Eat More Non-Animal Proteins for Better Health

You may love your occasional meat dish but if you are consuming three helpings of meat or animal products per day you could be at risk for future disease. 

Researchers from the Federal Commission for Nutrition, Zurich, Switzerland published the study ‘Health Risks Associated with Meat Consumption: A Review of Epidemiological Studies’ in the International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research (2015) stating that, 

“Recent evidence from large prospective US and European cohort studies and from meta-analyses of epidemiological studies indicates that the long-term consumption of increasing amounts of red meat and particularly of processed meat is associated with an increased risk of total mortality, cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer and type 2 diabetes, in both men and women.”

If you want to reduce your meat and dairy intake but aren’t sure where to get the proper nutrients from, eat more non-animal proteins. Non-animal proteins consist of vegetables, grains, legumes and more that are packed with high quality protein your body can easily embrace. 

It is no longer assumed that you must consume animal products for adequate protein. Try the non-animal protein challenge and see if you are able to reduce fatigue, strengthen your digestive process and watch your skin glow while possibly losing some weight at the same time.

The Non-Animal Protein Starting Line

Natural News recommends this list of 15 non-animal proteins you can add to your diet in many ways. These are easy to find proteins that, over time, your body should react to in a variety of positive responses. 

• Kidney beans – 1 cup has 15 grams of protein
• Broccoli – 1 cup has about 5 grams of protein
• Lentils – About 18 grams of protein per one cup 
• Edamame – 1 cup has about 17 grams of protein 
• Garbanzo beans/Chickpeas – 1 cup has 12 grams of protein 
• Tofu – This is a soy product; one block has about 10 grams of protein.
• Seeds – Sesame and sunflower seeds have about 5-6 grams of protein per ounce 
• Tempeh – Contains 30 grams of protein per cup. Use it in a stir fry or sauté as a sandwich. 
• Quinoa/whole grains – Buckwheat, brown rice, and barley have 24 grams of protein per cup 
• Nuts – 5-6 grams of protein per oz Nut butters, walnuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts, pine nuts
• Seitan (say-tan) – Imitation meat typically made from wheat or soy; 3 grams of protein per 3oz.

There are many more plant-based proteins however these will hopefully get you started on a path that doesn’t tether you to animal proteins anymore.

Why Try? Supportive Studies

This above list is an example of many plant-based proteins out there that could play an important role in improving your health. However, it is always helpful to have a few supportive studies behind dietary changes such as eating more non-animal proteins. These excerpts from studies that support a non-animal protein diet corroborate some of the long list of benefits associated with this diet change. 

You don’t have to become a vegetarian but you should heed these and other study results to easily enhance your quality of life and reduce unwanted future health compromises.

Weight Maintenance, Heart Health, and More

Obesity Science and Practice published a study out of the University of Colorado which stated,

“These results indicate that soy‐based protein foods can be effectively incorporated into an energy‐restricted, high‐protein diet for improving body weight, body composition and cardiometabolic health.”

Published in Nutrients (2010) researchers from the Lipid Clinic, Endocrinology and Nutrition Service in Barcelona concluded to the study of Nut Consumption that,

“…a healthy diet supplemented with one daily serving of nuts prevents cardiovascular events and development of other prevalent chronic disorders, including diabetes, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.”

Medical News Today reported,  

“[a] Brazilian study looked at around 4,500 people and concluded that people who had a diet rich in plant-based protein were 60 percent less likely than people who had a diet rich in animal-based protein to develop a buildup of plaque in the arteries of the heart.”

The Journal of Renal Nutrition published the study ‘Adequacy of Plant-Based Proteins in Chronic Kidney Disease’ which found that,

“…Substituting animal-based proteins for plant-based proteins have shown reductions in severity of hypertension, hyperphosphatemia [electrolyte disorder], and metabolic acidosis [excessive body fluids]. Plant-based proteins, when consumed in a varied diet, are not only nutritionally adequate but have pleiotropic [gene related] effects which may favor their use in CKD [chronic kidney disease] patients.

Tufts University reported on the benefits of a plant-based diet but warned of maintaining adequate consumption of fresh produce stating, 

“Researchers from Tufts University recently published a study in The Journal of Nutrition which found that plant-based dietary patterns with high levels of minimally processed plant foods (like whole grains, beans, nuts/seeds, fruits, and vegetables) were associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality, but plant-based diets with low levels of these choices were not.” 

Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, director of Tufts’ HNRCA Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory and executive editor of Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter commented, 

“The key is to make sure you follow a ‘healthy’ plant-based diet rich in minimally processed foods, not one based on refined grains and highly processed junk food,” 

In addition to scientific studies, being able to eat more non-animal proteins for better health means enhancing your physical and mental strength. Take a one month personal test and see if you feel some changes that include more focus, more energy, and improved mood, to name a few.