It’s not just a body-builder obsession. Many people have the idea that “carbs” are bad and “protein” is good. Are you one of them? Many of my clients are. It’s a misunderstanding of physiology.
The Facts About Protein and Health
Protein and carbs are not the categories of nature. They are the product of advances in chemistry achieved in Germany in the mid-1800’s. They are useful in understanding physiological processes at the level of biochemistry but of little value in daily life. Moreover, our physiology is extremely complex at this level. Even with the expansion of knowledge in the past 150 years, we still don’t have the complete picture. Partial knowledge can be a dangerous thing. It opens the door to anchoring on some limited value like protein and ignoring all its inter-relationships.
What we do know is this: clinical protein deficiency is rare in the developed world. In fact, it’s uncommon to see it in the absence of starvation or abnormal psychology (as in eating disorders and addictions). One of the main reasons for this is that protein is an essential component of virtually all foods except fruit. The average diet contains close to 16% protein in terms of calories. Even vegetables! If you eat a balanced diet, you are going to get enough protein whether you are vegetarian or not.
This observation also applies to athletes. See for example: https://longevity.stanford.edu/lifestyle/2023/09/12/what-should-athletes-eat-to-fuel-peak-performance/. Significant numbers of elite athletes including Olympic gold medalists have favored a plant-based diet: https://thebeet.com/these-7-olympic-gold-medalists-are-powered-by-plant-based-diets/.
We also know that the body recycles protein on a daily basis. In contrast to fat and carbohydrate, it is not stored. It can be synthesized on demand by the body as long as certain essential amino acids are present in the diet.
Potential Harms of Excess Protein
There’s a downside to focusing on protein. The foods widely understood to be high in protein like red meat and eggs are also high in saturated fat and increase risk for heart disease and other health problems. Also, the commonly used protein supplements fall into the category of ultra-processed foods. There’s good evidence that ultra-processed foods are not generally good for health and will promote weight gain.
Regardless, when taken in excess, protein just gets converted to fat and carbohydrate. Ammonia is the chief waste product of that transformation. It gets excreted via the kidneys in the form of urea. A high nitrogen load (ammonia/urea) is not good for those with compromised kidney function and may also be a factor in ageing. In other words, protein is much like vitamins. We need a certain nominal amount that can be obtained from a healthful diet. In excess, it’s wasted and may have negative side-effects.
So, if there is not a lot of value in focusing on protein, what should we do? To manage daily life choices to optimize health and vitality, we need a different paradigm. In my experience, Ayurveda is the best.
Ayurveda and Healthy Eating
To learn the basics about Ayurveda and diet, see: https://qatoqi.com/ayurveda/blog/quick-and-easy-ayurvedic-meal-preparation/ and https://qatoqi.com/ayurveda/food.htm. The key principle is to favor Sattva in all things. Sattva is the force of evolution that moves life toward enlightenment and perfect health: https://qatoqi.com/ayurveda/sattva.htm. Food and behaviors having the quality of Sattva support health, vitality, and longevity in part because they maintain Ojas in the physiology (https://qatoqi.com/ayurveda/dhatus.htm). Food and behaviors with the quality of Rajas or Tamas invite suffering from social conflicts and disease.
Beyond that, the main idea is to develop good eating habits and enjoy a balanced diet featuring a wide variety of freshly prepared foods. From the Ayurvedic perspective, it turns out that when and how we eat is almost as important as what we eat. Even the best food will turn to “poison” if we don’t digest it well (https://qatoqi.com/ayurveda/blog/healthful-eating-habits/).
The Six Tastes
Ayurveda teaches us that we should understand balance in the diet in terms of taste. There are 6 of them: sweet, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent (see: https://qatoqi.com/ayurveda/doshas.htm). Thus, balance stems from the relative proportions of foods with these 6 qualities. You may have heard of another taste known as Umami (savory). Umami foods like meat and mushrooms are Tamasic. This may be why Umami was never considered as a category in Ayurveda.
Also, consider your natural desires. When we are relatively balanced, our natural desires typically steer us in the right direction for food choices, as in wanting warm food and drink in the winter when feeling cold. On the other hand, the more imbalanced we become, the more likely our natural desires will perversely amplify the imbalance, as in the hot-headed person who loves beer, chips and salsa. So, pay attention to those desires, but still think before you act.
Weight-Related Issues in Dietary Choices
Heavy foods tend to be high in protein. They can be problematic for people who tend to gain weight easily.
The other general consideration is whether your natural tendency is to put on weight. If so, then you will be better off eating less of heavy foods. What are heavy foods? They are mostly those that people consider high protein foods! For details, see: https://qatoqi.com/ayurveda/weight-control.htm. The solution is to proportionately favor vegetables and legumes since they are considered light from the Ayurveda perspective. In the chart of Food Groups and Dosha Balance at https://qatoqi.com/ayurveda/what-diet-is-right-for-me.htm, the Kapha column should be a guide. On the other hand, if you tend to be underweight, other things being equal, the Vata column will be more appropriate.
That, then, is the story of protein. For most people, it’s not worth bothering about. Ayurveda can guide us in developing and maintaining eating habits and dietary choices that will best support health, vitality, and longevity.
