“He who does not know food, how can he understand the diseases of man?”
–Hippocrates, the father of medicine (460-357 B.C)
Amazing to me that Hippocrates had the answer to health and wellness so many years ago, yet much of society chose to take that valuable information and disregard it. I was happy to see, this morning, that the centerfold of the food section was about “going veg.” In fact, it was said that trading in pork for fancy vegetables has as many followers as Justin Timberlake on Twitter! Cute.
We all need to know our foods so that we can make wise choices for our own health. As a many hour a day exerciser and a vegan, I always admit to questioning exactly what my body needs to be healthy and strong while still ALWAYS trying to lose that last five pounds that most people want to lose! Periodically, I do question whether living on a plant-based diet is best for my weight. Lately, I have revisited tracking my calories and it has become quite obvious that as a post-menopausal 53 year old, I simply can’t consume the same amount of calories I could when I was younger. Cutting back just a little bit has definitely helped me to start shedding those extra few pounds….slowly, but without much compromise.
While I have toyed with the possibility of needing more protein, I realize it is not that at all. It is the portion control, the sugar, the sodium and probably the wine–but mostly, it’s the calories! Its funny but when you look at the definition of a protein, it isn’t really any of the things we think. If someone were to ask YOU what a protein was, would you be able to answer? Sure, we know where the protein comes from, and most would be quick to say things like meat, chicken, eggs…but those just have a high percentage of protein. In fact, the definition of a protein is:
protein (prtn)
Any of a large class of complex organic chemical compounds that are essential for life. Proteins play a central role in biological processes and form the basis of living tissues. They consist of long chains of amino acids connected by peptide bonds and have distinct and varied three-dimensional structures, usually containing alpha helices and beta sheets as well as looping and folded chains. Enzymes, antibodies, and hemoglobin are examples of proteins.