Dr. John McDougall is one of the pioneers of the Lifestyle Medicine movement, who promotes the whole food plant-based (WFPB) diet for the control or reversal of non-communicable diseases (NCD) like obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. One of his favourite expressions is: “People like to hear good news about their bad habits!” He is referring to the meat eaters bouncing on any news story that would justify for them to continue their (unhealthy) habit of consuming animal products. 

One of these stories dished up more than 30 years ago, was that “only animal products contain ‘complete’ proteins.” Implying that plant products do not and therefore are an inferior food compared to foods derived from animal sources. Although this story has now been discredited, it is still a favourite argument brought up by those who continue to champion animal products.

 To set the record straight, let me expand a bit on this “protein” story. Proteins are formed by our body from “building blocks” called amino acids. Whether you eat proteins coming from corned beef (pisupo) or from a dish of rice and beans, those proteins are all of the same quality and originally come from plants: they are digested and broken down into the individual amino acid building blocks. 

There are about 22 different kinds of amino acids that can combine to form literally billions of different proteins, just as the 26 letters of the alphabet can form an endless number of words. Now the problem comes from the fact that our body can make 13 of these amino acids but the other nine are not: they are called “essential amino acids” and must be supplied by the diet, the foods we eat. Of these nine "essential amino acids", only three – called lysine, tryptophan and methionine – are critical, since the others are plentiful in most foods that we eat. 

But animals don’t make them either. That is because all essential amino acids originate from plants (and microbes), and all plant proteins have all the essential amino acids. Now, the crucial issue is this: animal products contain all the essential amino acids, including those three "critical" ones. And that is because the animals, when they feed on plants (whether they be cows, pigs, giraffes or elephants), pick a variety of plants to eat. They do so instinctively since no single plant source contains all of the essential amino acids.  But, importantly, all plant-based foods contain the three critical amino acids, but in different proportions. 

For example, legumes (beans, peas or lentils) are high in lysine but low in tryptophan and methionine. But grains (rice, for example) are low in lysine but high in tryptophan and methionine. So therefore, a meal of rice and beans, provides a complete protein, no different from the protein found in eggs or meat! As Dr Dean Ornish, another pioneer of the Lifestyle medicine movement explains: “You don’t need to be a scientist or a nutritionist to combine plant foods properly: just eat any grains and any legumes during the same day and you will likely be eating enough protein.” 

He gives two other examples of “complete protein”: “whole meal bread and baked beans” and “tofu and rice”. To help you further, we recommend that you come and purchase METI’s excellent Plant based Cookbook with 50 mouth-watering recipes. In summary, the myth that plant proteins are incomplete and aren’t as good as animal proteins, and that one has to combine proteins at meals—have all been dismissed by the nutrition community. 

In addition, our body maintains pools of free amino acids that it can use from its daily massive protein recycling program as a result of the constant breaking down of aging cells. (It is like the spare parts you can get from a car wreck dealer!) So our body can mix and match amino acids to whatever proportions we need, whatever we eat, making it practically impossible to even design a diet of whole plant foods that would be deficient in protein.

And finally, think about it, since all protein comes from plants, why do we need animals in the chain? Let’s cut out the middle-man (animal) and just make our food straight from plants! It would avoid many problems, not the least the climate emergency that humanity is now facing. 

We invite you to visit METI’s Healthy Living Clinic at House No. 51 at Motootua (across from the Kokobanana Restaurant) to become further acquainted with METI’s whole food plant-based diet and Lifestyle Change programs. Or call us at 30550. Learning how to follow these Programs might be your ‘game changer’!