Protein requirements

Proteins are composed of amino acids. There are, however, eight amino acids that we cannot manufacture on our own and the body must take them in as food. These are called essential amino acids. The amount that humans need on a daily basis or recommended daily allowances (RDA) is mysterious. Apparently the reason that we believe our requirements are so high is that they were originally determined by feeding rats and deciding which combinations produced the healthiest subjects. The problem with this model is that rat babies need 10 times the amount of protein as human babies.

It is obvious that we need to stop allowing laboratories to decide on or produce our foods. We are amazing organic works of art and should not rely on science to make decisions for our bodies.

Here are some protein guidelines for us to follow in our quest to ensure that we keep protein in our diet.

These figures are from USDA and are in a per serving amount; 

Beef- 20.2%

Almonds-18.6%

Garbanzo Beans-20.5%

Lentils-24.7%

Soybeans-34.1%

Lamb-16.8%

Swiss Cheese-27.5%

Sunflower seeds-24.0%

Powdered Cow's Milk-26.4%

Powdered Soy Milk-41.8%

So you can see that animal products are not always the highest source of protein. Additionally, the plant sources are also lower in fat and cholesterol.  USDA standards are 44 grams for a woman and 56 grams for a man. Taking into account that the above mentioned rat standard is above what we need, the adult male standard can be met with 3 ounces of peanuts, a bowl of split pea soup, 2 slices of whole grain toast and a 10 ounce glass of soymilk. Some people could consume this much food in one meal.

This is considerably above the actual requirement for most people and a person eating according to the Standard American Diet gets twice the amount of protein necessary even by conservative government standards. In a later post I will catalog the dangers of consuming too much protein.