All right, and welcome back. Today we are going to be talking about proteins. So, proteins are made of links of amino acids. They're similar in construction to carbohydrates, except they also contain nitrogen atoms as well. The human body must assemble and effectively used roughly 50,000 different proteins, proteins make up our nerves or muscles or internal organs, and even our skin. Enzymes are proteins responsible for catalyzing all the biochemical reactions that occur in our bodies.

Antibodies are proteins responsible for fending off harmful diseases. So if we compare the structure of carbohydrates, the proteins, we can use an analogy like this. simple sugars like sucrose and glucose are too complex carbohydrates with amino acids are two proteins. So amino acids are the building blocks to larger proteins. In humans, all proteins are derived from only 20 different amino acid acids and these are combined and linked in an almost infinite number of ways to create the proteins we need. Different chains and orientations of these amino acids are the difference between the proteins found and things like steak or tofu and beans.

As humans, we use these proteins to build a variety of different structures in the body. And proteins are found in things like genetic genetic material and DNA, collagen fibers that form our muscles and connective tissue, enzymes, bones and hormones. Just as humans and other animals plants use proteins as well, and in a similar fashion, they're used to build things like their stocks to provide them stability, and they also form other structures as well. Everything from nature humans consume contains at least some amount of protein, even fruits and vegetables. Protein is necessary For a variety of everyday functions, so things like normal growth through adulthood, blood clotting, formation of hormones and enzymes forming milk during the lactation process, regulating acid base balance, building and repairing connective tissue. Protein deficient diets skewed towards acidity or alkalinity depending on the foods we eat.

So this is why sometimes strict vegans and vegetarians may may struggle with acid base balance in their blood. Now, vegetarian and vegan diets have been popularized over the past few decades. In fact, many dietitians and nutritionists may actually advocate for this model and push becoming vegan or vegetarian. And if you are, there's many fantastic plant based protein options and you could take a look at the right there's a ton of great ones that you can use to get protein from animal sources. And you can use things like beans and lagoons Kima total intent a nuts and seeds these are all great options. But if you are so inclined to adopt this way of life, it can be done but more precautions must be made.

Now, if we were to take a look back in our history as humans, many people used to eat vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts as staples in the diet. Occasionally, a hunt would bring animal meat and animal fat into the party. Now only those who lived in extremely desolate areas, people like the Eskimos were consuming large amounts of animal protein and animal fat because there was just no vegetation in those areas. Now, that being said, having a diet based mostly on vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts, these earlier humans tended to have more solid bone structure, more defined musculature, pristine teeth. And it's really important to talk about the teeth because oral health is a good dictator of systemic health, health in the rest of the body. So as prehistoric man began to cultivate farms and civilization came around, and this brought in grains, dairy, and lagoons into the fold.

Now, this allowed humans to become more comfortable settle in. But this came at a price and it was in the cost of our health. So the health of civilized men began to deteriorate. And this started in the mouth in the form of dental cavities. And these groups begin to have diminished health compared to our hunter gatherer predecessors. So when we look at higher mammals, none of them are actually strictly vegetarian, even though they're classified as such.

So if we look at primates, they all eat some form of animal food. So let's take a gorilla in the wild that eats fruits and leaves. They're actually also eating the insects and their eggs and their larvae along with the fruit. other primates might eat things like crickets and flies or small rodents, and eventually All animals, cows and other ruminants that are considered vegetarians, you might think all they do is eat grass. And while it seems from from looking from an outsider's perspective that Yeah, they do, they actually also eat a bunch of the bacteria found in their digestive tract. Now, how does that happen?

The bacteria in ruminants and cows are found in the beginning portion of the digestive tract. So what happens is, when bacteria die off, they actually fall into the rest of their intestines, and that becomes a source of protein for cows. So while they might not be getting a great deal of it from grass, they're actually getting the protein they need from older bacteria. Now, just because plants are made a protein solver does not mean that eating meat free is necessarily easy. Now, animal proteins contain all 20 of the amino acids we need to properly function. Now as humans Were able to manufacturer 11 of these amino acids on our own the others.

The other nine are not able to and they're considered essential amino acids. And these are phenol add alanine Beilein three any trip, Tapan assigning leucine, isoleucine, lysine and histidine. Plants create different proteins than animals. So they don't use all 20 of these amino acids very frequently, and because of that they're considered incomplete proteins. So if your protein contains less than the 20 amino acids we need for healthy living is concerned an incomplete protein. And what happens if is that if the body does not have enough of these essential amino acids, the body will begin to build a protein until the essential amino acid stores are depleted.

And when you can't create the protein necessary. The kind of half built protein actually is just broken down. To the original building blocks, which are the amino acids. So a diet with no animal products is is hard to maintain. But this is becoming much more accessible nowadays with health food stores, giving more vegetarian options and restaurants offering more vegetarian options on menus. However, vegetarians may be faced with certain mineral deficiencies and they might lack fat soluble catalysts, which are needed to absorb minerals fidic acid which is found in grains, and grains are usually a staple of many vegetarians diets.

These block the absorption of iron, zinc, copper, calcium and magnesium unless they're prepared properly. And these same minerals are easily found in animal products and they're much more easy to absorb when when consumed. So it's important not to overlook these potential mineral deficiencies when it comes to vegans and vegetarians. They could lead to serious health issues down the road. So, for example, if we take a look at an iron deficiency, which can lead to an iron deficiency anemia some of these symptoms include dizziness, malaise, lethargy, confusion, hair loss, brittle nails and irritability. Severe hypercalcemia can lead to symptoms like muscle, muscle cramps, numbness, seizures, and even cardiac arrest.

A minor zinc deficiency in animals can lead to some issues like birth defects, cleft palate, fused ribs, and full blown sink divisions. These can lead to things like learning disabilities, mental retardation, and decreased fertility especially in men. And the best source of zinc for humans is found in animal products. So things like red meat and oysters. Another thing to watch out for if you're a vegetarian or vegan is vitamin B 12. Now, b 12 is only found in animal products.

Interestingly, humans are able to store enough of this vital meant to last anywhere between two and five years, but functional levels of the vitamins are depleted well before them. When b 12 stores are depleted, it can lead to a variety of health issues. And these include things like pernicious anemia, panic attacks, diminished eyesight, schizophrenia, nervous disorders, weakness, balance problems, and numbness in the hands and feet. Now, vitamin B 12 deficiencies have been found in infants of parents who are strict vegans. So if you're a vegan and planning to have a child or a pregnant, it's really important that the child is getting some form of V 12 and b 12. If you're not a strict vegan, and you're not getting b 12, from eggs and dairy, that's actually sufficient.

So if you're consuming soy products, and especially organic soy products, if you're going to consume them, and things like spirulina, they provide substances that are similar to B 12. But if they're not picked up by intrinsic factor which is found in the stomach, then they're not going to be absorbed properly. So the bottom line here is vitamin B 12 is only found in its pure form in animal products. So if you're vegetarian, you should be supplementing with B 12 in order to get all the necessary vitamins. So, we're going to talk about processing and we talked about processed carbohydrates, proteins are processed as well. And these are usually in the forms of things like protein powders, especially things made out of like soy protein, egg white proteins, whey proteins case in proteins.

Now, similar to carbohydrates, when these are processed, they tend to be stripped of their nutrients as well similar to carbohydrates. And when they're nutrient deficient, density is reduced significantly. You're again not going to get all the necessary vitamins and minerals you need if you're using them as meal replacement. So, if you're gonna isolate proteins, there's a process and it involves heating these proteins to high enough temperatures. And sometimes they're high enough to denature proteins. And when you denature a protein, that means you're actually changing the shape of it.

And when you change the shape of these proteins, they're actually rendered useless a lot of the times and also heating increases the amounts of nitrates and carcinogens found on these products. Now, these protein powders are consumed as part of a low fat diet. You might also end up with issues of low levels of fat soluble vitamins. So things like vitamin A and D, you're not going to have enough of if you're not getting the proper amount of fats. If soy protein powders are made from genetically modified soy, and the soy is treated with pesticides, it can inhibit enzymes responsible for limiting growth and increasing tumor growth factors which and again, tumor growth factors are important for the production of cancer. So, with all this information, it's tough because vegans are put in a precarious position.

So it plants do not contain all the necessary components they need, then how are they going to get it in a balanced diet? And the answer is to just eat a variety of foods. So a simple example would be to use rice and beans. So if you're eating beans, they actually lack the essential amino acid notice with tiny rice, on the other hand, lacks the essential amino acid lysine, but if you eat them together, you're actually going to get the full amount of essential fat amino acids that you need for a healthy diet. And also vegetarians who consume eggs or dairy in small amounts, if you're not sensitive, they're not going to have as many issues as strict vegans because again, you're gonna get the full complement of amino acids. Strict vegans need to be really wary of this.

So again, along with the B 12. In terms of vitamins and minerals, make sure you're varying your food intake often enough So you're making sure you're getting all the amino acids you need in a healthy lifestyle. Now, a vegan with a varied diet should have no issues, being meat free in terms of protein intake. So there are many popular forms now of vegetarian sources of protein. And if you scroll back, there are some graphs that shows some but again, soy and Kima are really good option beans, seeds, nuts, lentils, legumes, these are all great sources of protein and there are other less common ones. You could find things like chia seeds and amaranth.

These are all great sources of proteins if you're a vegetarian or vegan. Now, soy protein is another thing we want to talk about, and I mentioned it earlier, but it's very controversial and the type of soil you buy is of utmost importance. So in recent years, there has been a rising number of allergic reactions to those who are eating soy products. And there have also been an increasing number of cases. When consuming a large amount of soy products has led to an increase in estrogen levels. So in order to combat these issues, it's important to be wary of where you're sourcing your soy products.

So in the United States, specifically, soy is a huge business. And because of that, they're heavily modifying their genetically modifying soy because it's used in so many things, whether it's foods or other products, and this changes the chemical properties of the soy. And when this happens, this leads to the detrimental effects from these excess estrogen. So the bottom line is if you're going to consume soy products, make sure you're getting organic, pesticide free, soy and soy products and I would avoid it if you are not getting that at all. Now, what about if you're a meat eater, so most of us obviously are not fully vegetarian. So when you're choosing animal products, it's really important to Be aware of where and how your meats being raised raised.

And make sure you're going for organic versions of beef and pork, chicken, lamb all kinds of animal products. You want to be looking for range fed or grass fed meat that's finished with organic grains or grass and grass at the end. The easiest way to figure this out is to go to your local farmers market and ask them how they, how they source their meat. If you live in a city like I do, the best thing to do is to go to your local butcher shop or wherever you buy your animal products and ask the butcher their how their media sourced and I think many are more than happy to give you the answers you're looking for. Now, pork may be an issue in some cultures, and this is really due to religious restrictions. For all needs, including pork, you want to avoid ones that are fed soy and corn products.

Again, these are generally filled with pesticides, antibiotics, and we ultimately become what we eat right. So We don't want to be consuming these residues from pesticides antibiotics. Now if you want to get kind of more and more variety, you can try things like wild game. So things like deer and turkey and Buffalo, duck, goose, rabbit. These are all great sources of protein. And because they're less common, they tend to be less likely treated with or eat foods that contain these pesticides and antibiotics.

So if you're eating low amounts of fish, it's important to eat more especially fatty fish because they contain a much better profile of omega three fatty acids. Another thing to make sure of when you're going to buy fish is you want to look for cold water deep sea fish. They are higher in fat soluble vitamins and mineral content, especially minerals like selenium, iodine and magnesium and omega three fatty acids you want to avoid farm raised fish if possible, because they're fed the same corn and soy based wheat That land animals are fed, believe it or not. And again, they're treated with these pesticides and antibiotics and we ultimately become what we eat. So it's really important to make sure we're vetting our animal sources when we're choosing foods to eat. So eggs, eggs are a great source of protein.

They're the most nutrient dense and perhaps the most economical form of animal protein out there. Just make sure you're getting them from again, free range chickens, pasture raised chickens, that are not fed these pesticides and antibiotics. Now shellfish is interesting. And it's important to note that if you're, if you have a sensitivity or you're allergic, you should be avoiding shellfish completely. However, if you're not sensitive, it's a good source of protein and you could think of things like scallops and clams, mussels, lobster, crabs, oysters, they're great because they're high in fat soluble vitamins, especially vitamin D and other minerals. The thing with shellfish want to make sure is that they're in season and they're fresh.

Shellfish tends to spoil Really quickly so you want to buy it and eat it in a fairly short amount of time. Aside from choosing your proteins it's important to understand that cooking how you cook your meat plays a role as well. So research indicates that cooking meats at high temperatures are grilling meats, especially if you're using a charcoal grill increases the amount of carcinogens grilling with charcoal or smoking meats and increases the amount of things like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and these have been shown to cause cancer in lab animals. Going to cook meat The best way to cook it is to brace it which consists of lightly frying it the outside in an open container and then once you quickly finish that light fry, you're going to cover the container and allow the meat to simmer in water or stock until it's fully cooked. So processed meats you want to be avoiding these things like deli meats sausage, bacon, ham, Many of these have been treated with nitrites and nitrates and other carcinogenic preservatives.

And again, you don't want to be consuming things that are treated with these carcinogenic compounds. They've been linked to increased incidence of lung, bladder, colon, esophageal and stomach cancers. Unfortunately, traditional preserving methods, which actually increased nutrient content for bacon and sausage have gone by the wayside. So if you can actually find traditional people who traditionally preserved things like bacon and sausage, then that would be a great way to consume your meat. So the traditional method of preserving sausage for instance, it was lacto fermentation and this consists of converting sugars into lactic acid, which is actually done by certain bacteria known as lactobacillus. Naturally smoking and salt carrying preserve bacon and other meats.

However today, synthetic variations on these foods are very detrimental. Have your health because they consume they contain many of these carcinogens. Now if you're willing to take on a project, you can go on Google and YouTube and find helpful videos out there. If you're looking to cure meats on your own