COMICS: Everything about protein: Stanford U

Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Jen B. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Everything you thought you knew about protein is wrong | Stanford Prof. Christopher Gardner

(ZOE) April 17, 2023: ZOE Science & Nutrition Podcast Proteins, carbs, and fats…most people understand what the last two are. Carbs are sugars, and [saturated] fat is fat [fatty acids].

It's protein that’s important to our diets, but often misunderstood — by the general public, that is. Since the 1950s and 1960s, scientists have been measuring:

• how protein affects our performance,
• how it supports and maintains the body’s structure, and
• how best to incorporate it into our diets.

From big slabs of slaughtered flesh to plant-based protein shakes, tofu to amino acid supplements, nuts to lentils, protein is more available now than ever before.

With so many options, surely we’re getting enough protein? In today’s episode, host Jonathan speaks with a leading nutritional researcher to find out.

Dr. Christopher Gardner is a professor at Stanford University and a member of ZOE’s scientific advisory board. He’s pioneering the movement to redefine how we understand the quality of our protein intake.

Creative genius cartoonist Dan Pirarro draws comics at bizarro.com

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 01:20 - Quickfire questions
• 03:13 - What is protein?
• 07:29 - Can our bodies make the proteins we need?
• 08:00 - The mechanism for our bodies creating amino acids.
• 09:00 - What is an essential amino acid?
• 10:35 - Crazy study Stanford scientists did to find the Estimated Average Requirement of protein.
• 15:28 - How much protein should we consume?
• 18:29 - How much protein do we already consume?
• 23:39 - Can our bodies store protein?
• 24:41 - What happens to excess protein in our bodies?
• 25:39 - Protein Scam Alert!
• 26:16 - Stanford Study: Does the type of protein we consume affect physical performance?
• 29:21 - Protein requirements for kids and pregnant women.
• 32:21 - What is Amino Acid Distribution?
• 34:27 - Are plants missing certain amino acids?
• 35:12 - How is AAD like the game of Scrabble?
• 39:35 - What is the healthiest source of protein?
• 39:46 - Dr. Gardner’s case for changing the way we define “protein quality” in the US
• 42:52 - Jonathan’s summary
• 45:25 - Goodbye’s
• 46:13 - Outro

If we want to uncover the right foods for our body, head to joinzoe.com/podcast and get 10% off personalized nutrition program.

Episode transcripts are available: joinzoe.com/learn/category/po...

• Follow Prof. Gardner: twitter.com/GardnerPhD

Studies mentioned in this episode. Maximizing the intersection of human health and the health of the environment with regard to the amount and type of protein produced and consumed in the United States: academic.oup.com/nutrition...

• Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé: amazon.com/Diet-Small-Pla...
• Perspective: The Public Health Case for Modernizing the Definition of Protein Quality: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31066...

Follow ZOE on Instagram: instagram.com/zoe. This podcast was produced by Fascinate Productions.

CONCLUSION

Love animals: Let them live. Cows are cute.

Kidney damage from too much protein (with daily excess turned into acidic ammonia excreted in urine and sweat, with accumulation of unskillful karma, hormones, pesticides, chemicals, animal wastes like urine, fecal contamination, and toxic foods fed to cows to fatten them quickly, which fattens humans even more quickly.

We all get more than enough protein. This is not the third world. The fear of "protein deprivation" is doing everyone harm -- making us acidic and unhealthy.

Vegans and vegetarians get more than enough, and no one needs to worry about it. Eat a varied vegan diet, and you'll be fine. "Eat beans not beings." And omnivorous professor told you so.

Food combining for the best digestion is much more important than food complementing to get all of the amino acids in a day (as from complementing beans and rice). The latter is not necessary to do, because they cannot be well digested together. Eat them separately (by two or more hours).

If eaten within 24 hours of each other, the body will get ALL of the essential amino acids in sufficient quantity for optimum health without stress or worry. And tummies will be much happier due to the improved digestion (no bloating, no gas, no queasy feeling of overeating).