What is the Best Protein?

Bernell E. Baldwin Ph.D.

Every cell of the body needs protein to grow and to maintain life. Where is
the best place to get it? For decades nutritionists have used as the yardstick for the
quality of protein in a diet the speed of growth of lab animals. The faster they
grew and the bigger they got, the better. Using this simple and very understandable
criterion, meat reigned as the protein peak of the nutrition kingdom. Later it was
decided that eggs and milk were also admissible. Then after millions of human
deaths from atherosclerosis, cancer, and other chronic diseases it was decided…
wait a minute.

What is the best Approach?

Now it is as clear as sunrise in the desert that the whole human body
throughout the whole lifespan, and even the overall well-being of following
generations, must be considered in the selection of the best protein for human
consumption.

What is protein anyway?

Protein is one of the cardinal components of the body. It is made up of

amino acids joined one to another like stones in a wall. These stones come in
various sizes, shapes, and characters so that the splendid temple of human life can
be shaped in excellence. Eight or ten of theses amino acids can not be made by the
body, and have to be obtained in the diet, so they are called ESSENTIAL. Another
dozen or more can be made by the body so they are called non-essential. (1)

Importance of Protein

It is crucial that pregnant or lactating mothers, or babies and children during

their growing years, must get extra protein of high quality so that growth is of
optimum rate and quality. White rice, cassava root, and improvised cereal waters
or other impoverished programs may compromise the body, and even the brain,
permanently. Protein deficiency is not an acceptable option. (2)
 Even after external growth is finished, internal growth and repair continues
throughout life. Everybody needs a moderate amount of good protein to sustain
good health. The issue is: how much and of what kind? Many factors are involved.

Take the Immune system for instance

Animal proteins, like meat, stimulate fast and big growth. This is just what
pig and chicken factories aim for. But there is a big price—disease and weakness
of the immune system. Vegetable proteins are richer in the amino acid ARGININE
and have less of LYSINE. (3) This balance helps the immune system and improves
the ability of the arteries to dilate. Animal proteins are backwards in their amino
acid balance. They are loaded with lysine and are lower in arginine. Yes, they
produce faster growth. But they tend toward faster death.

Then there is Atherosclerosis

After careful measurement it is obvious that animal proteins by themselves

raise cholesterol and increase atherosclerosis. Vegetables tend to lower cholesterol.
Though this effect is not as strong as that of animal fat it can still make a
significant difference. Early investigators studying the toxic effects of high protein
diets on the kidneys noticed that prolonged feeding of animal protein produced
atherosclerosis, too. Newburgh showed that rabbits fed even casein by itself for
about a year developed atherosclerosis whereas soybeans did not do this. Lysine
inhibits arginase activity, which aggravates atherosclerosis in the blood vessels. In
rabbit studies addition of lysine to soy protein diets increased cholesterol levels by
about 50% with about a 57% increase in the severity of atherosclerosis. It thus
appears that specific amino acid content can make a difference in cholesterol levels
and promoting atherosclerosis. One curious observation is that enzymatically
hydrolyzed soy protein increased serum cholesterol levels about twofold compared
with the intact protein. This infers that natural proteins are better. (4)

Animal studies demonstrate that several beneficial changes result from a soy
protein program. Not only does the cholesterol level in the blood go down, there is
also an increased rate of steroid removal (cholesterol precursors) by the liver.
There is less cholesterol in the liver, and an increased rate of bile acid synthesis.*
Soy also reduces cholesterol reabsorption from the bowel back into the blood, and
hence helps prevent damage to the blood vessels (5)
 In humans it has been shown that soybean protein lowers cholesterol levels
in comparison with casein (milk protein) within 4 weeks time. (6)

In summary, plant proteins protect the blood vessels but animal proteins,
both in the lab and in free life, tend to elevate cholesterol levels and increase
atherosclerosis.

Then there are the Kidneys

Gerontology, the science of aging, has shown quite clearly that the more
animal protein- even casein- that is consumed, the sooner the kidneys wear out.
How reasonable. One of the main jobs of the kidneys is to excrete nitrogen. Excess
protein in the diet, especially animal protein, tends to inflame and destroy the
nephrons of the kidneys. When these tiny microfibers start to go they die off faster
and faster until the kidneys fail to do their job of keeping the blood clean. Then as
the blood gets more and more dirty with byproducts, other body systems, like the
immune system and the brain become compromised.

Lower-protein diets with carefully balanced amino acids have been shown to
spare the kidney, preserve its function, delay or prevent dialysis, and assist in
optimum care of kidney disease. Walser states, “In fact, the cornerstone of
conservative management of chronic renal failure is dietary protein restructuring.”
Others feel that “the high protein intake of Western societies pays a central role in
the decline of renal function with age.” (7)

Opening blood Vessels

Stress and inactivity tend to close blood vessels, even in the heart and brain.
But a vegetable based diet with more arginine tends to supply and produce more
nitric oxide (NO). In moderation this marvelous little molecule opens blood vessels
instead of closing them. So a plant-based diet not only tends to keep arteries open
via the lower cholesterol factor, it tends to open them biochemically.

Protein and Gallstones

Though cholesterol, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and even germs

and other factors like sugar have a part in forming gallstones, protein has also been
shown to be relevant. Excess protein in the diet, especially animal protein, tends to
inflame and destroy the nephrons of the kidneys. In the laboratory, stones can
even be regressed by vegetable diets. There is a tendency for animal proteins to
increase cholesterol in the bile, to reduce favorable phospholipids and bile acids,
both of which tend to reduce stone formation. These lab data fit in general with a
study of 88,000 women who completed food questionnaires and were studied for 4
years. After controlling for age, weight, weight gain and alcohol intake, high
intakes of vegetable proteins were associated with a risk of gallstones and the
protection was more pronounced in non-obese women.

Protein and Cancer

Animal fat and animal protein come together, so that to tease out the effects
of only protein on the incidence of cancer is difficult. There is some evidence from
human studies as well as a few from the laboratory that animal protein, as from
beef, increases the risk of bowel cancer. Meat increases the level of ammonia in
the bowel, which is most unfortunate.

Twenty-eight nations were compared for colon cancer. Animal protein, total
protein, and total lipids were all incriminated. Meat, especially beef, appears as a
causative factor in comparisons of large population groups, though the
relationships are not as strong as with fat. Willet and associates, from Harvard,
have shown clearly that the frequent consumption of red meat increases the risk for
bowel cancer. (9) In the bowel, the rate of new cell replacement increases on a high
protein diet. This is thought to increase risk of cancer. It should be remembered
that heating amino acids like tryptophan or tyrosine with sugar makes mutagens,
some of which are carcinogenic. Rich, high fat, high-protein diets, coupled with
frying, barbecuing or high-temperature processing, are dangerous to the integrity
of our DNA—which, again, pushes it in the direction of cancer.

Cancer of the Breast

Laboratory studies have revealed that dietary protein itself is significantly

related to breast cancer. (10) Under strict control of possible factors, the cancers
produced by a high casein diet were more highly malignant, as seen under the
microscope. In this two-generation study, fewer tumors and these more benign,
were found in animals on the lower-protein diets. Body weight gain and food
consumption were the same in each group, so that was not a factor. The animals
fed the high-protein diet reached sexual maturity at a younger age. Careful analysis
of hormonal status showed that those animals on a high protein tended to have
higher estrogen levels during estrous (heat). If confirmed with statistics, this could
provide a clue. Tumor burden (number of tumors per tumor-bearing animal) was
twice as high on the high-casein diet. Warning: switching to a lower protein diet
late in the disease did not change the tumor burden. [Editor’s note: Damage has
probably already been done.]

This common and deadly cancer is correlated with the availability of total
protein, in the marketplace. Migration from low incidence areas, such as Japan, to
the United States, leads to increasing breast cancer in succeeding generations as
American dietary habits are adopted. New Japan has more breast cancer. A study
of Hawaiian sub-populations living in Hawaii found direct correlation between
dietary factors, especially fat and animal protein, and cancer.

Rats too, fed low protein diets had confirmatory results. The animals also
had a reduced risk of breast cancer, as evidenced by slower growth rates, delayed
sexual maturity, reduced mammary gland ductal development, and diminished
proestrous surges of prolactin.**

In normal human life, however, these effects of a high-protein diet are more
likely related to animal fat and the effects of over-eating, which are stronger than
the protein effects themselves. All told, it appears that animal food is quite risky
and moderate discriminating use of plant foods is wiser.

Cancer of the Prostate

Prostate cancer is now the most commonly diagnosed internal cancer and
third leading cause of cancer death in American men. For about 60 years the rates
have shown a gradual increase. Throughout the world the geographic pattern of
this cancer shows similarities to cancer of the breast and large intestine. There is 40
times more prostate cancer in Afro-Americans than in Japanese. As men migrate
from a low to a high incidence area the rates go up. This implicates diet.

Armstrong and Doll examined prostate cancer rates for several nations. The
strongest correlations were fat, protein, and animal products. In a study comparing
the rich ethnic diversity of Hawaii, the suspected factors discovered were meat
intake, especially beef, and the total protein and fat. Meanwhile in Japan the rates
for prostate cancer are going up. This parallels the increased consumption of
animal protein. In summary this frequent, serious cancer of men is common in
populations using diets high in fat, calories, protein, and animal products. (9)

Cancer of the Pancreas

Pancreatic cancer has more then doubled since 1950. Survival rates after
surgery are dismal—often only 5%. The Japanese experience is instructive.
Formerly, the rates in Japan were low but with migration the rates go up, just like
the rates of breast, colon, and prostate cancer. International surveys suggest that
diets rich in animal products and high in animal fat and protein are responsible.
Some lab studies have inferred that higher animal protein can interact with high
animal fat to increase the risk of this definitely unsolved cancer, that of the
pancreas.

One curious observation—raw soybeans, as found in sprouted soybeans,

retain a harmful enzyme-inhibitor for trypsin. Diets high in this uncooked soy
promote hypertrophy, abnormal function, and premalignant lesions in the pancreas.
(10) Also raw soy nutritionally compromises the value of soy protein to the body.

Cancer of the Liver

Though primary cancer of the liver is uncommon in America it is a major

problem in Africa and Southeast Asia. Alcohol, aflatoxins, nitrosamines, strong
chemicals, cirrhosis, and some parasitic diseases may contribute to developing this
cancer. Animal laboratory research on liver cancer found that lower-protein diets
are protective, but higher-casein diets increase the amount of liver cancer when the
same dose of a carcinogen such as aflatoxin is given to induce cancer.

Packaging of Amino Acids

It makes a lot of difference how food is packaged. Remember how whole

apples are superior to applesauce when it comes to blood sugar response? And
applesauce is better then apple juice? This same principle is involved with
proteins. Natural whole plant foods come micro-packaged, with fiber surrounding
the protein and other nutrients. This fiber protects the food from germs, slows
down disintegration, and preserves the food biochemically until it is time to enter
the blood. Then the nutritional virtues are delivered gradually thorough the walls of
the small bowel into the blood.

Pieces of flesh in the stomach and bowel don’t work that way. Their amino
acids tend to be released too soon, so that germs can get at them. This tends to
create not only minor difficulties but also even serious trouble. Any meat has
byproducts in it. But in the bowel they tend to be concentrated. Some of these
byproducts are false transmitters (chemicals that transmit false messages) to the
bowel, the blood, and even to the half dozen brain areas outside of the blood-brain
barriers. Results: the quality of communication in the body and brain tends to be
compromised. The cutting edge of excellence is dulled.

Firsthand Protein

It takes many times more land and environmental resources to make a pound
of animal protein then a pound of vegetable protein, such as soybeans for instance.
Environmentally and ecologically it is wiser to grow protein firsthand than to use
less efficient means. Animals have to get their protein secondhand from plants,
anyway. When people eat animal protein they are employing building material of
decayed quality and purity.

Importance of Variety

When a suitable balance of legumes (like soybeans, Mexican beans, or other

legumes), seeds, and other vegetables are added to the basic grains, (wheat, rice, or
corn) protein deficiencies evaporate. A balanced diet balances the amino acids. A
plant protein diet favors arginine and deemphasizes lysine. This helps the whole
body. Health, money, and land acreage are all saved in the process.

Kwashiorkor

Williams first reported this tragic disease, now called protein-energy

malnutrition, or PEM, in 1933 among children of one to four years of age in
Ghana. She found that there was a deficiency of breast-feeding and the improvised
supplement was a washed-out corn gruel called “askasa.” Corn is soaked in cold
water for one to three days, then wet-ground. The resulting slurry is washed
through a sieve with large volumes of water, the starchy products are left to settle,
the water poured off, and the remaining “akamu” is stirred with boiling water. The
end result is a loss of about 40% of the protein, (it was deficient to start with!),
70% of the fiber, 50% of the calcium, 75% of the phosphorus, and 10% of the iron.
The resulting “weaning milk” will not support the growth of rats. Babies get sick
on this fare as also. No wonder these poor children are prone to infections, growth
retardation, edema, skin lesions, dry, brittle reddish-brown hair that can be pulled
out without pain, cold, blue extremities, apathy, and irritability. They cry easily
and wear a tired expression of misery and sadness, and vomit easily. Diarrhea is
common. The liver is often swollen. Their body forces are so low that normal
reactions to infection are deficient. The most common causes of death are edema
of the lungs, septicemia (blood poisoning), gastroenteritis, and water and
electrolyte imbalances. With skillful and patient treatment 90% can recover. But
40% of severe PEM cases die. After acute care, black beans, soybeans, kidney
beans, cowpea’s, as well as their primary foods of corn, rice or wheat are
recommended, also with sources of fat and vitamins and minerals that are locally,
culturally, and financially available.

What is the Big Answer?

A famous classic in health called the Ministry of Healing puts it beautifully:

“In order to know what are the best foods, we must study God’s original plan for
man’s diet. He who created man and who understands his needs appointed Adam
his food. ‘Behold,’ He said, ‘I have given you every herb yielding seed; to you it
shall be for food.’… Upon leaving Eden to gain his livelihood by tilling the earth
under the curse of sin man received permission to eat also ‘the herb of the field.’”
(13)

Therefore the original diet is still best—the diet that features plant proteins,
with clear advantages for the immune system, heart and blood vessels, disease
prevention and excellence of brain function.

*Because the steroids are being made into bile acids

**High-protein diets promote increased production of the hormones estradiol and

progesterone, which normally cause increased surges of prolactin and the cyclic
breast development of the menstrual cycle.
 This article originally appeared in The Journal of Health & Healing and is
used with their permission. All rights reserved. 2010

References

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Nutrition in Health and Disease 8th ed. Shils M. E. Olson J. A. and Shike
M. eds Lea and feviger, Philadelphia p 3-35 1994

2. Torun B, and Chew F. Protein-Energy Malnutrition Ch 57 in Shils ref 1 p.

950-976

3. Block R. J. Amino Acid Handbook Charles C Thomas, Publisher,

Springfield, Illinois, 1956.

4. Czarnecki K. K. and Kritchevsky D. Dietary Protein and Arthrosclerosis Ch

5 in Dietary Proteins How they Alleviate Disease and Promote Better Health
G.U.

5. Beynen A.C. Cholesterolemic Effects of Dietary Soybean Protein and Case

in: Mechanisms of Action Ch 7 in Liepa ref. 4 pg. 77-83

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Without Soybean fiberAlters Plasma Lipidsss in Men with Elevated
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7. Walser, M. The Relationship of Dietary Protein to Kidney Disease, Ch 12 in

Liepa, ref4 p 168-178

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9. Clinton, S.K. Dietary Protein and The Origins of Human Cancer, Ch 8 in

Liepa, ref. 4, p.84-122

10.Hawrylewicz, E.J., and Huang, H.H. Effect of Dietary Protein and

Methionine Supplementation on Mammary Tumorigenesis, Ch 9 in Liepa,
ref. 4, p. 123-150
11.White, E.G., The Ministry of Healing, Pacific Press Publishing Association,
Mountian View, California, p. 295, 1905