What you don't know about Protein and Health is harming you!

Nothing illustrates more clearly the bankruptcy of the conventional wisdom on diet than the way in which protein has been relegated to second-class status, and meat, a major source of protein and many other nutrients, condemned.

Amid the misguided fat frenzy, it has been found guilty by association because many of the sources, like red meat and dairy products, contain a substantial amount of fat.

What is interesting though is that when real science is applied to the fat issue it is found to be our alia not our enemy and both are found together because one does not work without the other.

Now most people know what it is, yet very few eat enough of it, or realise the true importance of it in their daily lives.

That is not surprising seeing that we live in a society that pushes predominantly eating carbohydrates, and highly refined ones at that.

Protein is made up of amino acids and has an extremely impressive resume. Except for water, it is more plentiful in our bodies than any other substance. The word is derived from Greek protos, meaning "first" a fitting description given that it is the main constituent of all living cells.

In fact the human body requires twenty-two amino acids to build body organs, muscles, and nerves. It also has the capacity to convert amino acids that combat invading bacteria, viruses and protozoa.

Altogether your body builds or uses around fifty thousand different amino acids, including five thousand specialized amino acids called enzymes.

Now under normal conditions, the healthy human body can manufacture (synthesize) all but eight of the twenty-two amino acids from healthy foods sources entering the body, the other eight amino acids that are not able to be manufactured from internal means must come from other sources outside the human body.
In other words we must make a conscious effort to eat food sources or supplements that supplies these eight.

Because of that reason they refer to these eight amino acids as essential, if even one of these eight are missing the body is unable to synthesize the other proteins it needs, no matter how much you eat, they are:

• L-Leucine
• L-Isoleucine
• L-Valine
• L-Methionine
• L-Phenylalanine
• L-Threonine
• L-Tryptophan
• L-Lysine hydrochloride

Guess what food sources best supplies all eight amino acids? They are all found in animal products.

That is not to say that the carbohydrate world does not supply them, properly prepared (germinated or fermentated) seeds, legumes, and cereal grains represent the best sources of protein in the vegetable kingdom, but they along with all other plant foods are low in much needed amino acids such as tryptophan, cystine, and theronine.

Tryptophan is the only amino acid our bodies can use to manufacture serotonin which we all know is natures Prozac; it is also a pre cursor to melatonin the sleep drug.

Simply put without these essential eight amino acids being present in our daily dietary behaviour, human life simply cannot be sustained.