Have you Taken the Protein Challenge?

When it comes to popular opinion regarding diet and nutrition in Northern California, the general consensus is that being a vegetarian is the best way to go.  Increased awareness and education in this specific area are in dyer need.  This article presents not opinions and belief systems, but rather, scientific fact that cannot be ignored.

Protein comes from the Latin word, “Proteus,” which means of utmost importance or “most important.”  Protein is the most important part of any good diet.  Proteins are made of chains of 20 different amino acids and amino acids are the building blocks of cells.  Proteins constitute life in the form of enzymes, antibodies, hormones, hair, nail, bone, teeth, hemoglobin (blood protein), neurotransmitters and skin or as the basic components of any cell in our body.  Amino acids fall into two categories.  One category is the Essential amino acids.  The essential amino acids in the human body cannot be synthesized and therefore they have to be supplied in the diet and can be digested and absorbed most easily when they come from animal protein sources.

The word protein comes from the Latin Root word “Proteus” which means, “of utmost importance.”  This means that you cannot have cells divide or have new cell formation without protein.  The brain cannot function without protein as all of the neurotransmitters that allow the brain to function are made of protein.  The cellular membrane of every cell in your body is made of lipoproteins that are composed of protein and small amounts of fat.  All cellular reactions require enzymes: protein molecules.

All of your hormones are made of proteins and fats (or sterols).  Endorphins and enkephalins and Bradykinins are all made of proteins.  These are the chemicals which allow us to decrease pain in our bodies.  Neurotransmitters allow us to think properly and they allow us to sleep well at night and have a proper mood and to have adequate amounts of energy and good nerve function.  Proper amounts of protein encourage healthy blood sugar and weight loss.  Over 60 percent of the population is hypoglycemic and so this is incredibly important (Barbara Stitt: Food and Behavior).  Proper protein metabolism allows for more aerobic function in the body, which allows for more energy, increased health, decreased stress and pain and overall improved metabolic efficiency.

A person should have at least as much protein as fits in the palm of their hand for every meal, three meals per day.  Good sources of protein are animals that fly, swim or walk around on the ground.  Some examples of these are fish, eggs, duck, chicken, turkey, Cornish Game Hen, beef, elk, buffalo, ostrige, and lamb.  Some Indians from India are able to be healthy without good sources of animal protein as their digestive tracts have adapted to a vegetarian diet over many thousands of years.   Some people eat enough protein but they are not able to digest it.  Protein is broken down in the stomach and then absorbed in the small intestine.  80% of digestion takes place in the stomach.
Dr. Janet Lang (a national lecturer regarding female hormonal issues) says the following: “We are told to eat high-carbohydrate, moderate-protein, low-fat diets, with no discussion of the various types and qualities of these food groups.  (In actual fact, the composition of the body is largely water, with the solid portions about ¾ protein and ¼ fat, containing several pounds of minerals, and tiny, tiny amounts of carbohydrate.  You figure.)” Our bodies are not designed to digest and absorb protein from nuts or seeds or beans in spite of the fact that many people eat nuts, seeds and beans.  Nuts, seeds, beans and other grains actually deplete the body of numerous minerals and fats due to the phytates which they contain.

Nuts, seeds and beans cause goiters (thyroid problem) and wheat and other grains have Opiate chemicals in them that create a false high (different than endorphins) and also addiction.  The chemicals causing a false high are called exorphins and gluteomorphins).  A similar chemical can be found in dairy protein and is called a caseomorphin (McBride, M.D., Gut and Psychology Syndrome).  Wheat, barley and rye have been directly linked to celiac disease (Braly J, Hoggan R: Dangerous Grains: 63).
Humans do not make cellulase enzyme which is needed to break down large amounts of fiber and cellulose.  Humans do not have an active appendix and they only have one stomach unlike cows that have 4 sections to their large stomach.  In one of the sections of a cow’s large stomach they can hold 75 gallons of water.  Try doing that!  Cows make cellulase enzyme, which allows them to transform cellulose into sugar.  After eating their food, cows will regurgitate some of it and then chew it some more before swallowing it again.  What this means is that humans are not able to obtain adequate sources of protein from non-animal sources because the human digestive tract is not designed to consume large amount of non-animal protein. 

The introduction of soy in China was only to prevent starvation of a large population of people.  While soy did succeed in doing this, it was never meant to take the place of available quality animal protein.  Because they knew that the soy was poisonous, they had to boil it for many hours and then ferment it prior to consumption in order to be able to partially digest the protein.  In the Archeological excavations from Georgia, Russia, it was found that the earliest known humans had huge fangs like out of a vampire movie and ate predominantly meat.  These fangs were used to bite into the flesh of animals.  Their brains were very small.  It is believed by scientists that the thing that has allowed humans to evolve their brains and survive on the planet and use their hands to interact with the environment was large amounts of animal protein and fat (necessary to survive long nomadic journeys as well).

Fat can be used to survive the cold, create hormones and new cells and to be stored and used for energy.  The highest levels of fat are found in animal protein.  Animal fat is important for brain function, nerve regeneration, bone health, wound healing, pain control, hormone production, energy, skin and numerous other purposes.  Because the crucial vitamins A, D, E and K are all fat soluble, their only bioavailable source is from animal protein.  For more than 2 million years (most of which time there was an ice age) humans have eaten mostly meat and a few vegetables.  Only during the last 10,000 years or so (a blink of an eye in human evolution) have humans eaten grains, seeds, nuts and beans.  The first recorded cases of bone disease in archaeological digs were found after the introduction of wheat in Egypt (Noel Thomas, N.D., Separating the Wheat from the Chaff, 6).  According to Dr. Thomas, “From both an evolutionary and nutritional perspective, optimal human health is not compatible with consistent consumption of grains and grain products.”

According to Arthur B. Chausmer, MD, PhD, FACN, “Zinc plays a key role in the synthesis and action of insulin, both physiologically and in the pathologic state of diabetes…..if there is insufficient zinc, oxidative stress may damage the cell irreversibly, producing or exacerbating some of the classic complications of diabetes.”  Dr. Chausmer works at the Department of Internal Medicine at the (Endocrinology and Metabolism) at L ouisiana State University School of Medicine at Shreveport, Shreveport, Louisiana.  Often people mistakenly feel that large quantities of meat are not good for them because they are not able to digest and absorb the meat and so they do not feel good when they eat it.  Zinc deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in the United States.

Zinc supports prostate function and the highest levels of zinc anywhere in the human male are found in the prostate.  It is not possible to make stomach acid without zinc.  The carbonic anhydrase system which allows for the conversion of Pepsin to Pepsinogen requires Hydrochloric Acid.  The creation of the hydrochloric acid requires zinc.  While found in a variety of foods, most natural zinc in the Standard American Diet (SAD) comes from red meat and dark poultry meat consumption.  Oysters and liver are excellent sources of zinc.  Zinc deficiency tends to be relatively common in elderly or diabetic individuals.  Phytates, compounds found in whole grain breads, cereals, legumes, and other vegetable products, inhibit zinc absorption and for this reason, vegetarians usually require 50% more zinc than non-vegetarians.

Known signs of zinc deficiency include poor wound healing, hair loss, premature graying of hair, diarrhea, loss of appetite, taste abnormalities, skin rashes, corneal clouding, and altered libido or mood, and susceptibility to frequent infections due to impaired immune function.  Because so many people are deficient in zinc, they are not able to taste, digest and absorb animal protein properly and mistakenly think that there is something wrong with the protein or that it is not good for them.  There is nothing wrong with the protein, there is something wrong with the person’s nutritional status, stomach and taste buds who is eating the protein.

The stresses that many Americans are under cause further compromise to the proper functioning of their stomach and decreased stomach acid production.  The only way to quickly and comprehensively improve stomach function is to provide structural, chemical and emotional therapies that treat the cause of the stomach dysfunction and the cause of the zinc deficiency and not the symptoms themselves.  Diabetes Type II is on the rise and according to the CDC was the 6th leading cause of death in the United States in 2006.  Diabetes type 2 develops when a person’s blood sugar is unstable and so their blood becomes sticky with glucose (sugar) and then their kidneys do not function properly and they end up with diabetes type II: their Pancreas can no longer make insulin.  The PREVENTION of imbalanced blood sugar requires proper consumption and metabolism of protein, minerals and fat.

The best bioavailable source of protein, minerals and fat is animal protein.  Zinc, calcium, iron, manganese, iodine and other nutrients, while they may be found in fruits and vegetables, they cannot be digested and absorbed properly unless they are derived from animal sources.  The main reason for this is that most of these minerals require certain fats in order to be properly absorbed and used by the cells.  This is why most vegetarians in their 50s have grey hair and are often tired all of the time.  They usually suffer from anemia (too little iron) and various other nutritional deficiencies.  Dr. Weston Price, during his world travels of the 1930s, clearly documented the need for protein in the human diet.  He also was able to show the dangers of excess sugar and complex carbohydrates in the Western Diet.

According to Guyton and Hall’s Textbook of Medical Physiology and every other modern medical physiology textbook, the main nutrients required to make Thyroid hormone are iodine, tyrosine and selenium.  The most important nutrient needed to make epinephrine and nor-epinephrine, without which you could not survive, is tyrosine.  You can only find adequate amounts of tyrosine in meat.  You can only find adequate amounts of iodine in fish.  Phase 1 and Phase 2 detoxification in the liver both require ample amounts of protein.  Your body cannot detoxify properly without protein.  Regular protein intake nourishes the adrenal glands and decreases stress as it balances blood sugar in the blood stream.  Thus, with adequate proteins in the blood, the adrenal cortex has to produce less cortisol to break down glycogen in the liver or sugar in the food in order to make epinephrine to deal with stress.  Adequate protein levels prevent all of this from happening.

Here is the protein challenge: try cutting out the grains, nuts and seeds and spicy foods and also the complex carbohydrates and juices and processed sugars for 6 weeks.  During those 6 weeks eat protein every single hour that you are awake whether you are hungry or not.  Eat meat and vegetables for each meal.  At the end of those 6 weeks, let’s see how you feel.

Yours in health and life and increased awareness,

Dr. Ilya Skolnikoff, D.C.
Triad Of Health
45 Mitchell Boulevard, #10
San Rafael, CA  94903
(415) 459-4313 Office
www.triadofhealth.net