12. Making Wise Protein Choices
For most people getting enough protein should not be a problem
as there are many healthy options. These include eggs, meats, fish
and dairy foods. For those who won’t eat these foods, getting enough
protein can be a challenge. Soybeans and certain combinations of
legumes and grains can supply all essential amino acids, but you risk
not getting adequate protein, and generally must eat more carbohy-
drate than needed. For most people obtaining sufficient protein is rel-
atively easy, especially when choosing animal sources.
Choosing the best animal proteins means finding the best
sources. This may be organic, grass-fed, free-range, kosher and what-
ever other labels are used to differentiate the highest quality eggs,
meats, fish and dairy foods from those obtained from poorly treated
animals. In some cases, visiting a smaller local farm, for example, will
help you decide. Some of today’s local farmers are not only health-
conscious but actually care about their animals and how their opera-
tions impact the environment.
The human body, especially the intestine, is well adapted for
digesting animal-source foods, having evolved on a high-meat/fish,
low-carbohydrate diet with varying amounts of vegetables, fruits and
nuts. While the popular trend in recent decades has been toward the
misconception that meat consumption is unhealthy, there are a vari-
ety of unique features of an animal-food diet that are vital for health
and fitness. Here are some of them:
- Animal foods contain high levels of all essential amino
acids. - Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient found only in animal
foods.