Diet Trap #5: Falling for the Protein and Calcium Myths
Many of us believe we need the protein in animal products to be healthy, avoid a deficiency, or to
lose weight effectively and permanently. The truth is that we don’t.
Animal products are impoverished foods; they are calorically rich and nutrient poor. They’re not
required for optimal health, as physiology and nutritional biochemistry have well established. The
protein and calcium found in animal products, including dairy products, is actually damaging.
Eating more than small amounts actually increases your vulnerability to lifestyle diseases (e.g.,
heart disease, cancer and stroke).^39
There’s no question that we need protein and calcium for growth, healing and repair. However, we
can easily obtain the amounts we need through eating a variety of nutrient-rich, whole plant foods
and/or by drinking raw, live, organic superfood drinks, like those offered at NutrientRich.com.
All of the protein and calcium we need are abundantly available in the fruits, vegetables, legumes,
whole grains, seeds and nuts that make up the bulk of a nutrient-rich diet. They are packaged
within whole foods, complemented by thousands of other health-promoting nutrients. We don’t
have to sort, measure, combine, or eat them in lean versions to be sure we’re getting all that our
bodies require—without clogging our arteries!
“Nature must have wanted us to have enough protein. For simply
following the instinct of hunger and eating enough natural food of
whatever kind, it is almost impossible to be deficient in this vital
nutrient.”- John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America and The Food Revolution,
spokesperson and leading expert on the dietary link between the
environment and health, and heir to the Baskin-Robbins ice cream empire
(from which he walked away)
According to Nathan Pritikin, founder of the Pritikin Program, “I don’t know any nutrition expert
that can plan a diet of natural foods resulting in a protein deficiency, so long as you’re not deficient
in calories.^40 ”
There are many people who would happily (and easily) make the transition to consuming fewer
animal products if they weren’t indoctrinated into the belief that these products are necessary for
health and weight loss. In fact, they’d lose a great deal of their excess weight by making that change
alone.
“Cow’s milk is a superbly-engineered fluid that will turn a 65-pound calf
into a 500-pound cow in a year. That’s what cow’s milk is for.”- Michael Klaper, M.D., plant-based nutrition specialist
(^39) Campbell TM II, Campbell TC. The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the
Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books; 2003.
(^40) Robbins J. Diet for a New America. Tiburon, CA: HJ Kramer Inc; 1987.