Twice this week I have been asked, by two different health care professionals, where I get my protein. This is a common response to finding out you enjoy a vegan diet* and it never ceases to amaze me how much the protein myth has got its teeth into our culture. I want to say, but I'm afraid it would sound rude, have you ever seen a gorilla? Or a chimp? Their diet is mostly leafy greens, which are loaded with protein by the way. And they could tear your head off with a casual swat, that's how strong and powerful they are on their vegan diets**.
You can take one look at a gorilla and see that protein is not an issue for them. It's not for us either but rather a long standing myth making people think they need animal products. Protein is just a chain of amino acids and they come in many varieties. Pure, unadulterated food from the plant kingdom is the highest quality, most easily assimilated protein we can eat with leafy greens topping the list.
There is a ton of literature out there on this topic, so I am not going to try to encapsulate it in a blog post, but I will steer anyone who would like to know more to the following books: THE CHINA STUDY
, by Campbell and GREEN FOR LIFE
by Boutenko.* I do eat raw organic honey on rare occasion--vegan police don't come after me!
** Gorillas eat about 3% insects, but it's 97% plant food otherwise.
