Are Meats Better Weight Loss Foods Than Vegetables?

Protein is one of the best weight loss foods.

But should you get that protein from meat or from soy and other plant foods?

The answer may surprise you!


All Protein is Not Created Equal

All proteins consist of a linear chain of molecules known as amino acids. There are twenty different amino acids contained in human proteins. However, our bodies can only make twelve of these. The remaining eight must be obtained from our diet.

While both plant and animal foods contain protein, only animal proteins contain all the amino acids we need. These proteins are known as “complete” proteins.

Unlike the animal proteins, plant proteins are usually “incomplete”. That is, they lack one or more essential amino acids.

Corn protein, for example, lacks the amino acids lysine and tryptophan, while rice protein lacks the amino acids lysine and threonine. Even soy protein, which is one of the highest quality plant proteins, is low in the amino acid methionine.

And these additional amino acids make animal foods better weight loss foods than plants.



Why Animal Products Are Better Weight Loss Foods

While dietitians may tell you that it is possible to obtain all the essential amino acids you need by combining various plant foods, in truth, you may not be getting enough of these essential compounds unless you eat animal products.

This is because, in addition to being the building blocks of proteins, several essential amino acids have important metabolic roles. And these roles can affect weight loss.

For example, the amino acid leucine is thought to play a role in the regulation of muscle synthesis and in insulin and glucose metabolism - two processes that are vital to both losing weight and maintaining weight loss.

But these actions require levels of leucine that are higher than those typically achieved on a vegetarian diet.




Other Health Effects of High Protein Foods

In addition to losing out in the weight loss arena, not having sufficient animal protein your diet can adversely affect your health in other ways.

For example, diets that are high in animal protein have been shown to reduce the incidence of hip fractures in the elderly. But this does not appear to be the case with diets that are high in vegetable protein.

In fact, many studies have shown that vegans have an increased risk of hip fracture. This increased risk of fracture is thought to be due to the relative lack of the essential amino acids lysine and leucine in the vegan diet.

If you aren’t getting your protein from animal sources you may be missing out on several other important nutrients as well.

Diets that do not include animal foods typically fail to meet even the minimal recommended daily allowance (RDA) values for certain essential vitamins and minerals including calcium, iron, and vitamin B-12. High protein animal-based diets, on the other hand, generally exceed RDA requirements for these nutrients.

While shortages of these nutrients may not cause symptoms that are immediately apparent, they are damaging. A deficiency of vitamin B12, for example, is thought to be a major cause of DNA damage, a key step in the development of cancer.

DNA damage is minimized when blood levels of B12 are greater than 300 pmol per liter – a concentration that can be achieved without supplementation by following an animal-based high protein diet, but not by following a vegetarian diet.




Chicken, Fish, or Steak?

Over the past several years we have come to view certain animal foods as being more healthful than others.

Fish, particularly the cold water varieties such as salmon, tuna, mackerel and herring have emerged as some of the most healthful foods because of their relatively high content of omega-3 fatty acids. These fatty acids help reduce inflammation and the risk of heart attack and stroke.

And, as studies with fish oil are now showing, they are also weight loss foods because they increase fat oxidation!

Unfortunately, many fish found in supermarkets today are farmed fish, whose fatty acid composition varies depending on what they have been fed.

Some of these farmed fish have also been found to have unacceptably high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs. PCBs have been linked to the development of several types of cancer. Because of this, most experts advise eating wild-caught fish rather than farmed fish.

However, thanks to the industrial pollution of our waterways, even wild fish pose potential health risks since they can contain unacceptably high levels of mercury. The American Heart Association currently recommends limiting consumption of fish to prevent the accumulation of these contaminants.

Fortunately, you can also increase your intake of these weight loss foods by taking fish oil supplements. Fish oil supplements consist of oils extracted from fatty fishes. And you can purchase fish oil supplements that have been proven to be free from environmental contaminants.


More Omega-3 Weight Loss Foods

In addition to taking fish oil supplements, you can also increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids by eating meat from grass or range-fed animals rather than from grain-fed animals.

Beef, poultry and wild game that eat their natural diet have a healthier composition of fats with much higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids than grain-fed animals.

So, if you select meat and eggs from wild game, grass-fed cows and range-fed poultry you will also increase your consumption of these healthy fatty acids.

Naturally-fed animals are also leaner than their grain-fed counterparts, have less saturated fat, and are generally raised without the use of hormones or antibiotics which can also accumulate in the animals tissues.

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