Do elephants eat cows for protein?

By far the most common question I hear is:

“If I don’t eat meat, or eat a lot of meat, where do I get my protein from?” Sounds familiar?

Let’s cut to the chase: the protein chase. I’m a simple girl, so I ask simple questions. I don’t make it complicated, complicated confuses me and the last thing I need is to be more confused. That is a scary thought.

Just for smiles and giggles, let’s have some protein fun and see if my common sense speaks to your common sense.

8 very simple questions about protein:

#1 Common Sense Protein Question: “Do elephants eat hamburgers?”

As you know, protein is for growth, among many other things. Like the growth of muscles. Have you ever heard of an elephant, giraffe, monkey, cow, or horse eating hamburgers, chicken, fish, or even protein drinks to get enough protein to build big muscles? Of course not.

If elephants can eat plant foods for plenty of protein, so can we with our relatively small muscles and bodies.

#2 Protein Common Sense Question: “Do elephants have to mix and match plant foods to get a ‘complete protein’?”

Oh yes, true. I can only see it now. An elephant making sure to eat only the right plant foods to get the right mix of protein. I do not think.

My brain says: If they don’t have to mix and match, neither do we.

#3 Common Sense Protein Question: “But aren’t we different from elephants?”

Good question. Yes, elephants are a bit different from us. No, duh, like the kids say. But this is the point of common sense:

If a small variety of plant foods can provide the right amount and quality of protein needed to grow and support a large mammal like an elephant, doesn’t it make sense that plant foods, and a much greater variety, can provide people with with enough protein to grow and maintain our relatively small muscles, bones, tissues, and organs?

My common sense says: “Yes”. What does your common sense tell you?

#4 Protein Common Sense Question: “At what time in life do humans require the most protein?”

Okay, so you can’t quite get the fact that elephants and humans can be compared, that may be a big leap, elephants with people. That’s fair enough. So I’ll tell you something, let’s talk about simple people, little people, like babies.

Our cute babies tell the whole protein story. See for yourself.

Once again, what is the purpose of protein?

You have it! Growth. When do we grow more? From 0 to 2 years. TRUE?

What is the best food for children from 0 to 2 years? Mom’s milk.

How much protein do you think is in mom’s milk? 15%, 25% or 30% protein? Guess again.

This may blow your mind, but human milk contains only 4.5% to 5% protein, that’s all.

If 4.5% to 5% protein is enough to meet the growing needs of babies, then that same amount of protein, and even less, is enough for us big people. We have stopped growing.

#5 Protein common sense question: “How much protein is in an orange?”

hold on. The shock factor arrives. An orange has 8% protein. wow! Isn’t that amazing? An orange with 8% protein?

Remember, fast-growing babies only require 4.5% to 5% protein. At 8% protein, oranges not only have enough protein, they actually have a lot of protein.

What about other plants?

Spinach: 49% protein

Broccoli: 33%

Cauliflower: 26%

Romaine lettuce: 36% (imagine that much protein in that green, watery stuff!)

Corn: 11%

kale: 22%

Cucumber: 24%

Pope: 11%

Carrots: 10%

Melon: 9%

Grapefruit: 8%

Berries: 7%

Tomato: 16%

Almonds: 13%

Pumpkin seeds: 17%

Brown Rice: 8%

Oatmeal: 15%

Beans: 26%

It seems to me that we get a lot of protein from eating plants.

We don’t “have to” eat animal protein, which also comes with lots of fat, cholesterol, extra calories, extra weight, extra illnesses, and extra headaches. In fact, we don’t even have to eat beans, tofu, or any other high-protein plant foods to get enough protein.

Fruits and vegetables have plenty. Interesting, don’t you think?

#6 Protein Common Sense Question: “But isn’t meat protein superior to plant protein?”

In a word, “No.” That is a complete myth that has been perpetuated for almost 100 years. No matter how much it boggles our brainwashed brains, meat protein is not superior to plant protein. Amino acids, or building blocks that make up proteins, are the same whether they come from a plant or an animal.

Protein is protein is protein is protein, no matter the source. If we eat enough food (which is not a problem in the US), we get enough “proper” protein, even if the food sources are just plants.

#7 Protein Common Sense Question: “But don’t I need more protein for strength and energy?”

Well, back to our friend, the elephant. Where do elephants get their strength and energy? Not from eating cows or protein bars, that’s for sure. The power of an elephant comes from plants, that’s all.

Our best source of energy comes not from protein, but from carbohydrates found in whole, unrefined plant foods like fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables capture the sun’s energy and generously transmit it to us.

The core energy we have (or don’t have) today comes from the plant foods we ate (or didn’t eat) yesterday; not the so-called energy protein bar or steak (or that dark, runny concoction) we ate today.

#8 Protein common sense question: “How much protein does the World Health Organization recommend?”

Good thought. The WHO recommends, not coincidentally, the same amount of protein found in human breast milk: 4.5% to 5% protein. Remember, oranges have 8% protein.

Is the protein fog starting to clear up a bit? There are plenty of real experts, much, much smarter than me, who agree:

Plants provide us with plenty of protein for superior health and fitness, it’s as simple as that. bingo bango

You can choose to eat beef, chicken, fish, and protein drinks, but you don’t “have to.” Aren’t we lucky to have the gift of choice? What is not so fortunate is that many of us forget that consequences follow elections, sometimes immediately and sometimes many years later.

Good choices breed good consequences; Bad decisions, especially day after day, bad decisions breed painful consequences.

It is your body and your life. You have the incredible power to feed your body and your life or the power to exhaust your body and your life.

Will your next bite feed you or drain you? It’s your choice.