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Green For Life
> Abundance of
Protein In Greens
Chapter 7
Abundance of Protein
In Greens
"I submit that scientists have not yet explored the hidden
possibilities of the innumerable seeds, leaves and fruits for giving the fullest
possible nutrition to mankind." - Mahatma Gandhi
Every protein molecule consists of a chain of amino acids. An
essential amino acid is one that cannot
by synthesized by the body, and therefore must be supplied as part of the diet.
Humans must include adequate amounts or 9 amino acids in their diet.
Professor T. Colin Campbell shows in his book, The China Study, that the U.S.
RDA for protein is greatly overestimated. Studies of the diets of chimpanzees
compared to that of humans confirm the same truth. "Chimpanzees maintain a
fairly low and constant protein intake, clue to their focus on fruit ..."
I have looked at the nutritional content of dozens of various green vegetables
and I was pleased to see that the aminos that were low in one plant were high in
another. In other words, if we maintain a variety of greens in our diet, we will
cover all essential aminos in abundance.
Please look at the chart of the essential amino acid content in kale and
lambsquarters. I have chosen kale because it is available in most produce
markets. Lambsquarters is one of the most common edible weeds that grows in
different climates. Most farmers should be able to identify lambsquarters for
you.
In the left hand column you see the recommended amounts of essential amino acids
for an average adult. In the right column you can see the amounts of those amino
acids contained in lambsquarters and kale. Please notice that dark green leafy
vegetables contain similar or larger amounts of amino acids than the Recommended
Daily Allowance (RDA).
As you can see from this chart, one pound of kale has even more protein than is
recommended by the USDA per day. Yet, by erroneously placing all parts of plants
(roots, stalks, blossoms, spears, greens, etc.) into the category of vegetables,
and assuming they have the same properties, we have mistakenly concluded that
greens are a poor source of protein. This inaccurate conclusion has led to the
malnourishment and suffering of people for decades. The lack of research on the
nutritional content of greens has led to a great confusion among the majority of
people, including many professionals. Dr. Joel Fuhrman wrote in his book Eat to
Live:
"Even physicians and dietitians ... are surprised to learn that ... when you eat
large quantities of green vegetables, you receive a considerable amount of
protein."
Where do I get my protein? Being aware of the confusion around vegetables, I
understand why this became a popular question. Since most people were not aware
that greens have an abundance of readily available essential amino acids, they
were trying to eat from the other food groups known for their rich protein
content. However, let me explain the difference between complex proteins found
in meat, dairy, fish, etc. and individual amino acids, found in fruits,
vegetables, and especially in greens.
It is clear that the body has to work a lot less when creating
protein from the assortment of individual amino acids from greens, rather than
the already combined, long molecules of protein, assembled according to the
foreign pattern of a totally different creature such as a cow or a chicken. I
would like to explain the difference between complex proteins and individual
amino acids with a simple anecdote.
Imagine that you have to make a wedding dress for your daughter. Consuming the
complex proteins that we get from cows or other creatures is like going to the
second hand store, and buying many other people's used dresses, coming home and
spending several hours ripping apart pieces of the dresses that you like and
combining them into a new dress for your daughter. This alternative will take a
lot of time and energy and will leave a great deal of garbage. You could never
make a perfect dress this way.
Consuming individual amino acids is like taking your daughter to a fabric store
to buy beautiful new fabric, lace, buttons, ribbons, threads, and pearls. With
these essential elements you can make a beautiful dress that fits her unique
body perfectly. Similarly when you eat greens, you "purchase" new amino acids,
freshly made by sunshine and chlorophyll, which the body will use to rebuild its
parts according to your own unique DNA.
Contrary to this, your body would have a hard time trying to make a perfect
molecule of protein out of someone else's molecules, which consist of totally
different combinations of amino acids. Plus, your body would most likely receive
a lot of unnecessary pieces that are hard to digest. These pieces would be
floating around in your blood like garbage for a long time, causing allergies
and other health problems. Professor W. A. Walker from the Department of
Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, states that, "Incompletely
digested protein fragments may be absorbed into the bloodstream. The absorption
of these large molecules contributes to the development of food allergies and
immunological disorders."
The ironic result of consuming this imperfect source of protein, (animal
protein), is that many people develop deficiencies in essential amino acids.
Such deficiencies are not only dangerous to health, but they dramatically change
people's perceptions of life and the way people feel and behave. The body in
producing neurotransmitters uses some essential amino acids, like tyrosine,
tryptophan, glutamine, histamine, and others. Neurotransmitters are the natural
chemicals that facilitate communication between brain cells. These substances
govern our emotions, memory, moods, behavior, learning abilities and sleep
patterns. For the last three decades, neurotransmitters have been the focus of
mental health research.
According to the research of Julia Ross, a specialist in nutritional
psychology,20 if your body lacks certain amino acids, you may develop strong
symptoms of mental and physiological imbalance and severe cravings for unwanted
substances.
For example, let us consider tyrosine and phenylalanine. The symptoms of a
deficiency in these amino acids can cause:
- Depression
- Lack of energy
- Lack of focus and concentration
- Attention deficit disorder
In addition, the symptoms of a deficiency in these amino acids may lead to
cravings for:
- Sweets
- Starch
- Chocolate
- Aspartame
- Alcohol
- Marijuana
- Caffeine
- Cocaine
- Tobacco
Using available data from official sources. I have calculated the amounts of
these two essential amino acids that we can receive from either chicken or dark
green endive:
As you can see, contrary to the popular opinion, there are plenty
of high quality proteins in greens. According to the explanation of Professor T.
Colin Campbell, "There is a mountain of compelling evidence showing that so
called "low-quality" plant protein, which allows for slow but steady synthesis
of new proteins, is the healthiest type of protein." For example, the protein
from greens doesn't have cancer as a side effect. Yet, in many books, greens are
not even listed as a protein source because greens have not been researched
enough.
Greens have sufficient protein to build muscle in grazing animals. I received
this testimony from my very first American friend, a farmer with a BA in
psychology from Harvard University Peter Hagerty of Maine: "When our sheep are
in the barn eating concentrated feed such as ground corn and oats, they gain
weight much more quickly, but young lambs, once they reach 120 lbs or 90 % of
slaughter weight, begin putting this concentrated food into fat rather than
muscle which is not advantageous for the consumer who has to trim this fat off
and throw it away If the lambs are grass fed, they grow more slowly but they can
reach full slaughter weight with very little fat. So my observations are:
concentrates seem to put on easily burnable fats and grasses put on quality
muscle."
In summary, greens provide protein in the form of individual amino acids. These
amino acids are easier for the body to utilize than complex proteins. A variety
of greens can supply all the protein we need to sustain each of our unique
bodies.
Chapter 8 -
Fiber: The Magic Sponge
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Green For Life by Victoria Boutenko
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