Do you really need more protein?

For years, doctors and researchers have told us we need to eat more protein as we age. But there’s still a lot of controversy about the amount of protein you should eat. Conventional wisdom has pushed higher protein for those performance athletes and those who want a leaner frame. But I’ve told you this isn’t necessary. So do you really need more protein?

Doug Graham, DC wrote the book 80-10-10 Diet. He has counseled professional athletes for years. And he tells them to eat just 10% of their calories as protein.

That’s one of the 10s in his 80-10-10. He suggests eating 80% of calories in the form of natural sugars in live foods. The other 20% comes from fat (10%) and protein (10%). You might think that 10% protein is quite insufficient. However, consider the elite Kenyan runners. They are the best runners in the world and regularly win the Olympic marathon. Studies on them show that they do best at a “mere” 10% protein intake.

This is more confirmation that more protein is not necessarily better for your health or performance. I eat a very low protein diet, yet I continue to outperform the endurance of my youth. No, I am not as fast as I was. Nor am I likely as strong regarding brute strength. But I was well aware of my capacity and response to a rigorous backpacking day. I do far better today than I did back when I was eating a lot of meat. My body heals faster today than then. And I don’t suffer from knee trauma as I used to during an arduous trek. When I was eating meat, I almost always suffered local knee tendonitis.

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Finally, my essential fatty acid mentor, Brian Peskin, author of the book The Hidden Story of Cancer, recently did an about face on this issue. He used to openly espouse a high-protein (Atkins) diet. Not anymore. Professor Peskin, together with his wife and a good friend took up my Living Foods Diet, almost in a dare. He called me just a few weeks into it to tell me how much more energy he has, that weight loss has never been easier, and openly admitted that he is now convinced that Atkins was wrong. His wife and friend are also on the same page.

In the June issue of Second Opinion, you can read the first part of a major update on essential fatty acids. The key is unadulterated parent oils. This is what you get in the Living Foods Diet. It is one of the greatest secrets regarding health and disease ever uncovered. If you eat less protein in a Living Foods Diet, you are most likely getting more critical parent essential oils in their natural unheated state. As you can read in my newsletter, this could make the difference for you in never getting heart disease or cancer. And your physical performance will be substantially better.

Ref: Press Democrat, 3-23-10.