Answer these simple questions for yourself
Do you want to build your dream house with weak foundation, low quality cement and bricks or sub-standard wood. Imagine that you would choose to build a house with improper foundation and low quality building materials. Will the house stand? Answer is Yes. Will you be able to live in the house? Answer is Yes. Will you be able to have a peaceful and problem free time in that house? The answer is most probably ‘Not’. Because we all could imagine what problems we might face in a badly built house. The house might periodically get into structural issues like cracks, water seepages, plumbing and electrical issues, furniture repairs etc.
Now let’s make an analogy with our own temple called our body. Our body is a highly complex machine handling some millions for biological reactions and activities in a second. Processed foods with added preservatives, artificial flavors and colors, refined carbohydrates with no nutrient value, sugar and sugary foods, deep fried foods etc. are highly inflammatory and unhealthy. Despite having an unhealthy and irregular diet, we do survive and can continue with our life but with a lot of breaks in between which are filled with pain, distress, disease and misery.
We need the best quality fats—our brain is 60 percent fat, our nerve coverings are all made from fat, every one of your 10 trillion cells is wrapped in a little fatty membrane. Fats are used in the making of hormones and certain enzymes in our bodies. Do you want to eat healthy fats from natural foods and unrefined oils or do you want to get the unhealthy fat from deep fried foods and processed foods?
We also need the best quality protein. The body makes most of its important molecules from protein including muscle, cells, and immune molecules. Not all protein is the same. The best type of protein to build muscle is other muscle—animal protein. You can get protein from plant foods, but the quality is lower and it has lower levels of key amino acids needed to synthesize new muscle, especially the branched chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine and also lysine and Sulphur based amino acids). There are also compounds such as phytates in plant proteins like beans and nuts that impair protein absorption. Rather than being turned into muscle, plant proteins are often just burned as calories.
If you are vegan, especially as you age, you need to ensure you get these by increasing the overall volume of protein rich plant foods, adding protein powders, and supplementing with BCAA. If you want to eat less meat and include more plant proteins, combining them helps the body utilize the plant protein.
Importantly don’t forget all the vitamins and minerals we need to build tissues, muscles, and bones, including Vitamin B complex, Vitamin C, vitamin D3 + K2, calcium, magnesium, Zinc and more. Next time you chomp down on something, ask yourself if you are fine with it becoming part of you for the long term. If not, don’t eat it and find the best quality ingredients you can, ingredients that help you thrive.
*Do read the Disclaimer