Tag: whole food plant based diet

Animal and Plant Protein – Leucine and Telomeres

Leucine is an amino acid that is much more prevalent in animal-based diets than plant-based diets. The leucine is found in the high concentrations, measured in grams per kCal of energy, in beef (0.021), egg white (0.021), isolated soy protein (0.020), poultry (0.018) fish (0.018), spirulina (0.017), lamb (0.014) parmesan cheese (0.010), tofu (0.008), soy beans (0.007).

Leucine is fed to animals in longevity and geriatric research to increase the rate of aging.

Aglets are the caps on shoelaces that stop them from unraveling. Our chromosomes have telomeres that perform the same function - they stop our chromosomes from unravelling. The longer they are, the longer the cells survive and the longer we live. An animal-based diet results in shorter telomeres than those on a plant-base diet. Leucine is the amino acid responsible for this.
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21 March 2022
Animal and Plant Protein – Lysine and Arginine

Lysine is an indispensable dietary amino acid for all vertebrates and is required for protein synthesis.

The arginine requirement is influenced by many factors that vary between species. There is an antagonism that can occur between lysine and arginine in some species where excessive intakes of one of these amino acids will adversely affect the metabolism of the other amino acid thereby increasing its requirement.

Lysine is the first limiting amino acid in most grain and cereal-based diets so it also defines the protein required to meet the amino acid requirements..

Human milk is supplied to babies when the need for protein is at the greatest. Babies double in size during the first 6 months of our lives. The ideal food for a baby is mum’s milk where 5% – 6.5% is protein. This should offer reassurance that as long as we a consuming an adequate diet, we do not need a high protein diet.
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21 March 2022
Where do You Get Your Protein

“Where do you get your protein?” (or iron of calcium) is a frequent question for those on a vegan diet. Well, the same place as gorillas, elephants, the grumpy extinct aurochs, brontosaurus and Argentinosaurus- the largest ever land animal weighing more than 15 elephants. From eating plants.

Milks are complex lipid emulsions in water containing protein, fat, lactose, vitamins and minerals, as well as enzymes, hormones and immunoglobulins which provide initial immunity functions.

There is approximately 5,500 species of mammals which initially supply their young with milk. There are vast differences in milk composition among the mammal species. Of all the mammals, humans have the lowest protein content.

Mammals have evolved over millions of years to provide nutrition for their infants in the first stage of life. There are significant difference between species depending upon factors such as rates of growth.

Proteins in human milk provide sufficient of protein to sustain infants for the first six months without any additional food, as well as supplying the means of establishing suitable environment for the growth of healthy intestinal bacteria and providing the proteins involved in the immune system.

Human milk is supplied to babies when the need for protein is at the greatest. Babies double in size during the first 6 months of our lives. The ideal food for a baby is mum’s milk where 5% – 6.5% is protein. This should offer reassurance that as long as we a consuming an adequate diet, we do not need a high protein diet.
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18 March 2022
Methionine Dependent Cancers

Homocysteine is a non-protein amino acid. It is synthesized in the body from methionine, which is a sulfur containing amino-acid.

Methionine is much more prevalent in animal products than plant products. Rotten eggs smell the way they do because the sulfur produces a number of sulfur containing gases including hydrogen sulfide— rotten egg gas.

A high level is of homocysteine is associated with an increased risk for chronic inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Many human cancer cell and primary tumors have a requirement for methionine, an essential amino acid.

Methionine-free or methionine-deprived diet causes a regression of a variety of animal tumours.
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17 March 2022
Is It Healthy? What are we Comparing

When we ask the question Is it Healthy?, we need to consider is it healthy compared to what.
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1 January 2022
Strategies to Assist with Arthritis

Neal Barnard suggests that the foods below should be initially avoided whilst eliminating potential arthritic triggers. He recommends that meats, dairy products, or eggs should not be reintroduced back into the diet.

You may be surprised to know how much is known about the causes of rheumatoid arthritis.
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23 December 2021
The Cause of Type 2 Diabetes

The cause of type 2 diabetes has been known since at least the 1920s.

In 1923, Dr. P.J. Cammidge wrote "that one of the commonest causes of a seeming progressive failure of carbohydrate tolerance was a conscious or unconscious increase in the fat of the diet."

J.S. Sweeney wrote two papers in 1927 and 1928 that showed high-fat and high-protein diets increase insulin resistance.

Sir Harold Himsworth (1905–93) was a renown medical doctor and researcher. He was appointed Professor of Medicine at the University of London in 1939. He is best known for his work on diabetes although he had many other interests including the effects of radiation, tropical medicine and epidemiology.

Himsworth presented a paper in 1935,

"Showing the different diets eaten by different races, nations and social classes throughout the world and a close correlation has been demonstrated between dietary preference and the incidence of diabetes mellitus. [...] A high proportion of carbohydrate and low proportion of fat were found in all cases to be associated with low diabetic incidence, whilst a low proportion of carbohydrate and a high proportion of fat were associated with a high incidence."
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9 September 2021
Vitamin B12, Homocysteine and Methylmalonic Acid

B12 (cobalamin) is a group of cobalt-containing vitamins. Hydroxocobalamin and cyanocobalamin are synthetic forms of vitamin B12. The two forms of vitamin B12 naturally occurring in foods are methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin. These forms are biologically equivalent.

B12 is produced by a number of different species of bacteria which is found in the soil, on the surface of some plants and some red and green algae.

Lack of vitamin B12 can have serious consequences as does high levels of homocysteine. Determining the status of vitamin B12 and homocysteine can be difficult and can be determined by measuring serum vitamin B12, homocysteine and methylmalonic acid (MMA).

A number of products contain riboflavin, pyridoxine, folate, B12 and methionine way in excess of dietary requirements in an attempt to resolve B12 metabolism problems.

Many magnesium supplements contain pyridoxine which is usually unnecessary and possibly detrimental.
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5 August 2021
Getting Started on a Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet

Below are notes on commencing a whole-food, plant-based diet that is the most advantageous for losing weight and becoming healthy.

For some, this can be very daunting because it involves changes to shopping, cooking, eating out as well as family and community relationships.

A lot of life is about habits – once you change a habit then it becomes the new “normal”.
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14 July 2021
About Angela Carey

Angela Carey is a Naturopathic Practitioner and Registered Nurse with over 20 years experience located in East Maitland in the Hunter Valley. Having cured herself from a chronic autoimmune condition, she can assist her clients to return to optimal health. She is able to work closely with you to tackle any health challenges you may have. With lifestyle, dietary and nutritional changes, she can assist you to maximise your body's potential to heal.
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27 March 2021