|
Dear Living Fuel Family,
We know that we need protein in our diet. But why is it so important?
What exactly does protein do in our bodies? How is protein releated to amino acids? Answers to these insightful questions are the topics of today’s episode of LivingFuelTV.
Chapter 11 in my new book The Super Health Diet: The Last Diet You Will Ever Need! is titled ‘The Dynamic Role of Proteins in Weight Loss’. This chapter contains the results of a lifetime of research on this complex subject and illustrates clearly the starring role that protein plays on our journey to Super Health and then consequently, to our optimal weight.
Today on LivingFuelTV, Monica and I continue our fascinating series on The Super Health Diet. Our subject is the profound importance of protein, not just for weight optimization but also for life itself. In five minutes, we’ll change the way you think of protein forever. Join us by clicking on the graphic below.
|
 |
Audio Transcription
KC: Welcome to Living Fuel TV. I’m KC Craichy. This is my wife, Monica. So, protein, as long as you get any old protein with a meal, that’s okay, right? They all do the same thing. It all works the same. It doesn’t really matter whether it’s from an animal or plant. Is that true? No, unfortunately not. Protein is a fairly complex subject, which we are going to try to simplify for you today.
Monica: It is extremely complex and actually, as I said last week, it was my favorite chapter in your book. Chapter 11 is a must read for every person on the planet.
KC: Well, actually it’s interesting because it does not just apply for people wanting to lose weight as you know. It applies for people wanting to maintain weight or to increase muscle weight or to lose weight. It’s really so important. Also, the research shows that having protein, having enough protein going in, in post-surgery even increases the speed in which people recover. There are so many reasons this chapter is important.
Monica: Let’s first wrap up from last week what exactly is protein,
KC? KC: I really think that we should think about protein as a source of amino acids. It’s really two things. Actually, amino acids are building blocks and they provide nitrogen. Okay. That’s really what you get from them. But protein is broken down by the body and the building blocks are pulled out of the protein. Those building blocks are used by the body to create things like muscles and tissue and hormones and just about every other thing you can think about in the body.
Monica: So, the basic foundation of the human body is made from proteins and amino acids?
KC: From protein, among other things, but protein is a structural nutrient that builds stuff in the body. If you don’t have enough protein that means you don’t have enough amino acids. That means that your body is going to have to tear down parts of the body to build another part of the body. So, if you go work out and you don’t have enough protein, the body is going to tear one piece of the body down to build another piece of the body. Essentially, if you don’t have enough amino acids, it is a big problem in the body. It’s like tearing down the bathroom to build a kitchen. We talked about that. So, if you think about amino acids being critical to life and actual building blocks of life and they’re separated into two pieces like we talked about last week. You’ve got the essential ones, the ones that cannot be made or manufactured by the body. So, you have to eat them and you have the “non-essential” ones that are also essential, but they can be made by the body as long as you get the dietary essential amino acids.
Monica: Okay, so there are 10. There are 20 amino acids that are manufactured in the body, 10 of which your body can manufacture if you’re eating right and 10 of which your body cannot manufacture. It needs the protein sources that we ingest.
KC: Yes. To be more specific, there are 20, I would say plus, dietary amino acids because the body makes numerous amino acids in the body. We’re not counting those … those you get from the diet. So, there are 20 plus dietary amino acids, to simplify, we’re going to say 10 essential and 10 non-essential. But it’s actually, there are eight or nine essential for most people and others are conditionally essential. So, 10 and 10 would be a good way to break that down.
Monica: Okay, let me read something from page 291 in your book. It says, “Failure to obtain enough of even one of the eight to 10 essential amino acids, those that we cannot make, results in degradation of the body’s proteins, muscle tissues and so forth, to obtain the one amino acid that is needed. Unlike fat and starch, the human body does not store significant excess amino acids for later use. The essential amino acids must be obtained in the diet every day. Not only can you not physically thrive without essential amino acids, you cannot live without them.”
KC: Definitely.
Monica: That’s a pretty big statement.
KC: It’s not only every day. It’s every meal. It’s a constant flow of amino acids. This is critically important that at least you come away this time understanding that the protein source that you choose needs to be delivering to you the essential amino acids you need to not only make things in the body, but to make the “non-essential” amino acids that you also need. So, if your diet is not getting quality protein sources and not getting enough protein, then you are hindering yourself from being all you can be. We hope we have simplified this a little bit more for you. We’re going to continue on this subject because it’s an important topic.
Monica: You know what I want to talk about next?
KC: Yes?
Monica: What are the sources that we should be eating to get these essential amino acids? Can we cover that next time?
KC: We can cover that next time. Perfect.
Monica: Okay.
KC: God bless you, and have a great day.
