Combat High Blood Pressure: Protein And Protein Quality!

Adults require 45 to 65 grams of protein daily; that’s about 2 or 3 ounces. Only protein supplements are “pure protein,” so it’s impractical to think of so many grams or ounces of pure protein. Indeed, we eat food to get protein and should only rarely use protein supplements as the sole source of protein.

• Common protein food sources contain up to 18% protein by weight and include fish, fowl, dairy products, beans, and other vegetables.
• Your objective in combating High Blood Pressure is to obtain protein with minimal salt, minimal fat and as much complex carbohydrate as possible. This latter objective translates to an abundant use of vegetable foods.
• Amino acids are the building blocks of protein; they are the chemical units that, when bonded together, form the protein. Visualize a protein as a long string of 22 different beads that can be linked together in any number of 3 or more with no upper limit. In addition to the 22 amino acid “beads,” each strand has a unique three-dimensional structure. Therefore, there is no limit to the number of proteins that can be made in nature.
• Our bodies can manufacture 13 of the 22 commonly available amino acids. The 9 that we can’t make are called essential because without them we cannot live. These essential amino acids must be provided by the protein we get from the food we eat. Not surprisingly, the quality of food protein is determined by the amounts of 9 essential amino acids it contains. Therefore, by designating a protein of high or low quality, we are really commenting on its amino acid composition, how many of the essential ones it provides. In general, in a diet as varied as ours, protein quality is not a problem.
• Protein of animal origin, such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and milk, is of excellent quality. In all of these sources, protein quality is not an issue. If you choose to use protein supplements, their quality should be declared on the label. In addition, since you can and should eat a wide variety of protein-rich foods, any shortfall in the protein quality of one will usually be compensated for by the quality of another. Even if you should choose to become a strict vegetarian with the remote possibility of lower- quality protein, I’ll show you how to mix and match vegetable sources to insure good protein quality. Therefore, this eating strategy will provide enough protein of sufficient quality to give you abundant health.
• I want you to focus your attention on the sodium and potassium content of food, its K factor, and its fat content. These are the critical issues that will determine your success in controlling high blood pressure without drugs.