Why We Need Protein
Protein provides your body with the building blocks to maintain and build many of your body’s tissues. This includes muscle, tendons, and ligaments which are stressed and broken down by exercise.
These building blocks are called amino acids. Proteins are made of long chains of amino acids that your body breaks down during digestion. These amino acids are then used by your cells to build or rebuild tissue in a process called protein synthesis.
There is a common misconception that a diet devoid of animal products will be deficient in protein. This is not necessarily the case. Many athletes on plant based diets have done really well.
But some experts argue that plant protein has lower quality and bioavailability than animal based sources such as meat, eggs, fish, and dairy.
Muscle
The International Society of Sports Nutrition’s book, Sports Nutrition and Performance Enhancing Supplements, points out that animal sources of protein tend to have a different amino acid profile than plant sources. This means that they have more of certain amino acids and less of others.
Animal sources are usually higher in leucine, the main amino acid that has been linked to triggering and increasing the rate of protein synthesis. Therefore animal protein sources are thought to be superior to animal sources for athletes.
However in a study published in January of 2015 in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, some researches compared plant protein in the form of pea protein with animal protein in the form of whey.
About 160 participants were randomly divided into 3 groups. All received a supplemental shake twice daily. One group consumed 50 extra grams of pea protein, another consumed 50 extra grams of whey protein, and the placebo group received a shake with no additional protein.
All the groups performed the same resistance training protocol for 12 weeks. What did they find?
The pea protein and whey protein groups both had more muscle growth than the placebo group. And the pea protein group had more muscle growth than the whey group, although the difference between the whey an pea groups was not statistically significant.
Health
Is animal protein bad for your health?
According to The China Study, yes. The author conducted research of large populations in China and draws correlations between animal protein consumption and the rate of chronic disease such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
However, critics of The China Study point out that some of the correlational connections the author draws are very indirect. For example according to The China Study:
Cancer associates with cholesterol, cholesterol negatively associates with plant protein, and therefore we infer plant protein protects against cancer.
But when we actually track down the direct correlation between animal protein and cancer, there is no statistically significant positive trend.
The Facts
No human population has ever existed on a 100% plant based diet. We do not know the results long term. Numerous studies have shown reversal of heart disease and arteriosclerosis on a low-fat plant based diet.
No human population on earth has ever eaten as much animal protein as the modern Western Diet, or the Standard American Diet. We know this diet is harmful to the health long term.
But the Standard American Diet is also very high processed carbohydrate and grain products. No population has ever eaten such high amounts of processed foods, which contain more sugar than could reasonably be consumed in a whole food based diet.
Also, the Standard American Diet contains fats that do not occur in nature. Government health officials encouraged people for years to replace their naturally occurring saturated fat with these hydrogenated trans fats. (margarine instead of butter)
So I think it’s imprudent to blame all of the modern chronic illness on animal proteins and fats and animal based foods.
The Reality of Factory Farming
The modern mode of meat production, or factory farming, has many elements that I find objectionable. If you were to treat dogs or cats the way the meat industry treats cows, pigs, and chickens, you could be arrested for animal cruelty.
Animals are typically fed a diet meant to fatten them up rather than support their health. For example, cows are fed grain-based feed instead of their natural grass diet.
This causes large amount of gastric distress for the animal and creates an end product that is very low in the healthy, anti-inflammatory omega 3 fatty acids. Grass-fed beef is high in omega 3 fatty acids.
Even organic beef can be grain fed and factory farmed, so “organic” may not be much better when it comes to beef. Although the certified organic label guarantees that the animals were fed organically grown feed and never subjected to antibiotics and hormones.
Main Points
- Plant protein supports muscle protein synthesis just as well as animal protein.
- Animal protein in large amounts may be a factor associated with the development of chronic disease.
- There is no evidence that the total elimination of animal products is necessary to optimize health.
- There is evidence that eating more whole food, non-processed plant based foods is healthy.
- Most modern meat is produced in a system where the health of the animals and the consumers is a secondary concern to production output and profit.
Sources:
Sports Nutrition and Performance Enhancing Supplements
The China Study: Fact or Fallacy?
Author:
Nick Ortego is a health coach specializing in biohacking for runners. He integrates modern methods with the ancient wisdom of yoga to help runners get the most out of every aspect of life. He is the owner of N 2 Action, a wellness studio in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, offering personal training, health coaching, yoga, and fascial stretch therapy.
