By Dr. Ray Innis / Healthy Living columnist
How many times have you heard that to meet all your protein needs, or enough protein, you must include some form of animal product in your diet?
If you are involved in any sport, not as a spectator of course, or if you are ill, or aspire to lose weight, protein is almost always prescribed and encouraged in abundance by well-meaning friends and family. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, similar well-meaning individuals will press you about protein deficiency and its “multitude of consequences.”
The truth is there probably isn’t a vegetarian on the planet who has not been asked: “Are you getting enough protein?” With each new CHIP lifestyle course, participants frequently ask this question. Sometimes I wonder if this is a learned, reflex behavior; a thought expressed without thinking about the answer. After they leave however, they are empowered with knowledge to address this myth without feeling guilty about their response.
A food earns complete protein status if it contains the nine essential amino acids the body needs to build the proteins that help maintain muscle, bone, and organs. Most unrefined foods, especially foods as grown, contain the essential amino acids in sufficient quantities to meet human dietary needs. In other words, many plant based foods are complete or whole protein. Excellent examples of these are soybeans (including tempeh and edamame), quinoa, spirulina and miss. There are other combinations of plant-based foods which provide complete protein as they complement each other. Examples of these are rice and legumes, two incomplete protein sources which when combined provide a complete protein.
It is true that under certain circumstances your protein need is increased and some patients do lose weight on a high protein, low fat and low carbohydrate diet. How much protein do you actually need and can you get all your essential protein from plant based sources only? Your recommended daily protein need is 0.36g per body weight in pounds.
A myth is a belief in something despite strong scientific evidence to the contrary, while a fact is a belief supported by scientific evidence. Presently the greater evidence supports the idea that a plant based diet provides sufficient protein to meet the dietary needs for human growth and development. Thus the need for animal based protein with all its consequences is made void. Nonmeat eating individuals can relax, realizing that a balanced, whole food diet comprising foods from the four basic food groups will provide sufficient nutrients and protein for their individual development.
Dr. Innis is a practicing anesthesiologist and leader of the Coronary Health Improvement Project (CHIP) in Conroe. For more information on this program visit conroechip.com[1] .
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