A constant fear in the mind of everyone these days is that he and his family members are not consuming adequate quantity of protein. Ironically, even those who have protein in excess are worried about the “shortage” It is, therefore, necessary to discuss the issue threadbare.
The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for protein has drastically downsized. We, however, continue to follow the obsolete recommendations of 40 years ago leading to a sense of complete confusion in general public. Very few know that the US government reduced daily protein consumption in a human from 118 gm in the early 1900s to 46 to 56 gm in the 1980s to the present level of 25 to 35 gm. Many nutritionists in fact, now feel that even 20 gm of protein a day is more than enough, and warn about the potential dangers of consistently consuming much more than this quantity. However, the protein obsession continues unabated with the masses. They rely on dubious research financed completely by dairy and meat industries blatantly elevating levels of protein needed to dangerous proportions. It’s alarming to see so many people still relying on such insufficient and outdated information. It is now an accepted fact that we require 0.8 gm of protein per kg of body weight. That means that somebody weighing 100 kg will require 80 gm of protein while somebody tipping the scale at 75 kg will require 60 gm. This excessive figure is for only those people who engage in exceptional physical activity- approximately two hours of puffing and panting in the gym or some other vigorous exercises. The ground reality is that only a handful of people engage in that kind of regimen on a regular basis. As a result, an average 75-kg male who exercises daily will find it hard to digest even 50 gm of protein. Females will struggle with even 40. For a person engaged in a sedentary job, the requirement could be as low as 25 to 30 gm per day Protein is like a building block. We need a substantial quantity of it in the growing up years. Once we reach adulthood, it is required only for maintenance; hence the low quantities mentioned above. It is an accepted fact that the human body recycles 70 percent of its proteinaceous waste and our body loses only about 23 gm of protein per day You can understand this marvelous system better by taking the example of a fountain. The water that it spouts is not wasted It goes down into a reservoir and the electric motor re-churns it for a very long time, with very little wastage. So, the need to replenish is minimal. Similarly, the body uses most of the protein time and again repetitively.
The safety of protein powders and drinks is also under suspicion, Consumers Union of the USA, publishers of consumer reports sent 15 protein supplements to an outside laboratory to test for toxic compounds such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury, They found that “the amount of lead in a single daily serving of eight out of the 15 protein supplements they tested was so high that it would require the carrying of a warning in California under their Prop 65 law for toxin-containing substances” Protein happens to be a long chain of amino acids that our body requires. These amino acids are 23 in number and all the protein that we consume is broken down by the digestive system into these ingredients. Our body manufactures 15 of these on its own, while the remaining 8 have to come from our food. Therefore, the eight are called essential amino acids. The amino acids in turn are made up of chains of atoms, which are the building blocks for our body. Protein makes up 15 percent of our body, second only to water, which is 70 percent Protein is the number one solid element of our body. Proteins are essential for survival because they perform the following functions:
• Our muscle fibers are made up of protein
• They are involved in cell division and gene expression
• They provide the structure and support to our cells
• Antibodies are proteins that help fight infection
• Enzymes are proteins which help speed up chemical reactions in the body
• Our hormones like insulin and glucagon are proteins
• Proteins can also provide energy (4 calories per gram)
Source: Cure Yourself Naturally by Amar Chandel