The Protein Confusion of Today

WHAT ARE PROTEINS? 

Proteins are highly complex compounds of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and small amounts of sulphur or iodine. They are present in the protoplasm of every living cell and are involved in every organic activity of an organism.

There are many different types of proteins within the bodies of animals and plants. For example, all plants have at least two different types of protein, and within the human body there are over I00,000 different kinds of proteins. Although all of these proteins differ in their molecular structure, they all have approximately the same chemical composition of 53% carbon. 22% oxygen. 17% nitrogen. 7% hydrogen and 1% sulphur iodine. etc.

All of these proteins are composed of amino acids. An amino acid is simply a substructure of a protein compound. You can think of protein as being chains of amino acids that are linked together to form one structure. 

Proteins are the primary substance of life; the building materials of organisms. They can be synthesized or created only by plant and animal life and are formed in animals from amino acids which were broken down from ingested proteins. The amino acids may be utilized directly in the formation of proteins or de mineralized and re mineralized to form the needed amino acids that are, in turn, used to create the proteins needed.

Functions o f Amino Acids

We can say that generally, the amino acids serve five functions in the body:
I) They furnish the material from which proteins are synthesized by various cells.
2) They are used by the cells in manufacturing enzymes. Hormones and other nitrogenous products.
3) They are used in constructing blood protein.
4)  They may furnish a source of energy,with some of the amino acids being transformed into glucose and glycogen.
5)  They aid the body in performing many functions as described in their individual descriptions. 

When protein-is eaten in greater amounts than the body is capable of utilizing, the organism-is subjected to the toxic byproducts of protein metabolism, which it has been unable to eliminate-and the inevitable result is degenerative disease.

The tremendous amounts of protein frequently recommended-75 to 100 grams daily (or more)-are far in excess of the body's needs, and are the source of much trouble. Various Studies indicate the the protein need for an average adult should not exceed 30 grams of protein daily. 

We must not feel compelled to eat protein foods as such in order to achieve protein adequacy. Almost every food natural to humans has about 4 % protein dry weight, an ample amount to supply our needs. Further, most of our natural foods contain the amino acids we need.

Wisdom and Precision o f Body Processes

Protein is used as fuel only when there is either an excess of proteins or a lack of carbo- hydrates. When this occurs, the body splits off the nitrogenous matter from the protein molecule and uses the remaining carbon contents to produce fuel. This process not only involves a net loss of energy, but it also places an unnecessary strain on the liver, kidneys and other organs to

eliminate the unusable nitrogenous wastes. 

An adequate supply of protein in the overall diet is in- dispensable for normal health and well-being. But such an adequate supply of protein is not dependent on killing animals for food, nor upon using a calculator to add up the amino acids at each meal.

Some 95 percent of the body's protein needs are met by recycling. Certain other of the body's needs are met by recycling as well. This will give you some idea as to the immense providence aud wisdom of the body in meeting its needs. 

Fruits and vegetables, though containing relatively smaller amounts of protein in their natural state, are excellent sources of supplementary amino acids for complete and optimal nutrition.

The protein in raw nuts and seeds, and in uncooked fruits and vegetables, are readily available to the body, and are therefore said to be of high biological value. During the process of digestion, the long chains of amino acids (the building blocks of protein) are gradually broken up for the body's use in synthesizing its own protein (as any species must do).

It must be reiterated and re-emphasized: when proteins have been cooked or preserved, they are coagulated. Enzyme resistant linkages are formed which resist cleavage, and the amino acids may not be released for body use. In this case, the protein is useless and/or poisonous to the body, becoming soil for bacteria and poisonous decomposition byproducts. 

Many foods from the plant kingdom contain so-called "complete" proteins; that is, humans may obtain from them all of the essential amino acids which they cannot synthesize, but from which other amino acids may be synthesized as needed. 

Animal proteins are often not reduced to their constituent amino acids, but are absorbed in more complex form. Absorption by the body of such partially digested proteins poisons the organism, and so-called "allergic symptoms" may be the result, or gout, arthritis, cancer, or any one or more of a host of degenerative diseases. 

No human can use the protein in the form in which it is consumed. It must always be disassembled into its constituents and reassembled or synthesized into the particular protein re- quired by the cells and tissues of the new host. 

The Obsolete Amino Acid Theory
One of the favorite arguments of flesh eaters is that proteins from the plant kingdom are "incomplete," because no one plant food contains all of the twenty-three identifiable amino acids (although the carrot, with twenty-two amino acids, comes quite close). Studies of man's physiology, and the effects of his consumption of foods from the plant kingdom, have shown conclusively that it is not necessary to consume all of the amino acids at one sitting, not even the eight (some references say ten) "essential" amino acids that are not fabricated within the body.

The foods we eat are processed by the body, and the amino acids, vitamins and minerals, and other nutrients are reserved in a pool for later use as needed. When we eat, we replenish the reserves in this pool, to be drawn upon by the cell as required. We do not live upon one protein food, but upon the protein content of our varied diet, which supplies all of the protein needs of the body.

Morbid Results of Eating Flesh Foods
Meat is the most putrefactive of all foods. Flesh, when eaten by humans tends to undergo a process of decay in the stomach, causing a poisoning of the blood. Putrefaction in meat eaters is evidenced by bad breath, heartburn, eructations, and the foul stool and odorous emissions-absent in vegetarians and it is probable that the attempts of the body to eliminate these wastes has a profound influence on the shortening of man's life span.
If the body fluid that bathes our cells is overloaded with waste, causing an excessive secretion of bile-fatigue, weakening and aging are the inevitable results. The accumulation of toxic substances in the body causes the deterioration of the intestinal flora, and the blood vessels gradually lose their natural elasticity, their walls become hardened and thickened. Irreversible damage to the organism proliferates.