Show Notes

Protein

Difference between crude protein and true protein (amino acids). 

Crude protein is a bad way to gauge protein content in foods for humans. In cattle its great and thats really what its designed for. To make sure the feed given to cattle has enough nitrogen in it. Because ruminants can absorb non protein nitrogen and turn it into protein based nitrogen in the form of amino acids. 

Humans and other animals with only one stomach, chicken, pig, lion, dog can only absorb nitrogen in the form of amino acids.

So to get a crude protein value they measure all the nitrogen in a sample of food and multiply it by 6.25. They use 6.25 because protein is 16 percent nitrogen. 100/16 = 6.25

So the first assumption is that all the nitrogen in the sample is in the form of protein, specifically amino acids. That assumption is fairly accurate when measuring animal products. Like a steak. Over 90% of the nitrogen in red meat is in the form of amino acids

However in the case of lets say beans only 50% of the nitrogen is in the form of amino acids. The other 50% is nitrogen that our body cant absorb.

So why would this nitrogen be added to the label as dietary protein? This over estimates the amount of protein coming from plants.

“The approximate amount of protein in foods that is calculated from the determined nitrogen content by multiplying by a factor (as 6.25 for many foods and 5.7 for wheat) derived from the average percentage of nitrogen in the food proteins and that may contain an appreciable error if the nitrogen is derived from non protein material or from a protein of unusual composition.”

Most vegan friendly foods that are considered high in protein are legumes that can fix nitrogen. Think peanut butter and soy beans. They pull nitrogen out of the air and deposit it in the soil. 

But who cares. That nitrogen cant help us at all. The only nitrogen we should be worried about is amino acids.

So in reality pinto beans are said to have 9.3g of protein per 100g. It’s actually closer to 5g of protein per 100g.

100g of beef has 28g of protein. In true protein thats a value of 26g of protein.

So in order to match the amount of protein from beef by replacing that with beans you would have to eat five times the amount of beans. 500g of beans is equal to 100g of beef. Thats over a pound of beans…who is eating that many beans??

Protein deficiency 

Workout analogy. Rather workout for 15 minutes and get great results or workout 5 hours and get the same results 

Fats

The three main omega-3 fatty acids are alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)

Omega 3/6 fats are converted into prostaglandins which are locally produced hormones that are vital for our health.

ALA is 18 carbons long. It first gets elongated to 20 carbons long which is EPA then get elongated again to 22 carbons long which is DHA

Essential Fatty Acids are EPA and DHA. Our body can convert ALA into EPA and DHA. But it does this very poorly. The conversion from ALA to DHA for example is anywhere from 0% to 9%.

Quotes showing vegans tend to be deficient in DHA

“Docosahexaenoic acid (22 : 6n-3; DHA) is believed to play an important role in the retina and in the central nervous system. Lower proportions of DHA have been found in both plasma and cord artery phospholipids of vegetarians compared with omnivores”

“Lower levels of DHA were also found in the milk of vegan mothers compared with omnivore controls, and the erythrocyte lipids of the infants also contained a lower proportion of DHA than those of infants breast-fed by omnivorous mothers or those of infants bottle- fed on cow’s milk formula”

Not only are vegans limited in the amount of DHA they can convert from ALA the diet they have is usually high in PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) this environment further reduced our bodies ability to convert ALA into EPA and DHA

“with a background diet high in saturated fat conversion to long-chain metabolites is approximately 6% for EPA and 3.8% for DHA. With a diet rich in n-6 PUFA, conversion is reduced by 40 to 50%”

What is an N-6 PUFA you might be asking??

Soy oil, Canola Oil, Corn Oil all industrial seed oils that are perfectly vegan are high in omega 6 fats

Sure, there are some great options to get some healthy fats in your diet as a vegan, such as coconut oil, high-cacao dark chocolate, or avocados.

None of these fats contain essential omega 3 fatty acids

Most vegans primary source of ALA is industrial seed oils which further inhibit the bodies ability to convert ALA to EPA and DHA. These oils are hydrogenated which create artificial trans fatty acids. Trans fatty acids interfere with normal fatty acid storage and metabolism. 

ALA is the only officially essential omega 3 fatty acid because our bodies can convert ALA into EPA and DHA.

However, that conversion rate is 5-10% for EPA and even worse at 0-5% for DHA.  

The conversion of ALA into EPA & DHA depends on zinc & iron, nutrients also typically lacking in a vegetarian diet.

It is recommended that we consume 250mg-1,000mg of a combination of EPA & DHA daily.

So that would mean that a person would need to consume 5g-13g of ALA daily in order for the conversion to optimally fulfill one’s needs.

Most typical vegans and vegetarians consume less than 1g of ALA daily.

• 1 oz of walnuts contain 2.5g of ALA
• A vegetarian would need to consume 2oz -1/2 lb of walnuts daily to fulfill their omega 3 needs.

Seafood is by far the best source for EPA & DHA:

• 6 oz of cold water fish, like salmon, have about 900 mg of EPA and 1100 mg of DHA.  2 servings of fish per week is enough for all your omega 3 needs
• 1 egg contains 75-100 mg of DHA  

The best supplement for vegans is EPA & DHA form sourced from algae.  Another source is flax seed oil, but this in in the ALA form and needs to be converted.