Do Plants Have Enough Protein?


Have a look at the following chart. These show plant and starch based foods and what percentage of those plants are protein. The chart also contains animal based foods for a comparison.

Remember, we agreed that 5% protein (the amount found in breast milk and the amount recommended by the World Health Organization) is adequate.


Food
% Protein
Grains and Flours
Whole Wheat Flour
16
Oatmeal
15
White Flour
11
Brown Rice
9
Cornmeal
9
White Rice
7
Starchy Vegetables
Peas
28
Black Beans
27
Kidney Beans
27
Corn
11
Cassava
10
Potato
8
Sweet Potato
7
Green Vegetables
Spinach
51
Broccoli
42
Asparagus
42
Lettuce
40
Onions
32
Mushrooms
12
Carrots
10
Animal Products
Cottage Cheese
68
Beef
53
Chicken
46
Salmon
43
Skim Milk
39
Egg
32
Pork
29
Cheddar Cheese
25
Whole Milk
21
Human Milk
5



Did you notice that the percentage of spinach that is protein is actually higher than chicken? The information in this chart shows clearly that protein deficiency is impossible when calorie needs are met by eating plants. Namely vegetables and starches. This is why a gorilla can eat a 99.9% plant based diet yet still have huge muscle mass… and throw you about 20 feet through the air with one arm.

On to the next question...


Do plants contain ALL of these 8 essential amino acids?

This is where you hear a lot of lies being told by supposedly prestigious health organizations, many names of which you would immediately recognize. Interestingly, this issue was settled way back in the 1940s.

In the 1940s, a Dr. William Rose performed experiments on people to discover what the daily minimum protein needs were. His research concluded that about 20 grams per day were sufficient. As part of his research he also did experiments on men where single plant foods were consumed to find out if nutritional requirements for all 8 essential amino acids were met. They were. Easily. The chart below summarizes Dr. Rose's work.

As you can see, vegetables and starches provide more than enough of all of the 8 essential amino acids that humans require.

Amino
Acids
Dr. Rose's
Recommended
Requirement
Corn

Brown
Rice

Oatmeal
Flakes
Wheat
Flour
White
Beans
Tryptophan
.50
.66
.71
1.4
1.4
1.8
Phenylalaline
.56
6.13
3.1
5.8
5.9
10.9
Leucine
2.20
12.0
5.5
8.1
8.0
17.0
Isoleucine
1.4
4.1
3.0
5.6
5.2
11.3
Lysine
1.6
4.1
2.5
4.0
3.2
14.7
Vailine
1.6
6.8
4.5
6.4
5.5
12.1
Methionine
.22
2.1
1.1
1.6
1.8
2.0
Threonine
1.0
4.5
2.5
3.6
3.5
8.5
Total Protein
37
109
64
108
120
198

 

Amino
Acids
Taro
Asparagus

Broccoli
Tomatoes
Pumpkin
Tryptophan
1.0
3.9
3.8
1.4
1.5
Phenylalaline
3.0
10.2
12.2
4.3
3.0
Leucine
5.2
14.6
16.5
6.1
6.0
Isoleucine
3.0
11.9
12.8
4.4
4.3
Lysine
3.4
15.5
14.8
6.3
5.5
Vailine
3.5
16.0
17.3
4.2
4.3
Methionine
.6
5.0
5.1
1.1
1.0
Threonine
2.7
9.9
12.5
4.9
2.7
Total Protein
58
330
338
150
115

 

Amino
Acids
Steak
Egg

Milk
Tryptophan
3.1
3.8
2.3
Phenylalaline
11.2
13.9
7.7
Leucine
22.4
21.0
15.9
Isoleucine
14.3
15.7
10.3
Lysine
23.9
15.3
12.5
Vailine
15.1
17.7
11.7
Methionine
6.8
7.4
3.9
Threonine
12.1
12.0
7.4
Total Protein
276
238
160


But what about the question I posed earlier about whether or not humans are designed more for animal protein than vegetable protein. After all, we have incisors ("fangs") on our upper set of teeth that came from our ancestry where they were needed for grabbing and tearing animal flesh, right?

We are going to cover that question in detail in the next issue of Foundations of Health. I think you will find the answer quite interesting.

Take care,

- Andy


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Copyright 2009 by The Diamond Group.