The Protein Myth

What every American deserves to know

Hello friends and family,

I trust this newsletter finds you well. If you asked me to identify the single most important concept which can elevate the longvity and quality of life for the general American today - I would vote for today’s topic.

Our discussion is relevant to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, alzeimers, digestive issues, and more. Moreover it offers a major contribution to the pursuit of taking care of our children and instantiating them with habits and knowledge that will set them up for success. Today we’re taking a little journey exploring protein :)

Am I getting enough protein?

If I stop eating meat will I get my protein? It’s the million dollar health question everyone wants to know. So let’s break it down for a minute and identify exactly what a protein is.

Proteins are the building blocks of your body. Not only do they stack up to make your tissues, different proteins have different functions. For example digestive enzymes and bodily hormones are actually just special types of proteins. Moreover protein is in nearly every food ingredient on Earth.

So anything I eat will give me protein?

The basic answer is yes and the thing to understand is what you already know and think is obvious, which is that protein from carrots isn’t the same as protein from chicken. In this regard the Ayurvedic understanding of food is far more helpful and illuminating, however we’re going to save that for a different day.

Ok, so back to proteins. A protein = a building block. Whether it’s the proteins that build your muscle tissue, or the proteins that build your bone tissue, proteins are the variations of building blocks your body uses to form structures. Arteries, Veins, muscles, tendons, bones, nerve tissue, fat tissue, reproductive tissue are all structures made from proteins.

A Brief History

In the late 20th century, two categories of proteins were identified. High quality proteins and low quality proteins. High quality proteins build up really fast where as low quality proteins build up slowly. During this time it was known that high quality proteins were the basis of quality health and nutrition. A sentiment shared by the medical community, our government, and the mainstream public discourse. Doctors explained how it was the inability to access enough high quality protein that was the cause of so many health problems in less wealthy nations. They shared the importance of ensuring our children receive adequate amounts of high quality protein so that they grow up strong and well nourished. Bacon eggs and a glass of milk became the breakfast of champions. Indeed Americans were strong and healthy due to there ability to consume high quality proteins in abundance.

A Disruption

Firmly planted in this narrative, Dr. Colin T Cambell came across information with rather strong implications. During this time of high quality protein dominance it was also suspected that chemical toxins, pesticides, and things of this nature were the main cause of cancer. Dr. Campbell learned of a study conducted in India where they took two groups of rats and exposed them to large doses (very large doses) of a chemical called aflatoxin. (known to be one the strongest chemical toxins available) They then fed one group of rats a 20% protein diet and the other group a 5% protein diet. By the end of their lives 100% of rats from the first group developed cancer. The other group… 0%. Not a single rat given the 5% protein diet developed cancer.

These findings challenged everything he understood about what caused cancer as well as protein. He and his medical community at large understood that high quality protein was the icon of optimal health. It certainly wasn’t the cause of cancer. Because science so rarely gives such a score as 100 to 0, Dr Campbell was naturally skeptical. He showed the study to his mentor who quickly replied, “They must have gotten the numbers backwards.”

Fortunately Dr. Campbell decided to take the red pill and began a voyage for truth conducting the most comprehensive study on nutrition ever conducted. This voyage is encapsulated in his book “The China Study.”

Spoilers

That book is incredibly informative and so I’m not going to spoil too much but I am gonna spoil some. In the research that followed they were able to reliably turn on and off the growth of cancer cells by switching between the 5% protein diet and the 20% protein diet. At 20% the cancer would develop and grow and when switched to 5% the cancer would cease growing.

Connecting the Dots

The labels of high quality protein and low quality protein are extraordinarily misleading. It would be akin to your stove settings reading high quality heat for high heat and low quality heat for moderate heat. In the same way that high heat is good for some situations and low heat is good for others, so too is the case for fast building proteins and slow building proteins.

As 21st century Americans, we are not dying from a lack of building blocks. We don’t have a “people are too skinny problem.” Cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity are all diseases of excess. They are conditions of over accumulation and stagnation in the body. Thus continually adding high amounts of super charged building blocks to a body already beyond capacity is like fixing a clog by shoving more stuff down the drain.

How to Respond

As humans we love to over-correct. I encourage you to not swear off meat for the rest of your life if you’ve been eating meat. According to Ayurveda meat is the most nourishing substance there is, which is right in line with the high quality protein understanding. It’s all about proper application yes? In Ayurveda, if a person has muscle emaciation, we give them a medicated meat soup. If a person has obesity, we recommend they slow down the meat consumption. Right? Simple and intuitive.

Personally I believe this article from the American Institute for Cancer Research gives us the best practical starting point. The article answers the question: Is My Christmas Ham a Processed Meat?

“Why does it matter whether or not ham counts as processed meat? Because the evidence on processed meat is different than the evidence on red meat, so our recommendations are different, too.

AICR’s expert report and its updates have consistently and convincingly shown that diets high in red meat are a cause of colorectal cancer. This is why we recommend moderating red meat intake to keep it below 18 ounces (cooked) per week. In studies, consumption at or below this threshold is not associated with increased risk.

When it comes to processed meat, the evidence is just as consistent and convincing — but a good deal more stark. That’s because the evidence on processed meat suggests that no “safe threshold” exists. A modest increase in risk for colorectal cancer is seen with even occasional consumption of processed meat, and continues to rise as consumption increases.”

So, if you’re asking me “what do you think is the best first step here?” My recommendation is to minimize or eliminate processed meat. That’s the personal choice I’ve made in my life.

After writing this I’m eager to analyze our discussion from an Ayurvedic perspective :) I’d like to share why even this compelling science should be taken with caution and how it makes sense according to Ayurveda. Moreover we’ll illuminate the difference between, vegetables, meat, processed meat and other foods as well.

Last Tidbit of Information for your Brain :)

I’d like to share a fantastic example of the dichotomy between conventional medicine and preventative lifestyle medicine using the example of breast cancer. In 2020, 6.4 billion dollars went into breast cancer research. We continually apply seriously substantial funding towards breast cancer, yet our breast cancer rates are so much higher than other countries such as Japan or Korea.

A scientifically verified correlation to breast cancer is duration of child bearing years. The longer a woman is fertile the higher likely hood she has of developing breast cancer. If I remember correctly, when the China study was conducted, the average age of menarchy (the beginning of mentrual function) in America was 12. While the average age of menarchy in China was 17!

This is because hormones are proteins remember? Abundant high quality protein leads to abundant growth which leads to earlier onset menarchy. Could it be that you could prevent your daughter from getting breast cancer by simply feeding her less “high quality protein?”

Namaste,

Daryl