Questions about protein? Still?

[RawTruth]

Okay, so people are still bugging you about your protein intake ... or you're having a hard time believing what Alissa says. Or, like me, you're just a wee bit weary of the first question out of people's mouths when they find out/realize/discover/are told that you're raw being "But where do you get your protein?".

Well, here's another explanation that is succinct, fact-based, and authoritative:

"Where do raw and living foodist get their protein?
The WHO (World Health Organization) says humans need about 5% of their daily calories to come from protein to be healthy. The USDA puts this figure at 6.5%. On average, fruits have about 5% of their calories from protein. Vegetables have from 20-50% of their calories from protein. Sprouted seeds, beans, and grains contain from 10-25% of their calories from protein. So if you are eating any variety of living plant foods, you are getting more than adequate protein. Numerous scientific studies have shown the daily need for protein to be about 25-35 grams per day. So if you ate 2,000 calories per day, and ate raw plant foods that had an average of 10% of their calories from protein, you would get 200 calories worth of protein, or 50 grams. This is more than adequate to support optimal well-being. Other studies have shown that heat treating a protein (such as with cooking) makes about half of it unusable to the human body. So raw plant food protein is even a better source than cooked plant foods or animal foods. There is still a huge, foolish, misguided idea that plant protein is not "complete". This is based on studies done on rats in the 1940's. This false conclusion was drawn before we discovered the bodies protein recycling mechanism and its ability to "complete" any amino acid mix from our bodies amino acid pool, no matter what the amino acid composition of a meal consumed. This false idea is still perpetuated by the meat and dairy industries, in an attempt to influence people to continue consuming their truly health destroying products."

From http://www.living-foods.com/faq.html

And, if that doesn't make 'em happy, I say just move on!

[Autumn]

Great info. Thanks for posting!

[RawTruth]

My pleasure, madam. <with a flourish>

[city]

Oh, yeah! Thanks for posting that. I only have one question (which you may or may not be able to answer). How absorbable is that protein? I guess that's another way of asking how complete the proteins in those fruits and vegetables are.

[avanderland]

Thank you, this is actually helpful for me. I'm not usually overly concerned about protein, but most things I have learned in the past, through classes and nutrition things, put the number a bit higher at 10-15%... I never had a problem getting that when just vegan, but when raw vegan, it was a struggle. So getting 5-6% a day was worrying me... But now I don't feel so bad, because I CAN get 6% easily...

So I do thank you for the link!!

Also, I think some people just get concerned because it IS our health. I know that people can say that this is different on raw or that is different on raw, but it is kind of hard to just take at a glance when you first come to it, because you are completely uneducating all the myths around you. I began looking into veganism when I was in 7th grade (12) and it took me till I was 18, 6 years later, to be uneducated enough to take the full leap of faith. So just be patient with us, we are trying! :)

[Revvell]

Oh, yeah! Thanks for posting that. I only have one question (which you may or may not be able to answer). How absorbable is that protein? I guess that's another way of asking how complete the proteins in those fruits and vegetables are.

More absorbable than animal protein. If you go to the orange and click on it, you can find where Alissa explains the difference between protein and aminos which is what animal protein needs to be broken down into before it can be assimilated as protein.

Revvell

[SedonaSun]

Oh, yeah! Thanks for posting that. I only have one question (which you may or may not be able to answer). How absorbable is that protein? I guess that's another way of asking how complete the proteins in those fruits and vegetables are.

It's enough to keep millions of animals and birds alive. Not all animals in the wild are carnivores or omnivores -- plenty eat just plants and/or seeds -- like the massively strong hippo and elephant for starters. And who eats meat in the wild? Alligators, and look how cranky they are! ;)

[Revvell]

Alligators, and look how cranky they are! ;)

*chuckling* :)

[Ireland]

Hey, I should make copies of what you wrote and when anybody asks, hand it to them "Here, read this." It explains it very well, thanks RawTruth. :)

[city]

I prefer to think of myself as "cranky as a cat", thank you very much!!

[RawTruth]

So just be patient with us, we are trying! :)

You got it!

[sweetgoddess]

Great information RawTruth, thank you. Easy to grasp also.
I was scared to open this wondering, how could RawTruth of all people still be wondering about protein...hahah! ;)

[CAdreamer]

SedonaSun wrote "It's enough to keep millions of animals and birds alive. Not all animals in the wild are carnivores or omnivores -- plenty eat just plants and/or seeds -- like the massively strong hippo and elephant for starters. And who eats meat in the wild? Alligators, and look how cranky they are! "

True....wouldn't you be cranky too, if you had to get up every day and look for some to eat, and then chase it down, kill it, and drag the dead body back to your den to eat it ?? And then there is all the energy of protecting your kill from other predators who are just waiting for the chance to snatch it from you !! And it can't taste that good to have to chew through fur, skin, feathers, hide, bone, and the like just to get to the tasty part......yuck...

How much more peaceful to walk, skip, jump, run, and swing through the forest, picking what is hanging right there on the tree. obviously, it's a bit more complex than that, but you catch my drift.

[anthony11]

More absorbable than animal protein. If you go to the orange and click on it, you can find where Alissa explains the difference between protein and aminos which is what animal protein needs to be broken down into before it can be assimilated as protein.

As far as I know, plant proteins are chopped up into amino acids as well so that they can be re-assembled into the specific proteins that we need.

I read recently that the average US person gets ~400% of the RDA for proteins. While my faith in the RDA's accuracy is limited, it does help dispell the myth that we need to gorge on proteins. I wasn't around then, but I think the US government / Department of Agribusiness started this back in the late 50's (cough cough thalidomide cough).

At the personal scope, cutting animal and especially milk proteins out of my diet stopped my cystine kidney stone formation cold. From three operations in eighteen months to no formation.

[RawTruth]

And it can't taste that good to have to chew through fur, skin, feathers, hide, bone, and the like just to get to the tasty part......yuck...

Well ... unless it's a human they're dragged off, 'course -- no fur, feathers, etc. to get in the way!! ;)