[RawSeattle]: how do you get enough protien on a raw diet?

August 22, 2006

hey

i have just gone on a raw diet about 3 weeks ago. ive read alot of books on it

and am eating what it says to in the alissa cohen book and anyhow i havent been

able ot find any information on how do you get enough protien on this diet and

do you need to take supplements to do that? the reason i think i am not getting

enough is ive noticed that since starting this diet that im losing alot more

hair day to day then i used to. ive heard that is a sign of not getting enough

protien. anyhow what foods that are raw are high in protien. i dont want to have

to consume like a pound of nuts a day. But what lower calorie food sources are

there that are good protien and what do you guys eat to get your protien. any

help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thanks so much

sincerly

ruth

August 22, 2006

Ruth,

Remember that every whole food (including fruits and vegetables)

contains protein. The general belief is that as long as you eat a well

rounded diet of raw organic produce, you should be getting enough

protein. There is a popular mind-set, that we need to eat

" concentrated " proteins, which for a meat-eater would be meats, for a

vegan would be beans and nuts, etc., and for a raw foodist would be

nuts and seeds. While they may have concentrated proteins, they also

have concentrated fats. I, for one, feel better when I eat less

concentrated fats. Many raw foodists encourage eating a low-fat raw

diet.

Something else to consider, our body actually needs amino acids (the

building blocks of proteins), not the actual proteins. It's my

understanding that when the body receives the proteins, it then has to

break them down into the amino acids before absorbing them. We save the

body work by consuming foods rich in amino acids, rather than proteins.

Another point, our society seems obsessed by certain components of

food, such as protein. Most Americans actually consume far too much

protein, which can lead to various problems, such as osteoporosis and

kidney problems. I get an annual blood test. One year I had

considerably reduced the amount of nuts and seeds I ate. My doctor had

been watching my protein levels (though very impressed with my results

over all). That year, he noted my protein levels had actually gone up!

(he was shocked!)

I realize this may be a mind set that is tough to release. Many people

go through the same thing. Basically, consider eating whole foods that

appeal to you. Victoria Boutenko, in her book Green For Life, suggests

we should be eating about 50% fruit and 45% greens (i've lent my book

out, someone else can verify this.) Of course, not necessarily everyone

should eat the exact same quantities, percentages, or foods. I try to

eat lots of greens and lots of fruits.

For a better idea of proteins in foods, check out my nutrition tables

(including protein sources):

http://www.soystache.com/nutritiontables.htm

Jeff

August 22, 2006

In Rawsome! by Brigitte Mars, on pgs. 19-21 she

answers the question " where do you get your protein "

by listing sources of protein. You should be able to

get this book from the library. There are also a

couple of nutrition websites which I think are fun and

may help in planning food choices:

USDA

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

Nutrition Data

http://www.nutritiondata.com

--- lucka belle <pinkvinyl30 wrote:

> hey

>

> i have just gone on a raw diet about 3 weeks ago.

> ive read alot of books on it and am eating what it

> says to in the alissa cohen book and anyhow i havent

> been able ot find any information on how do you get

> enough protien on this diet and do you need to take

> supplements to do that? the reason i think i am not

> getting enough is ive noticed that since starting

> this diet that im losing alot more hair day to day

> then i used to. ive heard that is a sign of not

> getting enough protien. anyhow what foods that are

> raw are high in protien. i dont want to have to

> consume like a pound of nuts a day. But what lower

> calorie food sources are there that are good protien

> and what do you guys eat to get your protien. any

> help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

> thanks so much

> sincerly

> ruth

Visit the Seattle Raw Foods Community:

> http://rawseattle.org

>

August 22, 2006

Hi Ruth,

That is the common question and it is sort of a paradigm shift when

you start learning about protein sources and how we've really

been " sold " on the idea that we need meat or fish or dairy, or at

least beans or nuts to fulfill that. One thing I heard that shifted

it for me was that cows eat only grass--so where do they get all

their protein (which we're then supposed to eat)? All living things

have their natural diets, which contain all the building blocks each

one needs.

Some resources you might want to check out:

Articles on www.rawschool.com

" Why Raw? " essay on www.rawhealing.com

Maybe others can suggest some good books which address this

specifically--I'm drawing a blank on a good one right now.

Laurie

RawSeattle , lucka belle <pinkvinyl30

wrote:

>

> hey

>

> i have just gone on a raw diet about 3 weeks ago. ive read alot of

books on it and am eating what it says to in the alissa cohen book

and anyhow i havent been able ot find any information on how do you

get enough protien on this diet and do you need to take supplements

to do that? the reason i think i am not getting enough is ive

noticed that since starting this diet that im losing alot more hair

day to day then i used to. ive heard that is a sign of not getting

enough protien. anyhow what foods that are raw are high in protien.

i dont want to have to consume like a pound of nuts a day. But what

lower calorie food sources are there that are good protien and what

do you guys eat to get your protien. any help or suggestions would

be greatly appreciated.

> thanks so much

> sincerly

> ruth

>

August 22, 2006

Victoria Boutenko's book and video " Greens Can Save Your Life. " is very good.

Regarding protien and all nutrients, it is what we assimilate, not just what we

eat. So we may eat a lot of plant protien (because a plant based diet does have

lots of protein), but we might not be assimilaitng. Think of the cow...she has

three stomachs to do the job of getting the nutrients out of grass. I think

that is why juicing or making smoothies is a good way to start increasing our

ability to assimilate better.

Terri

las_lala <laurie wrote: