at room temperature. Soaking will not only neutralize the

phytic acid but allow the proteases within the seed to neutralise the

inhibiting factors and so activate the natural enzymes. If you then drain

and rinse your seeds and place on a tray, or in a large jar, covered by a

damp cloth, for at least 12 hours, you will notice buds appearing on your

seeds. They are just beginning to germinate. It is at this stage that you

can cook your grains and legumes as normal. Germination will increase the

enzyme activity six-fold. Additionally, certain of the complex sugars are

broken down making them more digestible. You will find that if you have had

digestive difficulties with legumes and cereal grains in the past (lots of

gas) then these preparation techniques should be enough to alleviate the

problem by increasing their digestibility.

 

Soy beans have the highest amount of phytic acid of all the seeds. They are

also high in very potent enzyme inhibitor substances. Traditionally they

were only planted for their nitrogen-fixing capacity, and not as a food.

Unlike other seeds, even using preparation methods described above, the soy

bean cannot be rendered edible. The process of precipitation to make tofu

or bean curd will only remove a portion of the enzyme inhibitor substances

but none of the phytates. It is only through specific fermentation during

the making of soy sauce and miso that these anti-nutrients are eradicated.

Soy beans and soy products are therefore not recommended in any dietary

regime as they will cause chronic nutritional deficiencies both of minerals

and protein by virtue of their high phytate and enzyme inhibitor content.

 

I have also mentioned how heating denatures proteins and carbohydrates. By

denaturing we mean changing the shape of the protein or carbohydrate and

rendering both biologically inactive and at worst, toxic. The higher the

temperature, the greater the distortion of the food molecule. Food, when

cooked in water, will reach a maximum temperature of 100°C; fried food can

reach 215°C; and certain processing techniques such as those used in

puffing cereals apply a very high temperature and a pressure of 1500

pounds/square inch. The greater the damage to the protein or carbohydrate

molecule, the more toxic it becomes in the system, and may even act as a

poison. A study using four groups of rats revealed just this. The first

group was fed only water and nutrients, the second group was fed whole

wheat, water and chemical nutrients, the third group was fed on sugar and

water (no nutrients), and the fourth group was fed on puffed wheat, water

and chemical nutrients. The first group fed on water and chemical nutrients

lived 8 weeks; the second group fed on whole wheat, water and chemical

nutrients lived for over a year; the third group fed on sugar and water

only lived 4 weeks; while those fed on puffed wheat, water and chemical

nutrients lived for only 2 weeks. These results indicate that the inclusion

of puffed grains were acting in a morbid fashion, accelerating the

mortality rate. We now understand that starch-based foods exposed to

excessive heating or processing (includes all the puffed cereal grains,

crisp breads, biscuits, snack foods, potato crisps and fried potato chips),

are high in acrylamides which are not found in the raw or boiled food. This

indicates a conversion to a toxic, plastic, carcinogenic substance when

exposed to high temperatures.

 

In order to keep both your proteins and carbohydrates digestible, it is

important to cook using the lowest temperature you can. Simmering on the

stove, or baking in the oven are the preferred methods. Try to use the

waterless cooking method where applicable so that no nutrients are lost.

Frying not only heats the food to very high temperatures but it destroys

both the cooking oil and the natural oils found in the foods themselves.

You will end up consuming both toxic oil and toxic protein products. It is

interesting that traditional Asian cooking methods add water to the wok,

then the vegetables and then the oil. The water and the vegetables keep the

temperature down so the proteins and the oils are not destroyed.

 

Many patients with chronic degenerative disease will start to improve after

they have removed the bulk of protein from their diet. Dr. Gerson found

that in chronic degenerative disease and cancer, the liver is damaged and

toxic. It is the liver's responsibility to deal with abnormal, partially

digested proteins. When the liver is unable to detoxify properly, these

abnormal proteins can build up in the system and even affect the brain.

Research has indicated that the build-up of a digestive end product of A1

beta casein, found in cows' milk, is implicated as a factor in the

development of schizophrenia and autism. This same protein is known to have

immunomodulatory properties, and it is suggested that early exposure to

cow's milk in youngsters genetically predisposed to Insulin Dependent

Diabetes Mellitus can be one environmental factor which triggers the

autoimmune response. Additionally, research into Parkinson's and

Alzheimer's diseases, has shown a greater vulnerability to these diseases

in those with measurable deficiencies in their liver detoxification capacity.

 

So how much protein can we eat? This obviously depends on your state of

health. Many patients who have had cancer, or who suffer from a chronic

degenerative disease may find that they have to watch their protein intake

for life. Many of my patients who have been chronically ill can remain

symptom-free taking up to 2 -3 servings of each of the rice and legumes

weekly. They may also include 100-200g of yoghurt daily. Some patients

include a little fish (1-2 times weekly) and some include a few nuts

(always soak your nuts to increase their digestibility). To all may

patients I recommend juicing daily, for the rest of their lives, along with

a diet with plenty of vegetables and fruits, cooked and raw. We learn to

monitor our own health and vitality. Do any of my patient's eat meat, you

may ask? The answer is yes, some do. But for the purposes of

detoxification, sodium elimination and reversal of the tissue damage

syndrome, a low protein intake (average 1g quality protein/1kg body weight)

is recommended.