Prime Way to a Healthy Body and Mind

In a previous article I showed how the human body is reconstructed from the chemicals that that flow in and out, moment by moment.(1) Far from being a permanent structure, you and I are in a constant state of flux.

There is a specific mix that fits our genome correctly and when we regularly provide this mix plus the right stimulation from learning and physical activity the resulting expression is phenomenal – think of the musical genius of guitarist Paco de Lucia, the astounding ability of Oscar-Claude Monet to capture the essence of a scene and then produce art that delivers it right into your soul, then there’s the effortless power that is precisely timed, controlled and displayed by Usain Bolt. All of these talents and much, much more are expressions of the potential contained within the human genetic code.

Yet we live in a world where the majority of people, most of whom have the genomic power to approach or even exceed the few examples above do not provide themselves with the right materials to draw out and develop these innate abilities. In fact, they actually do the opposite – they seem content, even intent, on filling themselves with junk – junk food, junk information and junk lifestyles.

‘What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable’ ~ Socrates

This is not hyperbole, the typical UK resident is in pretty lousy shape – it’s estimated that 25% is suffering from metabolic syndrome, and 65% of men and 58% of women are overweight. There’s no way that you can optimally express your genome in that condition.

The chronic inflammation, excessive oxidation and Insulin resistance and many other physiological disturbances that accompanies metabolic syndrome and obesity causes brain damage and reduces brain function, it also impairs every part of the body from being able to function optimally or repair damage.

This is simple but clear evidence that people are allowing the wrong information into their bodies and minds.

As I’ve laid-out previously, a big part of the information-in equation is to get the basic structure right. That basic structure is the elemental nutrients that compose you and me.

The first four elements that we are made up of are oxygen, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen. The air that we breathe and the water we drink provides us with much of the oxygen and hydrogen which form 75% of our body; which is why it’s vital to drink clean water and breathe clean air. The carbon (18.5% of your structure) and nitrogen (3% of your structure) are provided by the proteins, fats and carbohydrates (macronutrients) that you eat. All together these four elements form 95% of your structure. So in combination with clean air and water, the quality of your basic macronutrients determines the quality of your body and your ability to release and realise your potential.

In the mid nineteenth century Gerardus Mulder extracted a substance from plant and animal tissue that he inferred was without doubt the most important of all substances of the Organic Kingdom and without it life on our planet would probably not exist.  Mulder named this substance Protein (from the Greek proteios, meaning ‘the first importance’).

Of the three macronutrients your first concern is to ensure that you obtain optimum protein. Like fats and carbohydrates, protein can provide carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, but unlike the other two, protein is the only macronutrient that can provide the nitrogen essential to life.

Protein forms the major part of the lean human body, on average 16%. Every single cell in our body contains protein. Muscles, connective tissue, blood cells, immune cells, the structure of your brain and eyes, even the internal support structure of your bones. All of your enzymes and many hormones are proteins too. Aside from water, it is the next most vital nutrient.

Every day your body is rebuilt by the proteins you eat, and unlike the fats (except the essential fatty acids) and carbohydrates that are far more easy come, easy go, the protein that you eat builds into your structure and is there for the life cycle of that cell. The protein in your skin is generally replaced every two weeks, which is why changes in nutrition are often noticeable there first as the quality of the tissue changes. The protein in your muscles on average takes approximately six months to turnover, so changes in quality take at least that long to reflect noticeable differences. Your bones turnover at a rate of about 12% per year, thus the cycle takes even longer to show changes in quality.

This is why it’s so important to eat quality protein every day, and avoid poor quality protein in the same breath. Your body’s primary objective is survival; it will make the most out of what you give it. So, if you provide your body with protein nutrition from a supermarket reformed sliced ham product which is as far away from real ham as you’d like to get, you are stuck with that inferior protein built into your structure for up to seven years, and it sets the limit of your genomic expression throughout that period.

Therefore quality protein nutrition is essential, but how do we know what quality protein is? There are methods that can measure and estimate protein quality based on their ability to support body growth and maintenance. The four main methods are the chemical score, the protein efficiency ratio (PER), the protein digestibility corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) and the biological value (BV). They all have their uses – however the biological value is the most relevant in many cases. Biological value measures how efficiently a food protein is turned into body tissue – the higher the score the more efficiently that protein is retained.

These are the proteins you should seek if you want to excel.

Up until about 30 years ago the highest biological value protein food was whole eggs, which scored 100 percent. However, with advances in technology food scientists were able to extract high quality whey protein from cow’s milk, and depending on the method of extraction, were achieving scores approaching 180. Obviously, you can’t exceed 100%, so the scores above this level had to be limited to 100%, but as a non-percentage score, you can see that whey proteins were superior to all other protein foods.

Does providing your body with these quality proteins really make a difference to health? A growing body of evidence certainly gives weight to the premise. Here’s a representative sample of studies that show that whey protein may have a significant effect on many of the symptoms and causes of metabolic diseases.

Several studies have found a relationship between whey protein intake and improvement in insulin sensitivity and lipid profile with possible increase of energy expenditure.(2,3) These findings alone warrant further investigation from those displaying signs of obesity, type ll diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Of particular interest of those who are either confirmed type ll diabetic or in a pre-diabetic condition, whey protein may be a possible utility to reduce insulin resistance due the increase in secretion of GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide-1) and to reduce serum glucose and insulin levels.(4,5)

Whey protein intake was also found to be associated with a reduction blood pressure by inhibition of ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) enzyme and possibly via lower body weight gain in individuals that habitually consumed whey.(6) Therefore, whey protein may be considered extremely important for the control of hypertension.

Whey has also been shown to reduce the expression of inflammatory and oxidative stress markers, which underlie the majority of all disease and ageing.(6-10) Anything that can reduce the burden of excess inflammation and oxidative stress is a boon for health and performance.

As a food base for protein nutrition, it appears that whey is the premium source for optimal expression of the human genome. I and all the high level performing people I consult with use whey protein everyday to provide ourselves with the best protein we know of to ensure that our bodies are receiving the right nutritional information to express our genetic heritage.

If you would like to begin to see how deep your potential is, you may want to consider whey as an essential tool for your discovery.

Here’s the product I use everyday: Whey Protein

References:

1- http://humanperformanceconsulting-uk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/real-body-composition.html

2- Pichon L, Potier M, Tome D, Mikogami T, Laplaize B, Martin-Rouas C, Fromentin G. High-protein diets containing different milk protein fractions differently influence energy intake and adiposity in the rat. Br J Nutr. 2008;99:739–748.

3- Mortensen LS, Hartvigsen ML, Brader LJ, Astrup A, Schrezenmeir J, Holst JJ, Thomsen C, Hermansen K. Differential effects of protein quality on postprandial lipemia in response to a fat-rich meal in type 2 diabetes: comparison of whey, casein, gluten, and cod protein. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;90:41–48. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2008.27281.

4- Frid AH, Nilsson M, Holst JJ, Bjorck IM. Effect of whey on blood glucose and insulin responses to composite breakfast and lunch meals in type 2 diabetic subjects. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005;82:69–75.

5- Veldhorst MA, Nieuwenhuizen AG, Hochstenbach-Waelen A, van Vught AJ, Westerterp KR, Engelen MP, Brummer RJ, Deutz NE, Westerterp-Plantenga MS. Dose-dependent satiating effect of whey relative to casein or soy. Physiol Behav. 2009;96:675–682. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2009.01.004.

6- Pal S, Ellis V. The chronic effects of whey proteins on blood pressure, vascular function, and inflammatory markers in overweight individuals. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2010;18:1354–1359. doi: 10.1038/oby.2009.397.

7- Kume H, Okazaki K, Sasaki H. Hepatoprotective effects of whey protein on D-galactosamine-induced hepatitis and liver fibrosis in rats. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2006;70:1281–1285. doi: 10.1271/bbb.70.1281.

8- Zavorsky GS, Kubow S, Grey V, Riverin V, Lands LC. An open-label dose–response study of lymphocyte glutathione levels in healthy men and women receiving pressurized whey protein isolate supplements. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2007;58:429–436. doi: 10.1080/09637480701253581.

9- Chitapanarux T, Tienboon P, Pojchamarnwiputh S, Leelarungrayub D. Open-labeled pilot study of cysteine-rich whey protein isolate supplementation for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis patients. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2009;24:1045–1050. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1746.2009.05865.x.

10- de Aguilar-Nascimento JE, Prado Silveira BR, Dock-Nascimento DB. Early enteral nutrition with whey protein or casein in elderly patients with acute ischemic stroke: a double-blind randomized trial. Nutrition. 2011;27:440–444. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2010.02.013.