The Truth About Protein

            Whenever someone finds themselves on the topic of healthy eating, there is a plethora of diets and information that seem to shout out for attention. Amidst the jungle of data that crops up are different lifestyles and plans that vary from one end of the spectrum to the other. This can be a bit overwhelming and quite confusing for the honest seeker of health and vitality, especially when speaking of the vegan diet. The topic alone breeds enough confusion and misinformation to scare off even the nosiest of wannabe health nuts and one of the biggest issues surrounding the conversations is that of protein.

            Now when someone finds out that you are a vegan, are thinking about becoming vegan, or even hear you discussing the vegan lifestyle, the most common question becomes, “Where do you get your protein?” For reasons unbeknownst to me, we as a society have been raised to believe that protein is only found in animals and we must eat animals in order to fulfill our daily requirement. On top of that, when asked, the majority of people I have spoken to are not even aware of the actual daily requirement for protein.

            The World Health Organization published a book that outlines the daily protein requirement in 2007. They state that the safe protein intake for any male or female adult is 0.83 g/kg per day. This means, that a person weighing around 176 pounds is recommended to have an intake of 66 grams of protein per day, which is between 6 and 10 percent of total calories consumed depending on daily caloric intake. Keep in mind that the number of grams needed goes up or down based on weight. 66 grams of protein is not a large amount and can easily be met on a vegan based diet. If someone is on an animal based diet and/or supplementing with powders or shakes that person quite often can triple or even quadruple the recommended safe intake level which the World Health Organization states, “caution is advised to those contemplating the very high intakes of 3–4 times the safe intake, since such intakes approach the tolerable upper limit and cannot be assumed to be risk-free” (WHO Technical Report Series 935 p. 243). So the necessity of protein is real, but the safe levels are far below the diets that include heavy meat consumption and supplemental intake found quite often in the standard American diet and in some athletic fields.

            Including more protein in the diet has not been shown to enhance performance in health and in the athletic field as some marketing campaigns would like us to believe. D. Joe Millward stated “it has long been known that marked strength gains with appropriate resistance exercise can occur on very modest protein intakes of about 0.8 g/kg per day” (Journal of Sports Sciences, 2004, 22, 143–145). That means that a 176 pound person would be making “marked” strength gains on only 64 grams of protein per day. That number is only 2 grams short of the WHO’s recommendation. This also means that on a 3,000 calorie diet, that person is only consuming 8.5% of their total calories from protein. Millward went on to conclude that the optimum diet can be achieved by eating an abundance of fruits and vegetables with starchy foods and cereals and moderate amounts of fat.

            Excessive amounts of protein in children’s diets have also been shown to have negative effects on health and performance. This includes the high protein content from cow’s milk which has long been touted as the perfect food. On a diet of only human milk, “newborns grow [in their first year] a big way, with most tripling their birth weight and increasing their length by about 50%” (kidshealth.org) taking around 180 days to double in size, whereas baby calves can double their weight in 45 days.

Human milk is shown to contain only 6% of its total calories coming from protein while cow’s milk contains ­­­15% and a completely different composition which causes problems when the body tries to digest and assimilate it. According to Dr. John R. Christopher, N.D., M.H. “Protein composes 15 percent of the human body and when this protein cannot be properly broken down, it weakens the immune system, causing allergies and many other problems” (February 2000 Idaho Observer). Some of the other problems can include iron deficiency anemia, allergies, diarrhea, heart disease, colic, cramps, gastrointestinal bleeding, sinusitis, skin rashes, acne, increased frequency of colds and flu’s, arthritis, diabetes, ear infections, osteoporosis, asthma, and autoimmune diseases which all carry over into adulthood. These claims were supported by a few other studies done where they fed children and newborns 3.0–3.6 g/kg per day or 6.0–7.2 g/kg per day of cows’ milk protein and monitored their progress up until 6 years of age. The results were shown to have negative effects on immune system function, energy levels, IQ, and the mortality rates in malnourished children. If this doesn’t substantiate cause for alarm in parents who not only grew up drinking cow’s milk themselves but are now continuing the tradition with their own children, then I don’t know what will.

Excessive amounts of protein found in foods and diet has been the study of many aspects in the human body. Some of which include renal function, kidney stones, bone health, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.   On the subject of cancer, little is actually known concerning the effects of protein on malignant tumors because there have been very few studies done with protein as the main subject. There have been many studies done with high protein content food though and that is where we will take our information from. From one study concerning red meat and other processed meats, the findings were stated, “Our results demonstrate the potential value of examining long-term meat consumption in assessing cancer risk and strengthen the evidence that prolonged high consumption of red and processed meat may increase the risk of cancer in the distal portion of the large intestine” (Journal of the American Medical Association, 2005, 293:172–182). It is important to remember though that high dietary intake of animal products not only contains large amounts of protein but also large amounts of fat and cholesterol which are factors in the growth and development of cancer and other diseases as well and this link cannot be ignored.

On the other hand, fruits and vegetables have been shown to have an inverse effect in relation to cancer growth. The conclusions of one study stated, “Vegetables and fruits, in fact, were among the food groups most strongly and inversely related to breast-cancer risk” (International Jounal of Cancer, 2001, 2:260-263). This study supported the same claims made by the Nurses’ Health Study done in 1999 published by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute as well as an Italian case-control study that was published by the International Journal of Cancer in 1996. 

As the studies have shown; high intakes of protein and high protein foods, is harmful to the health and well being of the human system. It is no doubt that as time progresses we will continue to learn more and more about the effects of protein consumption on the body, but the knowledge we have today is sufficient for anybody to make an informed choice concerning the foods they eat. It will undoubtedly take a little bit of effort, but the benefits far outweigh the consequences of the traditional American diet. In addition, the truth about protein consumption and its dietary needs not only liberates the vegan diet from speculation and concern but also leads the person that is seeking better health into this lifestyle.

Works Cited

Chao A et al. Meat consumption and risk of colon cancer. Journal of the American Medical Association, 2005, 293:172–182.

D. Joe Millward. Protein and amino acid requirements of athletes. Journal of Sports Sciences, 2004, 22, 143–145

Dewey KG et al. Protein requirements of infants and children. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1996, 50(Suppl. 1):S119–S150.

Dr. John R. Christopher, N.D., M.H. Does milk really look good on you? February 2000 Idaho Observer. 2000. Web. July 13, 2012.

Fabio Levi et al. Dietary intake of selected micronutrients and breast-cancer risk, International Journal of Cancer, 2001, 2:260-263

Goldman HI et al. Clinical effects of two different levels of protein intake on low-birth-weight infants. Journal of Pediatrics, 1969, 83:764–769.

Goldman HI et al. Effects of early dietary protein intake on low-birth-weight infants: evaluation at 3 years of age. Journal of Pediatrics, 1971, 78:126–129.

Goldman HI et al. Late effects of early dietary protein intake on low-birth-weight infants. Journal of Pediatrics, 1974, 83:764–769.

Kidshealth.org. Growth and your newborn. Web. July 13, 2012.

Norat T et al. Meat consumption and colorectal cancer risk: dose-response meta-analysis of epidemiological studies. International Journal of Cancer, 2002, 10:241–246.

Negri E, La Vecchia C, Franceschi S, D'Avanzo B, Talamini R, Parpinel M, et al. Intake of selected micronutrients and the risk of breast cancer. International Journal of Cancer 1996, 65: 140–144.

World Health Organization. “Protein And Amino Acid Requirements In Human Nutrition: Report of a Joint WHO/FAO/UNU Expert Consultation.” WHO Technical Report Series 935 (2007).

Zhang S, Hunter DJ, Forman MR, Rosner BA, Speizer FE, Colditz GA, et al. Dietary carotenoids and vitamins A, C, and E and risk of breast cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1999;91: 547.