Vegan on a Budget

As one of the three macro nutrients (carbohydrates and fat being the others) we need protein in our bodies. So why is there always more of a fuss made about protein?

Out of the 3 macro nutrients, protein is considered to to be the head honcho, numero uno, the king because;

1. We cannot store protein like we store the 2 other macro nutrients
2. We cannot synthesize/produce for ourselves certain amino acids which make up protein (otherwise known as Essential Amino Acids)
3. Most of the cells in our body contain Protein

And because of this, we consider daily protein consumption of protein to be sometimes even more important than the other macro-nutrients, that is, if we are using conventional thinking. And thus we are encouraged to keep giving our bodies generous amounts protein at every meal, to make sure there is no deficit, encouraging us to over-eat in terms of protein.

However, there is a serious flaw in this thinking as we know what will happen if we get too much Carbohydrates and Fat in our diets - we store the excess as fat around our body. So… what is the effect of consuming too much protein?

The one we know for sure is kidney overload. We make our kidneys work harder extracting  the nitrogen from protein to convert it to fat (yes that happens when you have excess protein) and the common problem is kidney stones.

See, we can visually monitor extra fat storage, but our kidneys are tucked under our skin - out of sight out of mind.

According to WebMD, we need “about 46 grams of protein for women, and 56 grams of protein for men” per day.

So if you had a Cheese Omelet which is 12grams and a chicken breast which is 30grams, you are already almost at your limit if you are a woman, and if you are a man you ar reaching your limit. 

Of course these are not exact numbers but you get my point. What happens at dinner if I get a beef steak? That is a whopping 40+ grams! What are we doing to our kidneys?

And by the way, we have not taken into account the protein found in the other ‘side dishes’ that accompany those mammoth sources of protein.

Being on a vegan diet can provide you with the amount of protein you need, and will not over load your system if you eat mainly whole food.

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