Protien facts

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-20-2003
Protien facts
8
Sat, 06-25-2005 - 2:08pm

So many people have misconceptions about protien. So here are some facts that may ease your mind or help you ease your family and friends':


1. "Your body can only use the amino acids that make up protien if they get them all at the same time- complete protiens in meat, eggs, dairy, and soy, or the classic combos of macaroni and cheese or beans and rice". This has been disproven. Your body will take the amino acids in your bread at lunch and use them, and later take the different ones in your bean dish at supper. It doesn't care if it gets them all at the same time as long as it gets all of them it cannot make itself over the course of a few days. A varied diet will give you this.


2. "Protien gives you energy or helps you gain weight." Tyson is lying- eating chicken will not give you an energy boost. The body uses protien to "build, repair, and maintain" your body tissue. It is used, basically, to replace the cells that die each day and repair ones that are damaged, through an injury, for example. It is carbohydrates that are the best form of energy for the body- the body naturally only uses carbs and fats. Meats do tend to have more fat, which is the only reason a nonmeateater would have trouble with weight. And the type of fat in animal products is the "bad" fat, while most of the vegetable sources are actually good for you- olive oil is famous for it's benefits! To build muscle (say, you've decided to become a bodybuilder) you need protien, though I'll debunk a related myth later. It doesn't help you build fat reserves.


3. "We need large amounts of protien". A chicken breast the size of a deck of cards provides all the protien a meateater needs in a day. And when was the last time you saw a serving that small? The Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide that is providing most of my data gives a general recommendation of 50 grams a day for adults. A more precise formula:


multiply your weight by 0.4 if you have a normal activity level, or 0.6 to 0.9 if you are athletic. I also add extra when recovering from an illness or injury.


Extra protien is removed from the blood by your kidneys and excreted, and high-protien diets can stress or even damage your kidneys without giving any added benefit to your body. It is not stored in the muscles- if it isn't needed, it isn't used. It just goes down the, um, drain. You don't bulk up by adding protien, you do it by stressing the muscles, causing small tears that are repaired by protien in a way that adds tissue. So while you are strength training you do need more protien, but it doesn't work the way protien bar manufacturers would have you believe!


4. "Protien is only found in select foods- meat (the best source for the body), eggs and milk, and tofu, beans, and nuts (though it must be in a less pure form)" Wrong! Look at your bread labels, your cereals, everything you eat throughout the day. The FDA requires that protien be listed. I also have a book of food counts for the produce and things that are not labeled. When you are calculating your intake be sure that you include everything- as I wrote before, your body can use all types of amino acids so everything counts!


 


Most Americans eat several times the amount of protien they need during the day, amounts that may do more harm than good. Most vegetarians have no trouble getting enough protien. There are minerals and such that we need to be more careful about! While it is worthwhile to make sure that your diet contains a proper amount, the fears that so many have are based on misconceptions, including ones that were believed by the medical establishment until research in the last several decades proved them wrong. There is a reason a recent FDA article said that a diet containing meat, if well thought out, could be as healthy as a vegetarian one... many of the fears about our diet have been proven to be blown out of porportion or unfounded.



Jaseann



co-cl: Celiac Disease


co-cl: Vegetarian Living


People saying you look healthy doesn't men your symptoms aren't valid. Just because some physician didn't listen doesn't mean it's all in your head. Just because there is no definitive test yet doesn't mean the disease doesn't exist. You know you body- trust yourself!

Jaseann

co-cl-Celiac Disease

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-11-2004
In reply to: jaseann
Sun, 07-10-2005 - 11:45pm


Thanks for the post Jaseann:) I am printing this baby off...I need to memorize these facts for when people give me a hard time

 

"In short, all good things in life are wild and free."  ~Thoreau

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-15-2004
In reply to: jaseann
Tue, 07-12-2005 - 12:04am
Thanks!

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

~*

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-11-2004
In reply to: jaseann
Tue, 07-12-2005 - 12:46am

Hi Emily:)


I just have to say...your little Lilyana is a complete Angel and she appears to be quite the guitar player! You also have some of the coolest siggies I have seen...Wow:)


OK...sleep is calling...I came to post and can't keep my eyes open from doing stuff for my job...nobody should be on a computer for 12+ hrs in a day...lol


~Kristin

 

"In short, all good things in life are wild and free."  ~Thoreau

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-15-2004
In reply to: jaseann
Tue, 07-12-2005 - 10:16am
oh thanks :D

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

~*

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-11-2004
In reply to: jaseann
Tue, 07-12-2005 - 8:43pm

Hi Emily:)


LOL...I must have missed that blinkie;) It is very difficult to offend ME! I hadn't seen the link to your siggies. I just loved the composition on yours. Everything flows well. I also love the bold colors. I am thinking of painting this entire home in wild colors. I am definitely at a different place in my life...and mindset. Although the meditation room will remain somewhat tranquil...whites and blues mainly. As for making a siggy...I just might take you up on that one of these days. Thanks! I have to decide what I want to present...that alone could take years...lol;)


L & L


~Kristin

 

"In short, all good things in life are wild and free."  ~Thoreau

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-15-2004
In reply to: jaseann
Wed, 07-13-2005 - 4:49am
hehe, well Im glad to not offend you, I had assumed you clicked on the link to it that is in my sig!

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

~*

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-11-2004
In reply to: jaseann
Wed, 07-13-2005 - 8:50am

Hi Emily:)


LOL My home is teeny tiny. My meditation is what would be considered one of my two bedrooms. Just no bed in there. It is also my workout room and has 2 bookcases full of books. I guess I should just call it "my" room...lol. The red kitchen sounds great. We

 

"In short, all good things in life are wild and free."  ~Thoreau

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-15-2004
In reply to: jaseann
Wed, 07-13-2005 - 11:19am
Ahh...I see = )

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

~*