The Protein MYTH
Proteins are the building blocks of life. Your body breaks proteins down into their raw amino acid forms, and uses them to construct just about everything in your body. It's used for carrying oxygen throughout your body, building hormones, constructing brain pathways, and just about every other physical structure in your body.
What sources of protein are out there for vegans? Well, one thing you'll learn as a vegan power house is that EVERYTHING has protein in it. That's the first part of the lie. Just eat like you wanna look. Wanna be big as hell? Eat a LOT of food. Wanna be a twig? Don't eat anything. There are further details obviously, but mostly it depends on your body type, and your goals.
We're not trying to be ignorant. There ARE certain foods that contain more protein than others. Here are some high protein plants:
- Lentils
- Tofu
- Black Beans
- Quinua
- Amaranth
- Soy Milk
- Artichokes
- Green Beans
- Hemp Seeds
- Oat Meal
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Chia Seeds
- Tempeh
- Hemp Milk
- Edamame
- Spinach
- Black-eyed Peas
- Broccoli
- Asparagus
- Green Beans
- Almonds
- Spirulina
- Tahini
- Nutritional Yeast
- Chickpeas
- Peanut Butter
You've definitely heard at some point that you should be eating at least 1g of protein per pound of body-weight. It's a simple, straightforward rule of thumb that (probably) most athletes follow. For a vegan, that's pretty tough to hit. While meats including fish and poultry will pack a whopping 15-20g of protein per serving, most plant-based proteins will max out at 10g per serving on average. Lucky for the vegans, we're here to tell you these protein counts are a MYTH.
It's also stated often that being vegan doesn't supply you with the right kinds of
Americans especially are told to consume high amounts of protein by fitness elites, and even doctors. It's claimed that high protein intake leads to weight loss, and a number of other health benefits. Most of the physical substance in your body is some form of protein. It makes up muscle, and most all other cell tissue to some degree. It's believe that for this reason, we can never get enough protein.
v
This is not only blatantly false, but a dangerous idea to be spreading. Excess protein has been linked with osteoporosis, kidney disease, calcium stones in the urinary tract, and certain cancers, colon cancer being the most prominent of these. Let's be real. Would you rather be terrible at meal planning, over eat protein, and get colon cancer? Or just learn to eat what you need?
- Kidney Disease: When people eat too much protein, they take in more nitrogen than they need. This places a strain on the kidneys, which must expel the extra nitrogen through urine. People with kidney disease are encouraged to eat low-protein diets. Such a diet reduces the excess levels of nitrogen and can also help prevent kidney disease.
- Cancer: Although fat is the dietary substance most often singled out for increasing cancer risk, protein also plays a role. Populations who eat meat regularly are at increased risk for colon cancer, and researchers believe that the fat, protein, natural carcinogens, and absence of fiber in meat all play roles. The 1997 report of the World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research, Food, Nutrition, and the Prevention of Cancer, noted that meaty, high-protein diets were linked with some types of cancer.
- Osteoporosis and Kidney Stones: Diets that are rich in animal protein cause people to excrete more calcium than normal through their kidneys and increase the risk of osteoporosis. Countries with lower-protein diets have lower rates of osteoporosis and hip fractures.
That means that your bones will literally be stronger taking in less protein than the bodybuilding standard. MIND...Blown?
These negatives have much to do with eating animal proteins as well. Your risks are much lower consuming plant based proteins. This is all stuff we cover in our article about why you'll become a better athlete as a vegan.
(CLICK THE IMAGE)
So how much should you eat? Like we reference all the time, your body type and your goals matter. If you're looking to be the next Schwarzenegger, you do need to be eating more protein than most people. That does not mean you need to be eating 1g per pound of body fat. Maybe more like 1 or 2 grams per kilo of body fat. Really though, your worry should be about eating healthy, and eating a LOT. Everything has protein in it. Don't be that person who focuses all on protein and not at all on fat, carbs, and vitamins. Those matter too. Just eat clean y'all. Eat clean and eat a lot, and you WILL make gains.
Shameless Plug: You also need to be pumping your body full of water. Your muscles absorb a lot of water. This increases not only their size(aesthetics bruh), but their strength as well. You need to have water with you at all times throughout the day. Those gallons are the right about, but their flimsy and leech plastic into your body. Talk about SERIOUS carcinogens. Buy one of our Jugs. They're made from quality materials, and will keep you hydrated all day long.
Got personal questions about your body type or anything else? Drop a comment. We'll give you our 2 cents.
Sources:
Leave a comment