Is there still a question about Protein?

A recent post to the forum on the New York City Raw Food Meetup Website had the title, "Can we talk about protein?" and the body of the message was, "I'm lazy in the kitchen and I find myself depending on tahini much of the time. Anyone have protein ideas for a raw enthusiast stuck in a rut?"

Now, I was surprised, as I believe the question came from a person who's been on the raw-path for some time now. And I thought, maybe other people are still concerned about this issue. So I posted a response. To see the full version and other people's responses, you can go to the Meetup website message board. Here is a slightly edited version:

OK. There’s two really big misconceptions here that I’d like to address. First, calling Tahini a “protein” food and second, the idea that we’re in danger of not getting enough protein so we need to spend a lot of time and energy focused on getting it (more than any other nutrient).

How would you like to clear up these protein myths once and for all? Great! I’ll start with the second myth first (just for fun!) Here we go…

De-Myth-tifying Protein

What can happen to the body when it is subjected to excessive amounts of protein? Health expert Dr. Douglas Graham gives this perspective in his amazing book, The 80/10/10 Diet (italics and bold are my additions):

“The Dangers of Eating More Than 10% Protein”

“To listen to the proponents of the meat industry, one would think we are in imminent danger of disease and death if we fail to eat meat three times a day. The truth is that eating meat this often causes the very conditions we're taught to fear. This is a surprise to most people, who have been taught, incorrectly, that they need large amounts of protein to be healthy. Actually, the reverse is true: Most people suffer from an overdose of protein each day, and this accounts for a great deal of our ill health.

“Too much protein in our diets is associated with all manner of health impairments, including such symptoms as constipation and other digestive disorders that often lead to toxemia (toxic blood and tissues) and, eventually, cancer. Autoimmune dysfunction, arthritis, and all other autoimmune conditions, premature aging, impaired liver function, kidney failure, osteoporosis, and many other degenerative and pathogenic conditions result from eating more protein than we need.

“In general, protein-based foods are highly acid forming in the human body (even the high-protein plants, such as legumes). This is because their predominant minerals are the acidic minerals - chlorine, phosphorus, and sulfur. To maintain homeostasis, the body must counterbalance the acidity caused by excess protein consumption. Unfortunately, it does so in part by taking a precious alkaline mineral - calcium - from our bloodstream. The body replaces calcium into the bloodstream, where calcium levels must remain relatively constant, by removing it from our bones and teeth, setting the stage from osteoporosis and tooth decay.

“It is no coincidence that fruits and vegetables contain just the right amounts of protein to build and maintain the human body. Nor is it a coincidence that the minerals they supply are predominantly the alkaline ones: calcium, sodium, magnesium, and potassium.”

You’ll find these facts are easily confirmed by other experts. Here’s one:

“The recent Western obsession with protein diets is turning out to have potentially fatal results, namely osteoporosis and kidney failure. During protein metabolism… the kidneys neutralize the acids by binding them to calcium, which in turn, depletes your body's store of this essential mineral.

“The rate in the U.S. of osteoporosis is strikingly higher than China, where almost everyone eats a lower protein vegetarian diet. Evidence has also been found that excess protein weakens the kidney function.”

-Dr. Maoshing Ni (Doctor of Chinese Medicine, and author of Secrets of Longevity, and The Tao of Nutrition)

Now of course, if we remember the Goldilocks story – first it was too hot, then too cold, then too hard then too soft. What did she want? “Just right.” She found that too much or too little in either direction were both undesirable. But in this case, getting too little is actually a real challenge and in fact protein deficiencies simply don’t exist in our western culture – or anywhere else where a person is eating a sufficient number of calories overall. Plus, our protein needs may be a lot lower than we've been lead to believe. Let’s go back to Dr. Graham:

“Despite the advertising hype of the meat and dairy industries, humans require an extraordinarily low amount of protein in their diets. Many official groups, including the World Health Organization, the U.S. National Academies’ Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council suggest that eating a mere 10% of our total calories as protein is sufficient.

“In his book The China Study, renowned Cornell University professor emeritus of nutritional biochemistry T. Colin Campbell states that we require only 5-6% of our total calories to come from protein in order to replace the protein we routinely lose, and that “About 9-10% protein has been recommended for the past fifty years to be assured that most people at least get their 5-6% ‘requirement.’”

“In addition to the safety margin, this recommendation assumes that people eat their protein cooked. Given that cooking substantially deranges protein and other nutrients, we can safely consume far less raw plant protein and still be assured of sufficient nourishment. Thus, you can see that 10% protein (maximum) is both sufficient and reasonable.“

Here’s a portion of a chart from Dr. Graham’s book:


Protein Content of Common Foods (percentage of calories)


Apricots 10%
Bananas 4%
Cherries 6%
Cucumbers 11%
Dates 2%
Oranges, Valencia 7%
Peaches 8%
Strawberries 7%
Tomatoes, red 12%
Watermelon 7%
Cabbage 15%
Lettuce, green leaf 22%
Spinach 30%
Avocado 4%
Coconut (mature) 3%
Sesame seed 11%

“You will see that fruits generally contain 4-8% protein, and a few contain more. Surprisingly, the vegetables we commonly eat raw range from about 10 to 30% protein. (Vegetables are so low in calories, however, that even huge quantities add very little overall to one’s daily protein percentage.) Nonetheless, when I calculate the caloronutrient ratio of a day’s worth of food consisting strictly of a variety of raw fruits and vegetables without the addition of concentrated proteins, they generally weigh in at approximately 5 to 8% of calories as protein – an adequate and healthful amount of top-quality protein.

And here’s where it gets exciting. Take a look at the number for Sesame seed. Only 11%! As it turns out, Sesame seed, like most seeds and nuts, is mostly Fat (73% Fat). And based on its percentage of calories, not very much higher in protein at all!

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, average U.S. protein consumption was 15.5% for men and 15.1% for women in 2000. In 1970 they were 16.5% and 16.9%.

“How can it be that as a nation we gorge on “high-protein” foods, yet we end up with less than 20% of our calories from protein? The answer is that the vast majority of our commonly consumed “protein” foods – meat, egg, and dairy products, as well as all nuts and seeds, contain such an overwhelming amount of fat that the protein numbers go way down as a percentage of total calories consumed.”

So, the tahini is actually a Fatty food, and from that perspective, most nuts or seeds have similar Carb/Protein/Fat percentages so if you're looking for a different type of fat, you can certainly just choose a different nut or seed. However, you can easily maintain your protein at a healthy level (10% or less), with the bulk of your calories coming from fruits and vegetables, not nuts and seeds. And then you can choose from a wide variety of fruits and vegetables indeed!

Do you know how much protein you eat on a daily basis? You can calculate it at www.Fitday.com.

To learn more about Carbohydrate, Protein and Fat in fruits and vegetables and to get tasty recipes and menu plans to help you attain superior health – with the confidence to know that you are getting the nutrients you need in an amount that’s “Just Right,” check out The 80/10/10 Diet. You’ll be glad you did.