Protein Foods

Protein foods

The white blood cells and the ‘anti-bodies’ are two of the defense mechanisms of the body which depend upon adequate protein, without which the body could not produce them. When protein is under-supplied to the body, the blood becomes deficient in white cells and anti-bodies, the defense mechanism of the body breaks down, and bacteria with their toxins gain entry into the bloodstream.
It is now thought that the virus of poliomyelitis gains entry into the body in this way and for this reason, i.e. shortage of protein in the diet. The white cells and the anti-bodies  acts as a militia guarding the health of the body. The white cells do it by surrounding the invading army of bacteria and eating them; the anti-bodies do it by combining with the invaders, putting them out of action, and rendering them harmless.

The average person thinks he gets enough protein if he eats, say, an egg for breakfast and a normal helping of meat, fish, or poultry at the main meal. But, if you refer to the protein food list, you will see that those two items of food add up to only 22 grams of protein, and the normal daily requirement is more than double that amount.

It would seem to be essential, therefore, to include some extra form of protein in the daily diet. This protein could be any (or all) of the following: milk (preferably un-pasteurized), yoghourt, cheese, nuts, seeds (sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, millet seeds), soya beans and soya-bean flour, lentils and lentil flour, skim-milk powder, wheat-germ, brewer’s yeast powder, and casilan (this is milk protein without the milk’s fat and sugar).

Certain protein foods, such as meat, liver, kidneys, fish, poultry, cheese, eggs, soya beans, and milk, are spoken of as first-class proteins because they contain all the essential amino-acids (building blocks) needed by the body.

Other protein foods, such as lentils, peas, beans, cereals, seeds, and most nuts, are spoken of as second-class proteins because they lack one (or more) of the essential amino-acids needed by the body.

As we cannot ever be sure of getting all the essential amino-acids, it is not necessary nor advisable to eat more than one first-class protein at a meal. This does not mean that two different kinds of fish, ore two different kinds of cheese (or of any other first-class protein) should not be eaten at the same meal. It simply means that two different kinds of first-class protein should not be eaten together.

For example, meat and fish are different kinds of first-class protein, so are meat and poultry. Meat and fish, therefore should not both be eaten at the same meal; neither should meat and poultry (for the same reason).

If such combinations are eaten together at the same meal, the digestive organs are over-taxed; moreover, the body derives no extra benefit therefrom. However, second-class protein can, with benefit, be eaten at the same meal as first-class protein. Indeed, the two kinds enhance each other’s value, a combination of the two kinds being of more dietetic value to the body than if they are eaten singly.

It is as well to remember, when reckoning up the amount of protein you expect to get from cereals and from seeds such as lentils, peas, beans, nuts, etc., that the protein-content of these crops is decreasing rapidly. This is due to the fact that our soil – indeed, the soil in all parts of the world – is wearing out faster than it can be rebuilt by present-day methods of agriculture, which use mostly artificial rather than organic fertilizers. Only organic methods of agriculture, ie, putting back into the soil, in the form of compost everything that came out of it, can produce, protein-rich crops and, therefore, properly nourished animals and people.