Rich Rolls advice on the protein myth.

There is a very strong belief in our meat and dairy culture that you need animal protein to be healthy. Check out the media - milk builds strong bones and beef + lamb is important for building muscle.  I still am yet to see someone hospitalised due to lack of protein. 

Protein is a crucial nutrient not only for building muscle tissue but also a whole range of bodily functions. Protein consists of around 20 different amino acids that the body can utilise (see my earlier article on protein). 9 of these can not be synthesised by our bodies and we need to ingest them (essential amino acids). These amino acids are originally synthesised by plants and are found in meat and dairy due to animals eating them. These essential amino acids are found in a wide variety of grains, nuts, see, vegetables, and legumes eg pinto and black beans, almonds, lentils, quinoa, spinach, and broccoli. 

We only need one out of every ten calories eaten to be protein (0.8-1.2g/kg of LEAN body weight). For an athlete during heavy periods of training you can supplement your diet with plant based protein powders. Spiralina (protein content of 60-70% of weight )with pea and hemp powders work well. Having more than ten percent of your calories as protein won't have many beneficial effects. In fact excessive protein will be used as an inefficient energy source or be converted to fat pus it stresses your liver.

Some of the strongest most powerful animals in the world are plant based. The elephant, rhino, hippo, and gorilla get 100% of their protein from plants. 

Over the last 18 months I've found a predominantly plant based diet with a decreasing amount of meat has helped me recover from training better, feel more energised, and get lean with little effort. If you want improved health and therefore performance try and increase you vegetable and fruit intake and decreased your meat consumption. In my experience you have to start decreasing your meat intake to start to be open to the idea.