Dr. John & Mary McDougall
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A Brief History of Protein: Passion, Social Bigotry, Rats, and Enlightenment
John McDougall M.D.
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Human Breast Milk -- Your Final Assurance
Your greatest need for protein is when you grow the most. The greatest time of growth in a human being's life is as an infant. We double in size during the first 6 months. The ideal food for a baby is mother's milk. Therefore, breast milk is the "gold standard" for nutrition -- during your time of greatest need for all nutrients, including protein. Five to 6.3 percent of the calories in human breast milk are from protein.9,17 This is the maximum concentration of protein we will ever need in our food supply. Knowing this value tells us that at no other time in our life will we ever require more protein. Consider the protein content of the foods we consume after weaning -- these are even higher in protein -- rice is 9%, potatoes are 8%, corn is 11% and oatmeal is 15% protein.16
Wrong Thinking Ruins Health
Even though all the scientific knowledge accumulated over the past 100 years clearly shows our bodies were designed to live best on a diet lower in protein than dictated by common belief, we continue on the same disastrous dietary path. As Russell Henry Chittenden explained 100 years ago, "The poorer man emulates his richer neighbors as soon as his circumstances permit, and resources that could be much more advantageously expended for the good of the family and the home are practically wasted -- to say nothing of possible injury to health -- under the mistaken idea that this more generous method of living (a high-protein, high-meat diet) is the surest road to health and strength."2 Dr. Chittenden also believed that knowledge and the truth would prevail. He wrote, "Habit and sentiment play such a part in our lives that it is too much to expect any sudden change in custom. By a proper education commenced early in life it may, however, be possible to establish new standards, which in time may prevail and eventually lead to more enlightened methods of living..." The past century of declining health for people living in developed countries has proved Chittenden wrong -- so far. However, with widespread communication via the Internet his predictions may soon become reality.
References:
1) Carpenter K. A short history of nutritional science: part 2 (1885-1912). J Nutr. 2003 Apr;133(4):975-84.
2) Chittenden, R. H. (1904). Physiological economy in nutrition, with special reference to the minimal protein requirement of the healthy man. An experimental study. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company.
3) Millward DJ. The nutritional value of plant-based diets in relation to human amino acid and protein requirements. Proc Nutr Soc. 1999 May;58(2):249-60.
4) Millward DJ. Metabolic demands for amino acids and the human dietary requirement: Millward and Rivers (1988) revisited. J Nutr. 1998 Dec;128(12 Suppl):2563S-2576S.
5) Osborne T. Amino-acids in nutrition and growth. J Bio Chem. 1914; 17:325-49.
6) Rose W. Comparative growth of diet containing ten and nineteen amino acids, with further observation upon the role of glutamic and aspartic acid. J Bio Chem. 1948; 176: 753-62.
7) Bicker M. The protein requirement of adult rats in terms of the protein contained in egg, milk, and soy flour. J Nutr 1947;34: 491.
8) Bell G. Textbook of Physiology and Biochemistry, 4th ed., Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, 1959, p. 12.
9) Reeds PJ. Protein nutrition of the neonate. Proc Nutr Soc. 2000 Feb;59(1):87-97.
10) Rose W. The amino acid requirement of adult man. Nutr Abst Rev. 1957;27:63l-47.
11) McDougall J. (1983). The McDougall Plan. Clinton, NJ. New Win Publishing.
12) M. Irwin, Hegsted D. A conspectus of research on protein requirements of man. J Nutr. 1971;101:385-428.
13) Moyer G. Frances Moore Lappe's new edition says it all. Nutrition Action, Oct. 1982. p. 10-11.
14) St. Jeor S, Howard B, Prewitt E. Dietary protein and weight reduction. A statement for health professionals from the Nutrition Committee of the Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism of the American Heart Association. Circulation 2001;104:1869-74.
15) Personal Communication with John McDougall, MD on July 10, 2003.
16) J Pennington. Bowes & Church's Food Values of Portions Commonly Used. 17th Ed. Lippincott. Philadelphia- New York.
1998.
17) Reeds PJ. Protein and amino acid requirements and the composition of complementary foods. J Nutr. 2003 Sep;133(9):2953S-61S.
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