Seedling Magazine

clients can finally shift their thinking. Once you realize you
don't have to be hungry and deprived to be in great shape,
nobody else will ever be able to change your mind.
'You can't get enough protein
on a plant-based diet'
Oh my. The protein question comes up time and time and time
again. If I had a penny for every time someone has asked
“where do you get your protein from?”, I would be retired and
living on a desert island (so I don't have to hear the question
ever again!).
The truth is, plants have protein, and plenty of it. Or at least,
plenty to fulfill our human needs. I can’t speak for lions and
tigers. This huge misconception goes back hundreds of years
and is too often used as a marketing ploy by the food and
supplement industries (they’ve even gone as far as inventing
protein­enhanced water!).
Protein deficiency is virtually impossible if enough calories
are consumed, and is even less likely when consuming plenty
of nutrient­rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes and
starches. I have personally logged my food intake for weeks at
a time with Cronometer (the best food log app out there) and
have NEVER had a day when I haven’t consumed more than
enough of the essential amino acids our body needs to build
protein.
The myth of “perfect protein” confuses the public: we are led
to believe that animal protein is better because it is more
similar in composition to our own body. But according to the
World Health Organization (which has now officially
classified processed and red meat as carcinogenic), animal
protein is anything but perfect.
Dr. Garth Davis expands on this huge misconception in his
book “Proteinaholic”, which is one of the most interesting
books you will ever read on nutrition (second only to “The
China Study” by T. Colin Campbell). So the moral of the story
is don't worry about protein; simply focus on getting enough
calories from a wide variety of nutrient­dense plant foods, and
you will be just fine. Actually, you’ll be better than fine: you
will thrive!
'We need milk for calcium'
Milk contains calcium. That’s an indisputable truth. However,
there is compelling scientific evidence showing that
consumption of dairy products is strongly associated with
many diseases (constipation, skin problems, asthma, digestive
problems and even cancer), making it far from an ideal source
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