Got Protein?

Lately the hot topic surrounding vegetarians and vegans seems to be getting enough Amino Acids and Protein. The naysayers will tell you that you must ingest something that once moved and had a mom in order to get enough of those.
I don't go up to people at the drive thru and ask them "how do you get your chlorophyl?"















so I wish the burgermeisters would stop asking me how I get my protein!



The answer is easy- I get them from my vegetables (and an occasional nut, sprouted bean, or grain).



Here's the down and dirty:
We can get our protein from both animal and vegetable sources. The difference is that animal proteins are "complete" meaning that they contain all of the essential amino acids, while vegetable sources usually are incomplete (low on or missing certain essential amino acids). Different vegetable sources are deficient in different amino acids, so as long as one eats different vegetables, one can get all of the essential amino acids throughout the course of the day.

Some vegetable sources such as beans and nuts are especially high in protein, and some such as quinoa and hemp seeds are complete proteins.



Soy is also a complete protein, but much of it is unusable to the body and it contains a trypsin inhibitor. Soy also stimulates mucous production similar to dairy products and most of it is genetically modified and chemically treated.




Here's the real clincher: During digestion, all proteins are broken down into their amino acids so that they can enter the bloodstream where they become the building blocks of cells. What's not needed is excreted by the body.
Vegetables contain amino acids in their pure form, whereas animal sources contain proteins that must be broken down into amino acids.
So in other words, the body has to work much harder to extract the amino acids from the protein and then get rid of what it doesn't need!



Another interesting fact: The RDA for protein is 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight, which for me works out to about 36 grams. A can of tuna has 32 grams, which makes it easy to see why most Americans get WAY too much protein!


*There's 2.5 servings in a can of tuna


This is bad, because diets high in protein can lead to kidney problems, and if carbohydrates are restricted can leach calcium from the bones.

So where do I get my protein? Let me count the ways:









Spread the veggie love!

The name game

Last week my friend and I went to a raw foods preparation class. Somewhere between the nut pate and the chocolate nut ice cream pie, we were both dreaming of bonding with our bathroom commode. The other day I went to a raw ice cream social with my meetup group and in the midst of my stomach's revenge it occurred to me that any diet can be unhealthy. Everyone automatically assumes that if you're a vegetarian, a vegan, and especially a raw vegan you must be a health nut. Well, nothing could be further from the truth.
I have known many vegetarians who eat no vegetables, unless you categorize french fries, potato chips, and ketchup as vegetables. (Just to clarify- I don't!)
Then there are the vegans, and some of them take things a step further- they don't eat dip with their chips or drink milk in their coffee, but still no veggies.
So now we move on to the real radicals- the raw vegans. Now they must have a healthy diet, right? Well, the answer may shock and surprise, as it did me. The answer is a resounding "not necessarily".
Raw simply means not cooked, and vegan means no animal products. So eating a diet loaded with heavy nut pate's, rich desserts oozing with agave and maple syrup, and dehyrated grain snacks may be both raw and vegan, but healthy it's decidedly not.
So what do you call a person who actually eats vegetables? I think we should have a name of our own. How about "vegevore"? It sounds like some kind of prehistoric animal.
And what about those of us who take it even further and juice green vegetables, blend green smoothies, and eat sprouts and salads as our primary diet? "Salajuiceatarians"? That sounds like we've graduated with some kind of honor.
All I know is that it seems to me that a vegetarian should eat vegetables. If not, they should give the name back to it's rightful owners.
Maybe they could just call themselves "nomeatarians" or "nutaholics".