Protein, Schmotein!
Sunday, January 10th, 2010
The protein message is everywhere in our modern consumer society. Humanity’s most sought-after nutrient (along with fat and salt) and most easily and cheaply obtained commodity in prosperous economies is the latest poster boy for health, weight-loss and eternal youth.
I’ve been around health and fitness circles for a long time and it’s striking how each epoch elevates a single nutrient, food group or supplement to superstar staus. When the Promised Land miraculous benefits fail to materialize, that star’s fortune declines and it is quietly shelved in favour of the new kid on the block. Only that new kid is usually not new but simply recycled.
The 70s and 80s were characterised by Vitamania, in which Vitamin C and E were given primacy by no less a figure than one of that century’s most brilliant and lauded scientists, Linus Pauling. One of only two people to receive Nobel Prizes in two categories, Chemistry and Peace, (the other was Marie Curie for Chemistry and Physics) Pauling changed the nutrition landscape and introduced the role of vitamins as medicinal therapy with his advocacy of massive doses of C and E. The era of “Megavitamania” was born.
Pauling’s achievements in unravelling the structure of protein and his campaigning against atmospheric nuclear weapons testing were laudable but his personal brand of quackery known as “orthomolecular” medicine undermines his legacy.
His hypothesis that incredibly high doses (partly via injection) of Vitamin C prevented colds and cured cancer was shredded by the Mayo Clinic which could not reproduce his results in trials. His 1986 book “How To Live Longer And Feel Better” demonstrated his tenacity in promulgating his theory and led in part to our “more is better” mentality in supplementation today.
Further research continues on his work - it is not completely repudiated - and his death at 93 of prostate cancer following a struggle with renal disease since age 40 shows he did live longer but did not necessarily feel better along the way.
Concurrently, the 70s and 80s gave fibre and complex carbohydrates their moment in the sun. Almost every food item that could had added oat bran fibre and we were encouraged to eat lots of whole grains and legumes.
The 90s were the era of the phytonutrient. Antioxidants and other chemicals in plants designed to help them repel predation by insects and other animals, tolerate harsh sunlight, and myriad other functions came out from under the electron microscope and into public consciousness. The things that made plant foods taste bitter or distinctive or gave them aroma or colour turned out to be very good for us. And not just good for us - they could prevent disease and promote long life if you took enough of them in pill form.
If you’ve been following my posts you’ll see that trial after trial has undermined the efficacy of antioxidants and other phytonutrients as medicine taken in isolated form. In the case of beta-carotene, the Vitamin A precursor we get from yellow vegetables in abundance, trials of it in pill form were shown to increase risk of lung cancer.
Oh well, back to the drawing board. Which nutrient that humans have a deep-seated hunger for reinforced by popular culture and psuedo-science could be dusted off and hustled into the limelight?
Protein, of course, and that brings us into the 2000s and beyond. Protein, from the Greek “proteios” or of primary importance is a nutrient we need to build every cell in our bodies, from muscles to hormones. Along with fat, it is something we cannot do without. Without carbohydrate the body can make it for limited periods by reconstituting protein from our tissues and organs but the reverse is impossible.
The Greeks knew this and made animal sacrifice the highest tribute to the gods they could make, apart from the occasional human sacrifice. While the fragrant smoke of roasting oxen wafted up to the heavens from a token shank the masses licked their lips in anticipation of a rare treat. Meat!
They probably only got to eat it, like many early societies, two or three times a year but did very nicely the rest of the calendar on barley, beans, figs, olives, cheese and vegetables. Their legacy shows they were a vigorous people and not inhibited by a lack of protein.
Once unpopulated woods were titled to rulers, hunting by peasants to supplement their diets with animal protein became poaching and a severely proscribed activity. We have hungered after flesh ever since and given meat and protein an exalted place in our psyche.
But wait a minute, is meat the only source of protein? Of course not. Plant foods are full of it. I’ve just checked my cupboard and read a few labels and the results are surprising. My oats give 12% protein, my walnuts 22% and even the mouldy white flour up the back I never use and must chuck out is 10%. A 100g piece of beef (like most flesh) is around 25%.
Where meat rules is in its content of all eight essential amino acids. There are 22 of these building blocks of protein but we only need eight of them - the body can synthesize the rest. All eight are supplied by animal foods (including eggs and dairy) but plant foods usually lack some of them. Humanity has solved that problem by combining complementary foods like rice and soybeans, wheat and chickpeas and so on. Whatever essential amino acid missing from one food staple is supplied by another. In our society we are awash with food and no one is likely to suffer protein deficiency, even on a balanced vegetarian diet.
The supplement and diet industry will not rest, however and feed our protein hunger along with our paranoia. If we could just eat more protein, displacing carbohydrate we would be slimmer, more energetic and less prone to the vicissitudes of that demon insulin.
Furthermore, if we could stuff the cells with extra protein, in the form of powders and potions, miraculous metabolic alchemy would make us more beautiful and live longer.
It all sounds good but ignores the fact that we are a protein-rich society already and that too much is stored as fat and excreted by the kidneys after conversion to nitrogen and urea at some expense to our well being. Linus Pauling had to eat a low protein diet to manage his Bright’s Disease and spare his kidneys.
The reduction and isolation of foods to “protein” defies the balance intended by nature. If I hear another person call chicken or beef “protein” I’m going to flip my lid. If beef supplies 25% protein, then what is the other 75%? Fat, in the case of well-marbled cuts. Where does that leave foods that are relatively high in protein as well as carbohydrate, like grains and legumes? The chickpea and archaic forms of wheat like emmer gave civilisation a leg-up that rivalled the boost given to early human evolution by meat-eating.
I’ve got a question for you - which is higher in protein - eggs or bread? Why, eggs, of course, I hear you say but think of it this way. Both eggs and bread are 10% protein. Admittedly the egg is complete in essential amino acids but a 60g egg supplies 6g of protein while two slices of bread (60g) also supply 6g of protein.
My advice to you is to poach two eggs, pop them onto two slices of toast and enjoy 18g of high quality and tasty protein that satisfies around 25% of your daily requirement. And while you’re at it, empty your pantry of protein shake powder and give your kidneys a break.
Like so many nutrients, protein is essential but does not act in miraculous ways when you eat too much of it, just as your car goes no faster or further on a full tank of gas than a tank half full. Ageing people tend to neglect their diet a bit and should certainly pay attention to their protein intake but shouldn’t be seduced by the supplement sales pitch. More is not necessarily better.
Societies that make the transition from underdeveloped to developing become more prosperous and eat more animal foods, resulting in bigger, taller bodies but that’s because they didn’t have enough plant foods with complementary proteins in the first place.
Only bodybuilders, burn victims and others benefit from extra high protein diets. For a longer, healthier life, go eat an egg. And don’t forget the toast.
