Want one more reason to trade in that steak for a salad? Brace yourself…
We are getting too much protein!
Sure, protein is the building block of life and is essential for a balanced, healthy diet. It’s the reason we grow hair, put on muscle, and produces hormones. But there can be too much of a good thing.
Both men and women alike are eating far too much protein than they body truly needs. The Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) states that we should be eating 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (which breaks down to 0.36 grams per pound). That means the average sedentary woman should consume 46 grams and the average sedentary man should intake 56 grams of protein. However, recent studies show that women on average intake 67 grams a day, while the average male consumes a whopping 82 grams!
So what does our body do with all this extra protein? Well, a few things.
TOO MUCH PROTEIN STIMULATES
A BIOCHEMICAL PATHWAY TO MOST CANCERS
Expert in anti-aging, Dr. Ron Rosdale, discussed this very topic in a YouTube video. Amino acids introduced to our body by eating too much animal protein daily activates the protein enzyme inside all of us called the, “Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR).” … I know, big word. Don’t give up.
The mTOR is a chemical reaction of other proteins inside your body. When two genes fall in love and collide, BOOM! A biochemical pathway called the mTOR. I know, weird stuff goes on in there.
Our body is a bit of a yin and yang. There are things in there to balance out the other. So the mTOR plays the bad cop in the good-cop-bad-cop scenario when it comes to your body cleaning itself out. mTOR is essential for the cleaning cells that replace damaged cells to do their job, but when mTOR becomes the alpha dog in the house, it becomes a bit of bully.
When the mTOR is overly stimulated, it doesn’t allow your cells to regenerate, because it shuts down the process that cleans out damaged cells (the process is called “autophagy” if you truly care). Rather than promoting rejuvenation, the mTOR encourages growth.
This includes cancerous growths.
Studies have shown that when mTORs act abnormally (such in case, overstimulated), it contributes to tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis.”
A great way to avoid the overstimulation of the mTOR is trade in that leg of lamb in for something a bit more lean like grilled chicken, or perhaps a cup of chickpeas (1 cup boiled is 15 grams!). Next Taco Tuesday, try making black bean tacos instead of beef tacos. Maybe swap out meaty meatballs, and roll up some eggplant balls. There’s a lot of easy and delicious ways to lower your protein intake.
MORE PROTEIN MEANS MORE GLUCOSE.
MORE GLUCOSE MEANS MORE HORMONES OUT OF WHACK!
50% to 60% of the protein that we eat will turn to glucose naturally. That’s fine and dandy. We need glucose. However, the more protein you are ingesting, means more glucose. Suddenly 50% to 60% is a much larger number.
Too much glucose leads to your blood sugar being high. That’s when our precious hormone called “insulin” comes in. Once we’ve stressed insulin, we’re throwing all of hormones off their game.
Insulin produces testosterone in our bodies. When we eat, both estrogen and testosterone get introduced into our systems. As we digest our meals, an important protein in our bodies called sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) binds onto excess testosterone and estrogen within our bloodstream. However, as insulin is working away at the sugar, that means more estrogen gets by, converting to fat tissue that sits in our bellies.
As we continue to consume more and more protein, the estrogen to progesterone ratio becomes out of whack. This leads to feelings of irritability, insomnia, depression, and anxiety. These symptoms only worsen as menopause draws near.
HIGH PROTEIN DIETS IGNORE CARBS, DRAINING YOUR ADRENAL GLAND
We’ve been hearing for the longest time that carbs are the enemy. Atkin’s has made a killing off of high-protein, low-carb diets. However, a lot of people complain that after the initial weight loss of joining these fad diets, they actually gained the weight back and then some.
The reason for this is because restricting carbohydrates means you’re denying your body energy. Yes, cutting off the carbs will mean a quick weight loss. Starving yourself will do the same thing too. However, in the long-term, both would detrimental.
If you are looking to kick off weight and enter a high-protein, low-carb diet, I would bet the house that you probably exercise in some way as well. Adding the stress of working out into this situation can lead to the following hormone-changing issues:
- Lower thyroid output
- Lower testosterone level
- Higher cortisol output
A study conducted by Life Sciences showed that men on a high-carb diet versus men on a low-carb diet saw more production of testosterone as well as the SHBG that we spoke about earlier. In the case of women, you would want more carbs than protein to offset the insulin deficiency caused by overconsumption of protein.
Oh yeah, that brings us back to insulin. The circle of life! Cue up, Elton John.
Carbs also increase the insulin levels that we were talking about earlier. As the amount of protein increases, insulin decreases. Instead of a high-protein, low-carb diet that trendy mainstream programs promote, we should be balancing things out more. The yin and the yang.
Sensible carbs and sensible proteins.
There are bad carbs, yes. Stay away from potato chips and high fructose corn syrup filled breads. But there’s also good carbs.
Just like there’s bad proteins. Stay away from fatty red meats like beef, steak, and lamb. But there are good proteins out there too. Here are some of the good carbs and proteins to keep an eye out for:
GOOD CARBS:
- Sweet Potatoes
- Oatmeal
- Brown Rice
- Quinoa
- Bananas
- Oranges
- Buckwheat
- Apples
- Kidney Beans
- Chickpeas
Good Proteins:
- Lean chicken
- Eggs
- Chickpeas
- Black beans
- Hemp seeds
- Edamame
- Almonds
- Salmon
- Bee Pollen
- Sprouts
- Walnuts
- Tempeh
