I'm new to raw foods and had a question about something I read on the website. It states this about complete and incomplete proteins, "This false conclusion (that plant proteins are incomplete) was drawn before we discovered the bodies protein recycling mechanism and its ability to "complete" any amino acid mix from our bodies amino acid pool." Where can I find out more about this protein recycling mechanism? Is it in a specific textbook or journal article?

Thanks in advance!

Human cellular biology anyone?

Could you post the link to the article so we can read it in context.

From what I understand, the author is confusing two functions. Proteins are created from amino acid chains, but that is a different function from protein recycling. Protein recycling refers to moving a protein to a site that it is needed, so it can interlock with a receptor and be transported into the cell.

There are others on this site who are better versed in cellular biology then I am who could answer this better.

But here is a couple of cool geek sites I came across:

[people.eku.edu] (really cool animations)
[biology.clc.uc.edu] (has a description of protein construction, and cool models amino acids.

Nice links, Swimmer.

"Where can I find out more about this protein recycling mechanism? Is it in a specific textbook or journal article?"

One protein recycling mechanism is called autophagy. Here's an article-- [www.nature.com] on autophagy.
Autophagy is accomplished by the cell's lysosomes --


[search.aol.com]

Our own website might overstate the ability of the body "to 'complete' any amino acid mix"..there are limits ya know.. some raw vegan foods are extremely low in protein, like figs which are great but at 3% caloric protein and less than a 100% essential amino acid "score", it would be tough to live on them exclusively, or with others with marginal protein profiles. Just my opinions.

Most cells ultimately are catabolized as part of the cell replacement process, in which case the proteins are digested and free to move about the body as amino acids. That might be more what this website article was referring too...again there are limits to the supply of amino acids from this source, IMO.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2010 12:50PM by loeve.

"The body's amino acid pool" is what it is, a reflection of body's diet and assimilation up to that point, and what is available thru autophagy and catabolism. The ability to 'complete' proteins depends on the total mix.

thanks for the link loeve,

Has anyone seen that article that the OP was talking about?

Some of the linked raw food info an this site should be replaced and updated to correct a lot of exaggerations and un-backed claims.

"Has anyone seen that article that the OP was talking about?"

Swimmer,
Our F.A.Q. section of rawfoodsupport has the OP's quote. Here is the paragraph in its entirety--

"Where do raw and living foodist get their protein?

"The WHO (World Health Organization) says humans need about 5% of their daily calories to come from protein to be healthy. The USDA puts this figure at 6.5%. On average, fruits have about 5% of their calories from protein. Vegetables have from 20-50% of their calories from protein. Sprouted seeds, beans, and grains contain from 10-25% of their calories from protein. So if you are eating any variety of living plant foods, you are getting more than adequate protein. Numerous scientific studies have shown the daily need for protein to be about 25-35 grams per day. So if you ate 2,000 calories per day, and ate raw plant foods that had an average of 10% of their calories from protein, you would get 200 calories worth of protein, or 50 grams. This is more than adequate to support optimal well-being. Other studies have shown that heat treating a protein (such as with cooking) makes about half of it unusable to the human body. So raw plant food protein is even a better source than cooked plant foods or animal foods. There is still a huge, foolish, misguided idea that plant protein is not "complete". This is based on studies done on rats in the 1940's. This false conclusion was drawn before we discovered the bodies protein recycling mechanism and its ability to "complete" any amino acid mix from our bodies amino acid pool, no matter what the amino acid composition of a meal consumed. This false idea is still perpetuated by the meat and dairy industries, in an attempt to influence people to continue consuming their truly health destroying products."


>>>"So if you are eating any variety of living plant foods, you are getting more than adequate protein."

Though I believe most raw vegans are getting enough protein, there's a long list of fruits and veggies that have less than the World Health Organization's 5% caloric protein recommendation. The Giessen Raw Food study looked at 201 raw foodists who ranged 6.3% protein and up, which satisfies WHO but not quite the USDA, so the likelihood of deficiency seems slight but is still there.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/2010 03:48PM by loeve.

Here's a great article with some critical info on the subject, check it out:

[www.medicalnewstoday.com]