protein -something we all should know about

June 10, 2008

Protein

YOUR body is largely made of protein: your skin, muscles, internal

organs, nails, hair, brain, and even the base of your bones.

Like the muscles, hair which lacks elasticity and resiliency and

perhaps breaks or refuses to take a permanent will often change to

healthy hair after a few weeks of improved nutrition. Nails which

break, peel, or crack can likewise change when the diet is improved.

Another cause of fatigue, particularly common among women and

children, is anemia, or lack of red corpuscles, which are made almost

wholly of protein. Without adequate protein anemia quickly results and

persists until the nutrition is made normal. Anemia, however, can

result from any number of nutritional inadequacies.

If protein is abundantly supplied and the diet is otherwise adequate,

we can expect high resistance to diseases and infections.

Experimental work has shown that when a low-protein diet is replaced

by one high in adequate proteins, the antibody production is increased

a hundredfold within a single week.

When all parts of the body are maintained by the absorption and

utilization of adequate food, health and youthfulness are likewise

maintained. Conversely, you grow old on the days your diet is

inadequate. Since your body structure is largely protein, an

undersupply can bring about aging with depressing speed

Proteins from brewers' yeast, certain nuts, soybeans, cottonseed, and

the germ of cereals are complete proteins. The proteins of peas,

lentils, navy and lima beans, cereals and flour with the germ removed

lack some of the essential amino acids; they are therefore incomplete

and cannot support life alone

The greatest hindrance to good health in this respect is ignorance.

Many surveys of thousands of persons having enough money to eat as

they choose have shown that about 60 per cent get far less protein

than is adequate

Proteins are made up of smaller units called amino acids. There are

about 20 different amino acids, eight of which must be present in the

diet. These are the essential amino acids. Unlike animal proteins,

plant proteins may not contain all the essential amino acids in the

necessary proportions. However, a varied vegetarian diet means a

mixture of proteins are consumed, the amino acids in one protein

compensating for the deficiencies of another.

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.

Good sources of protein for vegetarians include nuts and seeds,

pulses, soya products (tofu, soya milk and textured soya protein such

as soya mince), cereals (wheat, oats, and rice), free-range eggs and

some dairy products (milk, cheese and yoghurt

Many plant proteins are low in one of the essential amino acids. For

instance, grains tend to be short of lysine whilst pulses are short of

methionine. This does not mean that vegetarians or vegans go short on

essential amino acids. Combining plant proteins, such as a grain with

a pulse, leads to a high quality protein which is just as good, and in

some cases better, than protein from animal foods. Soya is a high

quality protein on its own which can be regarded as equal to meat protein.

Increased protein needs during pregnancy and breast feeding are

usually met simply by the extra calories from more food. Because

infants and children are growing they require more protein than adults

(proportional to their body weight).

Muscles are built from protein. Unlike fat cells for fat and muscle or

liver for glucose, there is no place in the body to store protein. We

need to consume enough protein to allow our muscles to be healthy and

perform work

When people start consuming too much protein (over 2.0 g/kg/day), the

extra protein can become a stressful stimulus for the kidney. This is

even more of a concern as we get older and our organs are less

efficient and effective. However many people do not even get anywhere

like this amount in my experience.

According to Adele Davis book your breakfast can be a very big

influence on how you feel throughout your day.

Studies show that children who have a good breakfast do better in

school. When all this is known it beggars belief that some parents who

allow their children to skip breakfast, that is bordering on neglect

and in the future that point may be a factor in the consideration of

whether parents are indeed fit parents. I would not be surprised to

see in the future legal action taken against parents on this point.

It doesn't take much further thought to know that adults will feel

better and perform better at work as well. Whether you work at home,

on the farm, at the office, at school, or on the road, it is not a

good idea to skip breakfast.

If you were in the army skipping breakfast would mean you would be on

a charge as this was considered to be a serious offence.

If we skip breakfast, we are likely to become tired when our brains

and bodies run low on fuel. By mid-morning, a lot of us grab a cup of

coffee, or wolf down a sugary candy bar to wake up again. This might

work for a few minutes, but by lunch time we are hungry, crabby, and

perhaps our mood might make us a little more prone to making unhealthy

choices at lunch. Eating a good breakfast sets the tone for the rest

of the day.

Blood sugar seems to be the key here , and low blood sugar can cause

it seems ,craving for sweets ,growling of the intestines, leading to

exhaustion headaches, weakness, wobbliness, palpitations of the heart

may be noticeable, the legs may suddenly give way, nausea may also be

present.

The cells of the nerves of the brain can produce their energy it seems

only from sugar even, when sugar is decreased only slightly thinking

becomes slowed and confused and nerves become tense. The person whose

blood sugar falls below normal becomes more irritable grouchy moody

depressed and uncooperative blackouts and fainting may also occur.

According to Adele Davis book, Many studies have been done on

breakfast and blood sugar

People who eat breakfast are significantly less likely to be obese and

diabetic than those who usually don't, researchers reported today at

the American Heart Association's 43rd Annual Conference on

Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

Our results suggest that breakfast may really be the most important

meal of the day, " says Mark A. Pereira, Ph.D., a research associate at

Children's Hospital in Boston and assistant professor at Harvard

Medical School. " It appears that breakfast may play an important role

in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. "

The reason is that one's blood sugar stays up at optimum levels

throughout the day only when enough protein is eaten at breakfast.

What is " enough " ? In Adelle's judgment, an average-size person should

have about 60 grams of protein a day, and about 1/3rd of that at

breakfast. That's at least 20 grams.

That's rather difficult to do! An 8-ounce cup of milk is 8 grams. An

egg is 6 grams. Two eggs and 8 oz of milk is thus 20 grams. A half cup

of nonfat cottage cheese is 19 grams. Egg whites are 3 grams each, so

you figure!

Studies similar to these have been conducted in many universities. The

results have been consistently the same: well-being and the level of

efficiency experienced during the hours after meals depend upon the

amount of protein eaten.

The meals which produced a real zest for living also contained some

fat and a certain amount of carbohydrate. " (p. 23, paperback version).

She warns of the dangers of too much fat and carbohydrate, but

consistently recommends that small amounts of both be eaten together

at meals.

The meal furnishing 55 grams of protein sustained a high level of

energy and a high metabolism for six hours afterward.

IN other studies efficiency for three hours was obtained only when a

meal was eaten containing 22gramms or more of protein.

Children do not learn well unless nutrition is obtained and much money

is wasted.

Irritability caused from low blood sugar is a factor in divorces.

Car accidents can obviously also occur from low blood sugar as

thinking is slower. Low blood sugar driving may be as serious as

drunken driving.

The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council

recommends the following amounts of protein, in grams, daily:

Children Adults

Under 12 Years Over 12 Years Men -- 70

1-3 -- 40 Girls 13-15 -- 80 Women -- 60

4-6 -- 50 Girls 16-20 -- 75 Pregnancy -- 85

7-9 -- 60 Boys 13-15 -- 85 Lactation -- 100

10-12 -- 70 Boys 16-20 -- 100

These figures, , are generally considered to be too low. If you wish

to maintain your attractiveness, vigor, and youthfulness as long as is

humanly possible, it is probably wise to eat considerably more protein

than the Board recommends and/or to count only the grams of adequate

protein you eat. Whenever the diet has been deficient in protein for

some time, an intake of 150 grams or more daily is probably advisable

for a month or more. Such large amounts are also needed in the

treatment of various disease conditions.

Sources of proteins, Amounts, Completeness

(com=complete, inc=incomplete), Grams of Proteins

soybean flour, low fat 1 cup com.

60

cottonseed flour 1 cup com.

60

white flour 1 cup

inc.

8 to 12

wheat germ 1/2 cup com

24

brewers' yeast, powdered 1/2 cup com

50

powdered skim milk 1 cup inc

60 to 70

egg 1

com

6

milk, whole or skim, buttermilk 1 qt. com

32 to 35

milk, whole or skim ½ litre com

15

cottage cheese 1/2 cup com

20

American or Swiss cheese 2 slices com

10 to 12

soybeans, cooked 1/2 cup com

20

peanut butter 2 tbsp inc

9

cooked cereals 3/4 cup inc

10 to 18

prepared cereals 1 cup inc

1 to 3

navy or lima beans 1 cup inc

6 to 8

macaroni, noodles, rice 3/4 cup inc

3 to 4

Meat, fish, fowl boned or with little bone or fat** 1/4 pound 1

serving com 18 to 22

meat, fish, fowl with moderate bone and/or fat *** 1/4 pound

15 to 18

meat, fish, fowl with much bone and/or fat **** 1/4 pound

10 to 15

yoghurt I pot

6-8 grams

vegi burgers soya based 1

8

vegi sausage soya based 1

6-8

some bread always brown 1 slice

5- 6

Thousands of persons think they get adequate protein from one egg at

breakfast and meat for dinner; their actual intake may be 26 grams or

less, although their requirement is perhaps many times that amount.

Since a quart of milk supplies 32 to 35 grams of protein, one usually

finds that the person who drinks a quart daily has a fairly adequate

protein intake, whereas the person who avoids milk is almost

invariably deficient.

Here is a fairly good starter breakfast wise

2 vegi burgers 1 yogurt 2 slices of brown wholemeal bread gets

you around 32 gramms

So look on the labels for the protein content, every parent should

study nutrition, as good parents will want the best for their children

as parents you are forming habits in your children then of course form

good habits.

June 10, 2008

The Protein Gambit

Research

Cultural Propaganda on Protein

Consumption

From the time of early childhood, humans

are

constantly

reminded about "getting enough protein" in the diet. Every child is

"educated"

about "the basic four food groups" promoted by the National Egg Board,

the National Dairy Council, and the National Livestock and Meat Board.

There seems to be an odd preoccupation with introducing foreign animal

proteins into humans, to the exclusion of normal dietary intake of

available

plant proteins. In a similar manner, a large number of vaccines

injected

deliberately into humans are based on foreign animal proteins, and we

will

examine the ramifications of that later on.

The belief that animal protein is

better

than

plant protein appears to be based on research in 1914, when Osborn and

Mendel did some of the earliest research on protein requirements. Since

overt experimentation on humans is discouraged, experiments on rats

were

conducted. Osborn and Mendel found that rats grew faster on animal

protein

than they did when they ate plant protein. Of course, rat physiology is

different than humans and extrapolation from one species to another is

often questionable. Nevertheless, they took these results and declared

that animal protein, composed of meat, eggs and dairy products, was

classified

as a "Class A" protein. Plant proteins were classified as "Class B"

proteins.

[1] These ideas of rigid classes of proteins were discarded in England

in 1959, but the American public is still encouraged to accept this

dogma.

[2]

Scientists who really seem to

understand

human

physiology do not totally agree on the precise figure for human daily

need

for protein, but established scientific research put the figure

somewhere

between 2% and 8% of the diet. These figures contain built-in safety

margins

and are recommended allowances that are more than adequate for 98% of

the

population. [3] Human mothers milk, containing human protein and

antigens,

has a maximum of 5% protein. In comparison, bovine (cow) milk has 15%

protein.

Rat milk has an astounding 49%.. [4]

With what we know about plant protein

content,

it easily provides all the protein humans require. Even if we ate

nothing

but potato (11% protein), we would get more than enough protein for our

needs,[5] but not necessarily all the nutrients we need. The revised

edition

of Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe contains much

data on food planning and meals that do not require the usage of animal

protein which, for a number of reasons, creates considerable problems

for

human physiology.

The companies and interests who sell

animal

protein (meat, fish, cheese, eggs, chicken, etc.) have for many years

disseminated

cultural propaganda which raise the amount of protein "you need" by

30%,

which of course creates a multi-billion dollar industry which also

consumes

more than 33% of the fresh water in the United States and leaves behind

billions of pounds of animal waste and human disease in its wake.

The fact that plant protein is

entirely

sufficient

for humans was emphasized at an annual meeting of the American

Association

for the Advancement in Science, at which the eminent nutritionist Dr.

John

Scharffenburg said, "let me emphasize, it is difficult to design a

reasonable

experimental diet that provides an active adult with adequate calories

that is deficient in protein." [6] This brings to mind another aspect

of

the propaganda of the meat and dairy industry, that an increase in

human

activity requires a corresponding increase in animal protein

consumption.

According to the National Academy of Science, there is little or no

evidence

that muscular activity increases the need for protein. [7]

The Result of Excess Protein in the

Human

Diet

The average diet in the United States,

culturally

encouraged by the media who is lobbied and paid by the meat and dairy

industries,

contains severely high levels of protein, and there are corresponding

medical

conditions that arise as a result of this "normal" American diet. Since

quantities of protein above the 2-8% required has to be processed by

the

kidneys, it puts additional and unnecessary stress on the body. Along

with

the process of calcium crystal formation, the kidney also undergoes a

gradual

process of degeneration, hypertrophy and inflammation. [8] Medical

researchers

no longer deny the association between excess protein consumption and

osteoporosis.

In a report published in the British journal Lancet, Dr. Aaron Watchman

and Daniel Bernstein made significant commentary on work sponsored by

the

United States Department of Health, as well as work done by Harvard

University,

which called the association of meat based diets with the increasing

incidence

of osteroporosis "inescapable."

In fact, the most imporant co-factor

of

osteroporosis

is excess dietary protein. The correspondence between excess protein

intake

and bone reabsorption is direct and consistent. Even with very high

calcium

intake, the more protein in the diet the greater the incidence of

negative

calcium balance. In other words, the more protein in our diet, the more

calcium we actually lose, regardless of how much calcium we take in.

The

result is that high-protein diets in general, and diets based on meat

and

dairy products in particular, lead to a gradual but definite decrease

in

bone density and assist the development of osteoporosis.

The general correlation between the

development

of osteroporosis and protein intake has also been observed elsewhere on

the planet. Statistics tend to show that osteoporosis is most common in

those countries where dairy products are consumed in large quantities.

This tendency is present in the United States, Finland, Sweden and the

United Kingdom.

High Protein Intake Lowers Serotonin

Production

and

Increases Violence and Aggression

The human body makes use of certain amino

acids

found in the diet and converts them to specific neurotransmitters.

Three

primary amino acids in the diet that are important are tyrosine,

lecithin

(phosphatidylcholine) and tryptophan. The conversion sequences are as

follows:

Tyrosine -> Dopa -> Dopamine

->

Norepinephrine

-> Epinephrine

Lecithin -> Choline -> Choline

Acetyltransferase

-> Acetylcholine -> Cholinesterase

Tryptophan ->Tryptophan Hydroxylase ->

5-Hydroxytryptophan

-> Serotonin

Serotonin is an important substance

that

inhibits

aggression and violence. Most proteins encouraged in the diet contain

amino

acids other than tryptophan. A high protein meal reduces the plasma

ratio

of tryptophan to the competing amino acids, and less tryptophan is

carried

across the blood-brain barrier to the neurons. This fact has socially

developed

to where those who have a high protein diet (meat, dairy, eggs) are

more

aggressive. Thus, the high protein diet is encouraged in various

sports.

Some years ago, a chemical company that made pure tryptophan for

inclusion

into over-the-counter tablets manufactured a contaminated lot,

resulting

in the death of several people. The FDA used this as an excuse to ban

Tryptophan

for sale to the public, removing an important modulator of aggression

from

public use. This had to be a set-up, because there are scores of other

things out there that kill people every day and the FDA ignores them.

REFERENCES

[1] Osborn, T., "Amino Acids in

Nutrition

and

Growth," Journal of Biological Chemistry 17:325,1914.

[2] Editorial, The Lancet, Journal

of

the

British Medical Association, London, Vol.2. p.956, 1959.

[3] Scrimshaw, N., "An Analysis of

Past and

Present Recommended Daily Allowance for Protein in Health and Disease."

New England Journal of Medicine, Jan 22, 1976, pg. 200.

[4] Bell, G., Textbook of

Physiology

and

Biochemistry, 4th edition, 1954, p.167.

[5] U.S.D.A. Agriculture Handbook,

No.456.

[6] Scharffenburg, J., Problems

With Meat,

Woodbridge Press, 1982, p.90.

[7] National Academy of Sciences, Recommended

Dietary Allowances, 8th edition, Washington, D.C., 1974, p.43.

[8] Coe, F., "Meat and Renal Stones." Internal

Medicine News, Vol 12. No.1, 1979.

[9] Wachman, Ammon et al, "Diet and

Osteoporosis,"

Lancet, May 4, 1968, pg.958; Ellis, F., et al, "Incidence of

Osteoporosis

in Vegetarians and Omnivores," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,

No.25, p.555, 1972.

[10} Johnson, N., et al "Effect of

Level of

Protein Intake on Urinary and Fecal Calcium Retention," Journal of

Nutrition,

Vol 100, p.1425, 1970; Allen, L., et al, "Protein-Induced

Hypercalcuria:

A longer term studu," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,

Vol.32,

p.741, 1979; Solomon, L., "Osteoporosis and Fracture of the Femoral

Neck,"

Journal

of Bone and Joint Surgery, 50B, p.2, 1968.

Research

Group

, "pjb12345uk" <pho wrote:>> Protein > > > The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council> recommends the following amounts of protein, in grams, daily: > > Children Adults> > Under 12 Years Over 12 Years Men -- 70 > 1-3 -- 40 Girls 13-15 -- 80 Women -- 60 > 4-6 -- 50 Girls 16-20 -- 75 Pregnancy -- 85 > 7-9 -- 60 Boys 13-15 -- 85 Lactation -- 100 > 10-12 -- 70 Boys 16-20 -- 100 > > > These figures, , are generally considered to be too low. If you wish> to maintain your attractiveness, vigor, and youthfulness as long as is> humanly possible, it is probably wise to eat considerably more protein> than the Board recommends and/or to count only the grams of adequate> protein you eat. Whenever the diet has been deficient in protein for> some time, an intake of 150 grams or more daily is probably advisable> for a month or more. Such large amounts are also needed in the> treatment of various disease conditions.

June 11, 2008

David..... just wanted to say thanks for this article as it fits in nicely with the Current Book I am reading:

In Defence of Food.... an eater's manfesto written by Michael Pollan, who also authored The Omnivore's Dilemma

He writes well and does take 'pains' to point out that most of what we consume today would NEVER have been classified as 'food' in bye gone years.... and also that it is nutritionalists and government bodies who decide how who and what (grin) we should eat these days, our fore-Mother's commom sense regarding food has gone flying out of the window! Science , pseudo-science has us all by the short and curlies (so to speak) and WE... suckers that we have become, follow blindly and worship at their various food style pyramids!

Read his books..... I am enjoying them

Clare in Tassie

The Protein Gambit

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