How much protein do you really need?

[mzteris]

(FINALLY!)

Guess how much protein is in a juicy, 8-ounce cheeseburger washed down with a milkshake? This single meal contains two to three times as much as most people need per day.

It’s no great surprise that Americans chow down on a lot of protein. We love beef and consume about 67 pounds per capita annually (that’s four times the international average). The popularity of low-carb regimes such as Atkins has also made meat the go-to food for dieters.

In fact, the average person eats about double the amount of protein that their body requires, according to the results of 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

. . . Eating large amounts of red and processed meats is associated with higher rates of heart disease and cancer, and most nutritionists such as Marion Nestle recommend cutting back on meat, especially on fatty cuts.

-more-

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/green/how-much-protein-do-you-really-need-2523319/

[Skink]

1. We need lots of protein and less carbs.

As of now unrefined carbs are the cheapest and easiest poison the publicaly traded food monopolies can produce. If they could package and sell manure for a profit they would.

[Systematic Chaos]

4. Um, okay.

"Unrefined" carbs would include potatoes, rice, beans, quinoa, oatmeal, spelt, sweet potatoes and any other whole grain or starchy vegetable.

Those foods constitute the perfect diet for the human body, and all contain enough protein to guarantee a thriving human existence.

Perhaps you were talking about the white glop that nearly every product in the middle of the grocery store is packed with, as in white flour and refined sugars?

[closeupready]

6. Most of those item"potatoes, rice, beans, quinoa, oatmeal, spelt, sweet potatoes"

are fattening and can lead to weight gain, which, in turn, presents a health risk of its own.

[Systematic Chaos]

7. Stop spewing myths and learn something.

http://vimeo.com/17033908

Edited to add that the above video is worth every second of your hour and change. And if you're still not convinced, read up on some people who have changed or even saved their lives eating those "fattening" starches.

http://www.drmcdougall.com/stars/index.html

[closeupready]

8. 'Low Glycemic Index Diet Best For Weight Loss And Cardiovascular Health'

From Science Daily:

>>ScienceDaily (July 26, 2006) — The most effective diet for weight loss and cardiovascular health is a high carbohydrate plan based on low glycemic index (GI) foods, according to a study by University of Sydney researchers.

Published in the most recent issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, the world's first 12 week parallelled, randomised, controlled trial compared the relative effects on weight loss and cardiovascular risk of low GI and high-protein diets.

Undertaken by Professor Jennie Brand-Miller and Joanna McMillan-Price from the University of Sydney Human Nutrition Unit, the findings show that there is no 'one diet fits all' solution, and although both high protein and low GI diets will help you to shed fat. However, it did show that a diet containing low GI carbohydrate significantly reduces your risk of heart disease.<<

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060726183614.htm

Potatoes, rice, quinoa, spelt and sweet potatoes all rank HIGH on the aforementioned glycemic index:

http://www.gilisting.com/2004/05/glycemic-index-values-vegetables.html

[Systematic Chaos]

12. The glycemic index is crap. Ignore it.

And did you watch the video or not?

How about the Star McDougaller profiles of the people who were in the hospital having stent procedures pounded into their heads who reversed their conditions on a high-starch diet?

Have you bothered reading even one or two of those testimonials?

And I haven't mentioned that I myself have made great strides to curing myself of super-morbid obesity by switching to this high starch diet. I have a lot of issues to contend with caused by damage to my joints and legs from before my diet change, so losing the last of my weight is becoming difficult because almost any movement hurts somewhere. Being poor I also have no access to physical rehab or any other kind of medical help. But even given all that, I now feel a thousand times better than I did when I ate lots of animal protein and fat.

And here's yet one more for you:

http://www.thechinastudy.com/

I'm sure you could get this from your local library system and learn a lot more. Will you pursue it?

[geckosfeet]

2. Some folks say just the opposite.

Who are you supposed to believe?

The Big Lie
Protein Power Forums

[mzteris]

3. who are "some folks"? n/t

[geckosfeet]

5. The folks in the links.

[bemildred]

9. It depends on your age and your lifestyle, among other things.

But cutting back on meat consumption will serve you well, once you are grown, and save lots of money too.

[BadgerKid]

10. How are they defining "average"?

Certainly the "average" from 1950 is different from the "average" in 2010 when obesity rates are much higher.

Besides, an amount that is "needed" isn't necessarily the optimal amount.

[LaurenG]

11. eat your veggies some beans and quinoa and soy and whole grains

You'll get plenty. No one needs to eat meat for protein.