Boris Fernandez

Protein comes from the Greek word “proteios” which means "of prime importance". Protein has many functions in our bodies. Proteins may function in enzymes, hormones, muscle fibers, and blood cells to name just a few. Proteins are used up daily and must be replaced. They can be replaced by eating foods that contain protein. There are two kinds of foods that contain protein. One kind of protein comes from animals. This is considered complete protein because it has all the essential amino acids. (Essential meaning that our body does not produce them) The other type of protein comes from plants. These are considered incomplete proteins because they have to be combined in order to obtain all of the amino acids our body needs. This is why people consider animal protein of a higher quality than plant protein. They consider them of a higher quality because they do their job faster. However; according to T. Collin Campell in his book “The China Study" maybe the slow and steady job of plant protein wins the race in the long term. According to Campell animal protein is a real problem in people’s health. In his research in animals, as well as in human trials, animal protein is linked to the diseases of affluence with a statistical significance of more than 95%. These diseases include cancers, coronary heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and obesity. One study in India showed that rats predisposed to get cancer that had 20% of calories coming from animal protein got cancer 100% of the time, while the same animals having just five percent of their diet coming from animal protein did not develop cancer. Campell is also a strong advocate of a plant-based diet that he showed in one of his research studies as being able to reverse diabetes, coronary heart disease, and even early stages of cancer. Another advantage of a plant-based diet is that animals that were predisposed to get cancer and consumed 20% of their diet in plant protein did not get cancer at all. In other words, plant based protein did no harm, animal protein may activate genes for a particular disease you are predisposed to. What does this all means from the standpoint of your sport? I have been trying a plant-based diet with very small amounts of animal protein. After passing through the adaptation phase, which was a bit challenging, I can tell you that I feel better and better with the changes. I had my blood checked recently. I had 15.9 hemoglobin with a 45 hematocrit. These counts are related to the blood cells in charge of taking oxygen to the muscles. This is very important because the popular belief is that the iron in red meat is more absorbable than iron found in plants and that people who eat red meat have higher hemoglobin count than people who do not. I have also noticed that it is easy to maintain my competitive weight. Another improvement that I have experienced is that my digestion is better and I have more energy during the day. One thing you do have to make sure of is to eat a good quantity and quality of food because otherwise you will not meet you athletic energy requirements. You have to buy a lot of vegetables and different types of grains so you can have all the carbohydrates you need. (quinoa is great!) Animal protein may get you recuperated from one workout session to the next a bit faster, but the negative health implications are far too dangerous for me to want to risk it. Eating more plant based proteins is not only healthier for you it’s also healthier for the planet. Try it, you never know, you just might end up liking it!