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A Mary T. Hoffman Commentary from All-Creatures.org

 

"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful.  At the same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.

 

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Protein – 18 April 2007
By Mary T. Hoffman

What is this obsession with “protein”? The public has been brainwashed to automatically think of animal products when they hear the word “protein.” It’s akin to a knee-jerk reaction, when the truth is that all protein (amino acids) originates in plants which animals use to make their own protein. So when people eat meat, they are eating second hand protein.

I was chatting with a longtime acquaintance of ours who had undergone bypass surgery. For as long as we’ve known him, he’s been typical of those whose diet consists mainly of meat and potatoes. He knew us even before we had become vegans; and after that, I had mentioned once that we were vegetarians. It seemed to go “over his head”; it was as though he didn’t understand what that meant, or didn’t want to know.

One day, on the phone, he mentioned his health problems and the conversation turned to “protein.” I said to him that elephants were big and strong; and then I asked him, “What do elephants eat?” Missing the point, he mumbled that he didn’t know. So I explained that in the wild, elephants eat plants, which give them all the protein they need.

According to Dr. Neal Pinckney:

“An old myth that continues to circulate is that more protein is needed to gain greater strength and athletic performance. It has been repeatedly scientifically demonstrated this is not true. Excess protein is either excreted or, more commonly, converted to fat. Whether this extra protein is consumed in foods or in supplements, the body treats it in the same way.”

“The average American consumes over 100 grams of protein a day, more than three times the amount needed for optimum health and nutrition. For reversing heart disease you should limit your intake of protein to between ten and fifteen percent of calories. By eating a variety of vegetables, whole grains, legumes (beans, lentils, peas) and fruit you'll get all the protein you need.”

This protein propaganda, or mania, brings to mind a statement attributed to Mark Twain: “A lie goes half way around the world before truth puts on its boots.” There is too much money being made through the consumption of animal products and their negative consequences for the truth to overcome, any day soon, the lie circulated by the industries with the most to gain and who stay in control by keeping the people dumb and fearful – fearful of “not getting enough protein”!

See also:
http://www.all-creatures.org/health.html
http://www.all-creatures.org/health/sub-protein.html
http://www.all-creatures.org/health/sub-proteindiets.html

Go on to: Ralph Waldo Emerson – 19 April 2007
Return to: Grocery Shopping – 17 April 2007
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