Where Do You Get Your Protein?
Of all the nutrients, protein is the most misunderstood, the need for protein has been greatly exaggerated by the meat, dairy industries and those selling protein powders. Protein’s main function is growth, which is negligible in adults, as well as repair from injury and replacement of worn out cells.
A new born baby will grow more in the first year of life than at any other time. If the baby only consumes mother’s milk for that year he will grow healthy and normal. Mother’s milk on average contains approximately 6% of calories from protein for growing children. Yet, whats normally recommended is 20-30% for adults who don’t need what a newborn does. It’s clear the meat and dairy industries have done a fine job of promoting their products.
The Food and Drug Administration is largely responsible for convincing people that they need various animal products in their diets to be healthy. They are responsible for the food pyramid that is learned in grammar school. It’s ingrained in us at an early age. Whatever agenda the meat and dairy industry may have is easily and quickly carried out by the FDA.
The FDA and the Department of Agriculture are closely linked and of course, lobbyists serve both groups quite loyally.
Dr. Charles Atwood had this to say about protein sources, “Until recently, animal proteins from meat and dairy products were thought to be necessary in order to obtain what nutritionists called “complete proteins.”
Proteins are composed of amino acids, 12 of which are manufactured by the human body. Another 9, called essential amino acids, must he obtained from food. Most animal products, such as meat and dairy products, contain all of the essential amino acids and have been designated as containing complete proteins. Most proteins from vegetables also contain all 9 essential amino acids, but 1 or 2 may be low in a particular food compared with a protein from most animal sources.
The old ideas about the necessity of carefully combining vegetables at every meal to ensure the supply of essential amino acids has been totally refuted. Modern nutritionists, after observing populations of strict vegetarians who were healthier and lived longer than meat-eaters, now realize that all essential amino acids may be obtained from a variety of fruits, vegetables or grains eaten over a one-to-two-day period.”
So, we can obtain all out protein needs from a plant based diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. It really makes sense, everyone agrees that fruits and vegetables are the healthiest foods. The director of nutrition for the U.S. Olympic teams once called fruit “magic food”. All of the major organizations, to private business, from the National Heart Foundation to the American Cancer Society, agree that we should increase our consumption of fruit.
The Main Reasons for Not Choosing Animal Based Foods for Protein Needs
1.) Foods that are high in protein have fat as their primary calorie source. Fat consumption is linked to arteriosclerosis a condition that results in a narrowing and hardening of the large and medium size arteries, which in turn reduce blood flow. Any condition that reduces blood flow will directly hinder a players performance.
2.) Animal based protein foods have been cooked, therefore, they’re in an unusable form. Protein is usable only when its amino acids are intact. Heat deranges the amino acid chains and cause the protein in these foods to become denatured, meaning they are no longer viable. When animal based foods have been heated to above 161 degrees they become damaged and are no longer useful to the body. So, even though animal based protein foods have all nine essential amino acids, they’re not doing your body any good, they become useless once heated. Worse than of no use, heating proteins results in the formation of mutagens and carcinogens, both extremely harmful. When cooked animal products enter the body, the body identifies them as toxic substances, that must be eliminated as quickly as possible. White blood cells act as the body’s janitors. After eating cooked, animal based products, white cell counts are raised to five or six times the normal level to clean up the toxic mess. All of this digesting and cleaning takes energy, taking energy away from you as a player.
The Main Reasons for Choosing Plant Based Foods for Protein Needs
1.) Raw fruits and vegetables are the easiest foods on the planet to digest. Less energy used digesting, means more energy for playing. They also provide vitamins, minerals and enzymes in the perfect form, easily assimilated by the body.
2.) Unlike the protein from from cooked animal foods, the protein from raw fruits and vegetables is completely usable by the body. The raw vegetables in a typical salad contain an average of about 15% of calories from protein, more than adequate. As an added bonus they come with very low levels of saturated fats and essentially no cholesterol. Fruits and vegetables also provide us with plenty of fiber, and essential nutrient that is completely absent in animal fare.
I’ve been on a raw vegan diet for almost two years now, and I’m more convinced than ever that a plant based diet is THE best diet for anyone, and especially for tennis players looking to improve their performance. At sixty-one years of age, I’m on no medications and my energy levels are very good. Actually, I’ve been trying to get into the gym a little more and increase muscle mass, so far it’s working nicely.
Personally, I eat a lot of fruit throughout the day because they are the best source of calories. We need calories for energy, if you’re not getting enough calories you’ll be tired and irritated, but it’s important to get the right kind of calories. Basically, there are only two choices on the planet for calories, carbohydrates from fruit or fats from animal based foods. We cannot meet our caloric needs from vegetables. Vegetables, of course are very good, we need them on a regular basis, they provide us with minerals, vitamins and enzymes but they are low in calories, you simply will not have the energy you need if you’re trying to get calorie needs from them. So, fruit is the choice of a wise person, high in calories, yet easy on digestion and easily assimilated. If you choose animal based foods, high in fats and calories, you’re inviting a host of problems such as, constipation and other digestive disorders that often lead to toxemia (toxic blood and tissues), cancer, autoimmune dysfunction, arthritis, premature aging, impaired liver function, kidney failure, osteoporosis and many other degenerative and pathogenic conditions that come from eating more protein than we need.
A lot of the information taken from this article was obtained through Dr. Doug Graham’s book, Nutrition and Athletic Performance, pages 31-35. I highly recommend it. By the way, Dr. Graham was Martina Navratilova’s nutritional coach when she played the tour.
