Image Source
READ MORE ABOUT:
Vegans subsist on plant proteins, yet are constantly confronted with this question: "How do you get enough protein in your diet?" Welcome to the protein myth.
In the US, the typical adult ingests 100 grams of protein every day—roughly four to five times the amount recommended by scientists not affiliated with meat and dairy corporations. The average American—in his/her lifetime—will consume 12 sheep, 15 cows, 24 hogs, 900 chickens, and 1000 lbs. of assorted animals (like fish). How did we ever develop this idea that more is better when it comes to protein?
One reason is the scientifically useless and morally indefensible institution of animal experimentation. Since trying to discern biological trends from human to human is often impossible, what makes us think testing done on a rat will lead to any knowledge about our anatomy and physiology? The breast milk of rats, for example, derives nearly half of its calories from protein. Human breast milk is 5.9 percent protein. Obviously, there's little useful information to be gained from monitoring the protein needs of rodents. However, many of today's "experts" are still relying on protein requirement studies done on rats...in 1914.
What about those who believe we need extra protein because we want to run faster, jump higher, or grow bigger and prettier muscles? "Although in the past it was thought that vegetarian and vegan diets might impair athletic performance," explains Natalie Digate Muth, MPH, RD, "scientists, coaches, and athletes alike now agree that with proper planning a diet without animal products can effectively fuel peak performance." In addition, the decidedly mainstream National Academy of Sciences has declared, "There is little evidence that muscular activity increases the need for protein."
So, how much protein do we need? The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says 2.5 percent of our daily calories should come from protein. According to the World Health Organization, it's about 5 percent. How does that work out in grams? A lot lower than the US average of 100 grams a day, that's for sure.
"An adult male on a fast only puts out 4.32 grams of urinary nitrogen per day," says William Harris, M.D. author of The Scientific Basis for Vegetarianism. "Each gram represents 6.25 grams of broken down protein, so under conditions in which some protein is actually being catabolized and used for fuel, only about 4.32 x 6.25 = 27 grams/day are actually needed." Twenty-seven grams.
Which brings us back to human breast milk. Humans undergo their most rapid growth during infancy and human breast milk has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to become the perfect food to facilitate that growth. As stated earlier, it derives only 5.9 percent of its calories from protein. So, here's a question for everyone working two jobs just to afford their expensive protein supplements: If we need less than 6 percent of our calories from protein during a time of intense growth, why are we consuming so much protein as full-grown adults?
Related Posts
Get Your Protein Power from Eco Friendly Hemp
Quinoa, an Ancient Power Punch
-
- {}
