Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Pure Protein???

One of the enlightening facts that I learned this weekend in Robb Wolfe's Nutrition seminar was the importance of pure protein. The photo above shows different kinds of protein, however, there is a difference in how your body sees these. In order for your body to release Glucagon (counter hormone to insulin) your protein source must be a pure one (it must have had a face, and soul and you killed it to eat it!!!!). Therefore, if you are using dairy products (string cheese and Greek yogurt) as a protein source your body will not recognize this as a protein source and will not release Glucagon. Does this mean you need to cut out all dairy? Not necessarily. You may just need to re-visit your protein sources to make sure they are pure and use dairy in moderation. Post thoughts to comments. Post thoughts to comments...
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10 comments:

  1. Jonny V.April 29, 2009 at 8:55 PM

    So I wonder if that means that a Zone snack of two cheese sticks and an apple is not really doing what it's supposed to be doing. Sears says yes and Wolff says no. This was one of the main points that confused me . . .

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  2. The White RabbitApril 29, 2009 at 11:40 PM

    Now I'm a little confused too. There's an egg in the picture, but the chicken had a face, right? Are eggs not a pure source of protein? My favorite meal of the day consists of 1c strawberries, 1/2 c grapes, 6 almonds and two delicious hard boiled eggs. Should I be eating some other source of protein besides the eggs?

    Sigh. I love eggs.

    Michele, thanks for sharing what you learned...

    --Neile

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  3. Abhishek TiwariApril 30, 2009 at 10:01 AM

    Snacks would be an issue then. What would be a good replacement for greek yogurt?

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  4. Jonny V.April 30, 2009 at 10:32 AM

    Neile . . . worry not, eggs are PURE. They would grow into something that had a face and a soul if we didn't eat them first! Robb Wolf's point was really that the vegetable and dairy stuff was the least optimal for "protein power" -- milk, cheese, tofu, tempeh. He didn't say that you could never eat any of that stuff, just that you should not be relying on it for your main source of protein at each "big" meal.

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  5. The White RabbitApril 30, 2009 at 10:46 AM

    Gotcha, Jon, thanks! Whew!

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  6. micheleApril 30, 2009 at 7:13 PM

    Jonny V- You are right on the money with that! Eggs are great protein! Neile- you can still have dairy...just don't use it as your sole protein source.

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  7. Mary AnneMay 2, 2009 at 2:44 PM

    What is a good protein suggestion for breakfast besides eggs?
    I have been CrossFitting for almost a year in Oklahoma City. I recently can't eat eggs and am really struggling with a protein to eat besides like you said dairy, turkey bacon/sausage.

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  8. Melissa UrbanMay 4, 2009 at 5:37 PM

    I like this! I've been trying to get my clients off dairy for a whole host of reasons, this being one of them.

    Mary Anne, what if you stopped thinking of it as "breakfast" and "dinner"? I'm just as likely to have a slab of chicken at 9 AM as I am to have eggs and bacon at 6 PM. It's kind of freeing, actually.

    Melissa

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  9. micheleMay 5, 2009 at 7:13 PM

    Mary Ann-

    If you are not adverse to having "dinner" type foods for breakfast than Melissa's suggestion is a good one. I am one of those that likes breakfast foods for breakfast. My suggestion would be to use ham, turkey bacon, turkey sausage etc...and see how those work.

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  10. Matthew C. BaldwinMay 6, 2009 at 12:21 PM

    I totally agree with Melissa (I recently discovered your nice article in the Journal, by the way, M.B.). It's not about "breakfast" foods for me anymore. I always have pure protein on hand. 1 oz. of pure protein something (chicken, steak, pork, whatever) to break the fast, and 3 oz. for post workout. It's about stoking the fire, not having some kind of culturally determined meal-appropriate food.

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