From Dr. Nan Kathryn Fuchs' Women's Health e-Newsletter, December 25th.
The only plant-based protein that's as good
as eggs and meat
If you're a vegetarian, or if you eat only small amounts of animal protein, you may not be getting enough protein. A recent study has found that most plant-based proteins are not high-quality proteins and may not meet your body's needs. But it did find one that is.
The researchers in this new study wanted to find out if any plant proteins have comparable quality to animal-based proteins. To define and determine quality, they looked at three different factors. The first two are the essential amino acid content and how easily you can digest the protein. The third factor takes both of the first two and then applies them to children. Children have higher protein needs than adults because their bones, muscles, and brains, which need sufficient protein, are growing and developing.
This testing confirmed that most plant proteins are a much lower quality than animal-based proteins. However, the one that graded out as comparable to eggs, dairy, and meat is soy, a protein that some people are reluctant to eat.
The researchers found that soy protein has a PDCAAS of 1.00. That means it is a high-quality protein and will meet the dietary needs of both children and adults. Animal proteins also have a PDCAAS score of 1.0.
Soy is the only widely available plant-based protein that scored this high.
Researcher Connie Diekman, RD, LD, FADA, said, "It's important for people to understand that a plant-based diet is healthy, but that not all proteins are created equal. If you are planning a vegetarian diet or want to incorporate plant-based proteins in your diet, understanding protein quality using the PDCAAS scale can allow you to select proteins that score higher, such as soy, to ensure that you are getting the essential amino acids you need."
Unfortunately, many women have stopped eating soy products because of a perceived connection to breast cancer, especially among those who have had breast cancer. Actually, studies show that the plant-based estrogens in soy foods are protective against breast cancer.
It's true that soy has estrogen-like qualities. However, soy isoflavones have both antiestrogenic and anticancer properties. And phytoestrogens - the estrogens found in plants - are actually protective against cancer because they get into estrogen receptors and block the absorption of dangerous estrogens.
One study looked at soy's impact on breast cancer recurrence. They followed 9,514 breast cancer survivors in the U.S. and China. The researchers found that soy consumption was inversely associated with recurrence among both U.S. and Chinese women. In fact, they found that soy reduced their risk of breast cancer-specific mortality and a statistically significant reduced risk of recurrence.
So don't avoid soy, even if you've had breast cancer. It's the highest quality protein in the plant world, and it can help you avoid breast cancer.
I dont know the quality of this study on the protient content of other plant based protiens than soy, but plant based protiens must be eaten in combination to provide all the essential amino acids... for instance, rice and beans go to gether for sufficient protien. There is absolutley no evidence that this protien is not sufficient. Millions and millions of people rely on it daily for thier protien needs and grow normally and do not have any protien deficiency.
Soy is so high in estrogesn that is can be dangerous for infants and children. Infants and children do not need estrogenic factors to play with thier noraml estrogen requirements.
I would like to know who did the study on the soy for women. I do know that soy can block estrogen receptor sites to normal estrogens. I take soy estrogens everyday in a natural hormonal replacement prescription,,, but I started at a premenapausal stage in my life and I have my blood levels checked for estrogens and presgterones and I dont yoyo my estrogen levels, as one would if they were just randomly eating soy.
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"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." Marcus Aurelius
Soy is goitrogenic, ie, it destroys your thyroid gland. Nearly all soy grown is GMO and doused in glycophosphates like Roundup.
Quote:
On one side, we have health and nutrition magazines touting the benefits of soy as a cure-all for menopause, cancer prevention, heart disease, weight loss, and many other health concerns. And behind the many soy food products and supplements is a multi-billion-dollar industry that make profits hugely from soy. Some nutritionists tout soy as a key part of a healthy diet. And rounding out the pro-soy contingent are some nutritionists and doctors who believe soy is a wonder food, even for thyroid patients. (Menopause "guru" Christiane Northrup, MD is, for example, a huge proponent of soy. Northrup even recommended that Oprah Winfrey incorporate a great deal of soy into her diet. Coincidentally -- or not -- both women are now hypothyroid.)
On the other side of the issue are the opponents of soy, who believe that soy is a toxin, and is particularly toxic to thyroid patients. Various experts and organizations, ranging from Dr. Joseph Mercola to the Weston Price Foundation, are vocally opposed to soy.
Goitrogens inhibit the thyroid from using iodine. The best way to eat these foods is to steam or cook them for about 10 minutes. This only lessens the amount of active goitrogens. No raw stuff, like coleslaw.
I avoid soy due to genetic modification. Same for corn. These crops are used for livestock, which is more lucrative than the crop for human consumption. Otherwise, I consider soy to be very beneficial for health.
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- Jim
"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving." - Albert Einstein
To avoid goitrogenic activity, you would have to give up some very healthy food.
Rape seed (Canola Oil)
Soy
Peanuts
I avoid soy due to genetic modification. Same for corn. These crops are used for livestock, which is more lucrative than the crop for human consumption. Otherwise, I consider soy to be very beneficial for health.
I don't consider soy, canola oil, or peanuts to be healthy foods. If your going to eat peanuts, eat organic peanut butter in limited amounts. Soy should be fermented and in limited amounts also. Canola oil should be avoided at all costs.
I knew brassicas had a goitregenic effect, but not to what extent. Interesting info on steaming to lessen the effect. Thanks.
Fermented soy, called natto, is a breakfast staple in Japan. I know, from my experience in trading soybean commodity futures, that Japan will not accept any import of soybeans from America. Then America complains to the WTO about poor trading practices. Japan will then buy the cargo and give or sell to other nations. Outrageous.
But they have no known health problems from consuming soy.
Quote:
Natto is made from fermented soybeans and is a common breakfast food in Japan. It has a strong smell -- somewhat like a strong cheese -- and a sticky texture, and is often eaten with rice, soy sauce and chopped green onion.
Health Benefits: Natto is an excellent source of protein, vitamin B2, and vitamin k2, which is useful for preventing osteoporosis. It contains compounds including phytoestrogen, selenium and others that may help prevent cancer, and also contains a powerful beneficial enzyme called nattokinase.
Nattokinase has been found to help prevent and reduce the risk of blood clots, as well as provide heart-protective benefits. Some studies suggest that nattokinase can also reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Nearly all available soy is GMO soy which is quite dangerous. There are scientists who even believe that GMO soy and other plants are developing into a virus that will wipe out all life on earth.
Soy is a very destructive food and should be avoided. If you eat it, only have small amounts and eat it prepared in the traditional way (such as ferment it into miso). Soy is NOT fit for human consumption unles prepared properly. Even fermented soy has very high levels of nutrient inhibitors and should be eaten sparingly.
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It's the highest quality protein in the plant world
Ha! Lots of misconceptions about plant proteins due to the meat + dairy industry.
A little-known fact:
Many green leafy vegetables are actually complete proteins. The reason few people are aware of this is because
* The meat + diary industries want you to believe that the only sources of complete proteins are meat and diary (for obvious reasons).
* Nobody thinks of greens as a source of protein - after all, you'd have to eat loads of greens to get the same protein as one steak, right?
Actually, green leafy vegetables (and especially green sprouts) are a BETTER source of protein then meat or diary because animal protein comes in chanis of hundreds or thousands of amino acids, which your body first has to break down into individual amino acids and then rebuild them into the specific amino acid chains it needs. The protein from green leafy vegetables is almost always in the form of individual amino acids, so your body can start building whatever proteins it requires without having to break up huge chains of amino acids first. You cut out the middleman and save lots of energy + stress on your body.
Another important point is to consume these proteins raw - cooking denatures proteins and actually makes about 50% of any protein you eat unusable to you; proteins come in very complex 3-dimensional structures with many "layers", and your body produces specific digestive enzymes that have to fit perfectly with the protein to break it down (think of a key in a lock). When cooked, the protein structure unfolds and the enzymes no longer "fit" perfectly, so the protein never gets broken down, preventing your body from using most of the protein and making it work much harder for that which it can still use. Taking the key + lock analogy, if you melt the lock and let it cool into a random form, the key no longer fits. That's a very simplified version of the actual process, but I don't think I need to get into advanced biochemistry here. In short, proteins are much more bioavailable when uncooked. Cooking foods also destroys or decreases the bioavailability of many nutrients and creates many carcinogens, so even though it does increase the bioavailability of some nutrients it is still much better to avoid it if possible.
Another problem with having proteins you can't break down is that almost everyone these days has some degree of "leaky gut", so these undigested proteins escape into your bloodstream and cause massive inflammation and eventually autoimmune symptoms.
The "highest quality plant protein in the world" is green sprouts + microgreens. Becasue sprouts are predigested this protein is extraordinarily bioavailable and if you juice the sprouts it becomes even more so. One oz of sprout juice has around 1 gram of protein, and that protein is going to be much more then twice as absorbable as protein from animal sources or soy (prbably at least 3x), so I'm getting massive amounts of protein from just 32 oz of sprout juice a day, the equivalent of 65-100+ grams of protien from other sources. Ant that's without my main meals! But I'm not overdosing because I'm getting it in predigested amino acid form and I'm not really getting that much protein, it's just the equivalent because of how bioavailable it is. The kidneys can easily be taxed wirth a high-protein diet because of toxic byproducts created when the body breaks down big chains of protein into the individual amino acids, but that's not a problem with sprouted foods because they've already done the job for us.
Soy confusion
Hybrid Mode
