Eat and live healthier


The protein myth

The number one question most vegetarians are
asked is "How do you get enough protein?",Nothing in our modern human diet has been as
and the first question from peoplemisunderstood, and as misrepresented, as
considering a vegetarian diet is "How will Iprotein. It's considered by most people as
get  enough  protein?"the foundation of nutrition --- and essential
to life. The importance of eating enough
The Myth of Protein is so widely accepted asprotein, primarily from animal sources, is
fact that even vegetarians believe it! Itdrilled  into  us  daily  from  childhood.
goes  like  this:
It's been estimated that the average person
Protein is the most important nutrient in ourin this country eats two - six times more
diet, and protein from meat, fish, poultry,protein, usually from animals, than is needed
milk and eggs is superior to the incompletefor good nutrition. At it's most extreme, our
protein  from  plant  sources.protein fixation has led to the popularity of
high-protein low-carb weight loss diets,
Meat is the best protein source, and grainscondemned by doctors and nutritionists from
have  little  or  no  protein.coast  to  coast.
A vegetarian diet doesn't have enoughThe development of factory farms and modern
protein,  and  is  therefore  unhealthy.meat processing plants, aided by
refrigeration, along with economic rail and
Vegetarian  Protein  Realitytruck shipping, made meat and dairy products
widely available and affordable. The results,
Over the last few decades, wide spreadfor our health, the environment, and world
practical experience of vegetarian diet,hunger, have been disastrous. Before the late
knowledge of traditional cultures, and1800's most of the world didn't eat a lot of
hundreds of health/diet studies, all tell ameat, or dairy, as there just wasn't that
different  story.much  available  for  ordinary  people.
Too much protein is as harmful as too little,Except in myths of the Wild West, the average
and is linked with shorter life expectancy,person didn't have a horse and gun to run
increased cancer and heart disease risk,around shooting things to eat, or a herd of
widespread obesity and diabetes,cows to kill. Mostly they worked pretty hard,
osteoporosis, kidney stress, and badfor not much money, and didn't have that much
digestiontime.
High protein-diets bring about temporarySince the early 20th century, a meat and
weight-loss, at the expense of overalldairy centered diet has been heavily promoted
health, and people quickly regain weight onceas the answer to dietary deficiencies, the
they  return  to  a  normal  dietflawed logic being that since we're mammals,
and our bodies are made with protein, then we
A varied vegetarian diet with a balance ofneed to eat mammals in order to get enough
protein, fats & carbohydrates, and adequateprotein and maintain our bodies. That
calorie intake provides more than enoughcannibalistic logic doesn't hold up under the
proteinmost  casual  examination.
Complete animal protein is not superior toUnfortunately most of recent human history is
complete protein from more than one plantbased on flawed logic. And we tend to rewrite
source – they give the same result inhistory about every fifty years to harmonize
different  wayswith  the  current  world  view.
Protein from plant sources doesn't includeThe world would be a much kinder, healthier
excess calories from fat, toxic residues, orplace today if people had gone with greens,
an overabundance of protein, which stressesgrains and beans instead of milk and meat as
the  kidneysthe solution to dietary deficiencies. A few
people did – they adopted a vegetarian
The Gospel According to Industrialdiet, and their dietary protein comes mainly
Agriculturefrom plants.



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