Our National Obsession with Protein
It’s a little ridiculous how obsessed we are with protein, and yet the diseases Americans are suffering and dying from are not diseases of deficiency: heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Most likely, we don’t know of any friends with protein deficiency, we see it in countries where the people are starving. They’re not getting protein because they’re not getting food. We don’t have any protein deficiency hospital wards or specialists, but we all know people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart disease. The problem isn’t that vegans aren’t getting enough protein; the problem is that most people are taking in way too much animal protein, saturated fat, and dietary cholesterol.
The truth is that amino acids (the building blocks of protein) are present in nearly every food. As long as you consume a variety of leafy greens, vegetables, seaweed, nuts, seeds, legumes/beans, whole grains, and maybe a bit of soy, and meet your calorie needs daily, you'll be fine on the protein.Too much protein, on the other hand (from a heavy meat diet), is bad for the digestive system and damages the kidneys and liver.
- Our National Obsession With Protein
- Protein in the Vegan Diet
- How to Get Complete Protein In Vegetarian, Vegan Diets
- Protein | VeganHealth.org
