LogFAQs > #901395826

Darkman124 posted...

definitely interested in the research, and i have the licenses, so please do share.

some of this i was aware of (animal protein influences on gut microbes, charred meat carcinogens) though i had understood that to be a result of frequency and not just in general

i was very much not aware that animal protein had a poor nutritional amino acid profile and was under the opposite assumption--that it was more complete than plant protein profiles.

Yeah there's a decent amount of research on microbe shifts, the chemicals they excrete, and what occurs when someone following a vegan diet eats meat vs someone that's built a poor microbe profile from daily meat consumption.

But if you're interested in the complete protein meme, here's what I've got.

A complete protein simply means it contains all 9 essential amino acids. It speaks nothing to the ratio of each. Because we're allowed to eat more than one food, it doesn't matter if one protein is complete - you can mix and match foods to get the amino acid ratios you desire. There are also several plants that are complete proteins: soybeans, quinoa, buckwheat, tons of seeds, etc. I prefer to mix.

Meat/egg protein profiles are methionine heavy. A standard 6-8oz chicken breast will give you 3-4x your needed methionine while only simply meeting other amino acid requirements.

Methionine restriction has shown increased longevity across all animal studies. Mechanistically it's down regulating mTOR activity. A decrease in serum GH/IGF-1 levels, transcription of mitochondrial proteins, and reactive oxygen species production is also shown.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5008916/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0531556513000612?via%3Dihub#bb0255

Excess methionine plays a role in several cancers.

Normal cells can convert homocysteine to methionine. Cancer cells need much more methionine than normal cells do and cannot convert enough methionine they need. Cancer cells depend on methionine because it is required in polyamine synthesis. Polyamine plays an important role in cell growth and its level has been associated with colon, lung, prostate skin and breast cancers. Cancer cells cannot produce enough polyamine in methionine deprivation. Especially, methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) is involved polyamine synthesis from methionine. Loss of MTAP expression has been observed in many cancer cell lines including TNBC. The cancers which lose MTAP expression required methionine and cannot grow in methionine deprivation.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5341870/

So how do plant sources of complete proteins match up with the chicken?
Per gram, soybeans yield equivalent or higher amounts of each essential amino acid, but with the exception of having 1/3rd of the methionine. Combine that with fiber, superior vitamins/minerals, promoting positive microbes, and not becoming more cancerous after cooking: plant power bowls make animal protein a poor nutritional choice.
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https://imgur.com/hI4hAMb