The Dark Side of Protein

In the past weeks, I have discussed the benefits of protein, and explained why it is of the utmost importance to get your daily intake of protein. But there is a dark side. Proteins can be harmful if over consumed or by consuming denatured proteins.

Protein is damaged by heat. If it is heated too long or exposed to very high heat, it becomes carcinogenic (so does creatine). Most people eat damaged, denatured protein, such as hamburger. Frying or cooking animal protein in an open container or oven tends to dry it out and ruin the protein.

It is easy to know if you are not getting enough protein. Your performance will decline, your recovery rate will decline, and you will loose muscle mass. What many people do not realize is that it can be dangerous to get too much protein. It is definitely not a case of "if a little is good, a lot must be better." There is a fine line between too much and not enough. Especially when you are consuming too much of the denatured protein.

Excess amino acids in the body not used in the structure are converted to non-toxic carbon-dioxide and water. It is also, however, converted into ammonia which is highly toxic to the body. The body will protect itself from the ammonia by converting it into urea. Urea is normally excreted by the kidneys. However, if you eat too much, the kidneys will not be able to keep up, and the toxins will poison the blood.

Chronic elevated urea will cause inflamed kidneys. This can cause low back pain and general feeling of malaise. Unfortunately, unless the levels are really high your doctor will not be able to detect this with normal tests. The best way to detect it is with a BUN (blood urea nitrogen) test. According to Dr. Richard Passwater, a BUN score of 10-14 mg/dl is a measure of good health. a BUN of over 21 may indicate poor health. High BUN may also be caused by dehydration. However, if your hydration is good, you are feeling off, and your BUN is over 21 mg/dl, try reducing your protein intake.

Remember, that if we over cook and denature our protein, we also dehydrate the protein. This dehydration of the meat is cause of almost all the dangers of ammonia production from the nitrogen in the amino acids. Sashimi (raw fish), is one of the safest and biologically efficient ways to consume protein "naturally" because it preserves the water content. Water is the medium used to excrete urea, which ammonia is converted into, but without sufficient water in the body, it is retained and causes damage.

Eating dry overcooked animal flesh, or for that matter, dry bread or any food robbed of its natural inherent water, will cause problems, especially if you are dehydrated to begin with, which most of us are. Smoking, alcohol, coffee and many prescription & OTC medications only add insult to injury, because they encourage dehydration. This is why I focus on hydration principles even before getting into food, especially for athletes.

Next week, I will cover protein supplementation and the use of whey protein isolates.