Paleo Diet: Raw Paleo Diet and Lifestyle Forum
Raw Paleo Diet Forums => Info / News Items / Announcements => Topic started by: Nicola on September 10, 2008, 01:45:00 am
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www.uswellnessmeats .com
Here's a couple articles from this week:
Al Sears, MD
Author of The Doctor's Heart Cure
The Importance of Protein
If you want to shed pounds and build lean muscle you should eat protein at every meal.
Protein is the only daily essential macronutrient. Fat is also essential, but you can survive
longer without fat than you can without protein. Carbohydrates, the third macronutrient,
are completely inessential to your diet. In other words, your body can make whatever carbs
it needs on its own.
Quality protein is your single most important nutritional concern. It's composed of 20
amino acids, eight of which you can't make and must consume. To be optimally healthy,
you must consume all eight of these essential amino acids every day.
Protein is an important component of every cell in your body. Hair and nails are mostly
made of protein. Your body uses protein to build and repair tissues. You also use protein
to make enzymes, hormones, and other body chemicals. It is an important building block
of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood.
But unlike fat and carbohydrates, the body does not store protein, and therefore has no
reserve to draw on when it needs a new supply. Over consuming protein actually programs
your body to burn fat. It throws on a "metabolic switch" and tells your body that it's okay
to burn fat.
Here's why: Your body is not a machine. It's a living, sentient being that makes decisions
based on the challenges it faces everyday.
Your body's number one priority is survival. And protein is your body's most prized power
source. Under normal circumstances, your body keeps fat on reserve for one reason: to
prevent starvation.
But when your body has more protein than it needs, its survival is not threatened. It then
feels "safe" enough to start burning off its fat stores.
Over-consuming protein is one of the easiest, most reliable ways of triggering high-speed
fat loss. In addition, you'll guarantee your body has the building blocks it needs for
optimum health.
Nicola