Question: from Sam
How are you? I have a question about protein. A vegetarian diet does not have enough protein. Does Total Balance or any of your other products contain enough protein for the whole body? Thank you.
Answer: from Warren
This is an issue that is always subject to debate. Vegetarians will argue that you can get enough protein from vegetables, and indeed many scientists agree with them and would argue that we generally consume too much protein in a normal diet. On the other hand non vegetarians will argue the opposite. Although I am not a vegetarian I tend to side with the vegetarians on this issue…subject to certain caveats which I will raise in a moment.
One of these is that vegetarians are often deficient in Vitamin B12 as it is difficult to get enough of this vitamin from plant sources alone. But even more serious is another deficiency that vegetarians are subject to and in my opinion is a factor in many of them becoming old before their time and also often having health problems even though they appear to eat very healthy.
That deficiency is overlooked by almost everyone in these debates. The deficiency is carnosine. Carnosine as the name suggests is only present in meat…not in plants. It is the only substance that will help protect your body against excessive glycation. Glycation is every bit as dangerous as oxidation in the body and is arguably even more so. It is a significant factor in degenerative disease and glycation may well turn out to be the biggest influencing factor in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
To better understand why this is so please click here to learn more about it.
However, if a vegetarian is taking Total Balance then they don’t need to be concerned about either B12 deficiency or, most importantly glycation as every version of Total Balance contains L-Carnosine which is the glycation protector. Also because the tablets are enteric coated the Carnosine is not converted into a less potent derivative in the stomach.
The good news is, if you are a strict vegetarian or a vegan you don’t need to be concerned thinking that the carnosine that we use is from an animal source…it isn’t! It is grown naturally using bio-technology as are most quality vitamins these days.
So, in summary, if you are a vegetarian and are taking the full dose of Total Balance I would not be concerned about looking for extra protein intake. The Total Balance has a very broad range of amino acids and in conjunction with a vegetarian diet you will be fine.
Reader Comments (8)
Just to note that there was no link to this full blog entry in the email that went out containing the summary, likely due to a glitch in the blog emailing system?. People may not have read the rest of this important entry therefore, as the email only contains a few summary lines.
October 15, 2008 | Jo
Hi Warren,
In our household we eat meat once every day. We eat organic beef, lamb, chicken, a little pork and fish once a week. I would like to eat more fish but I'm concerned about polluted seas and, these days, most fish are farmed and I don't like farmed fish.
Considering what you are saying about vegetarians not having to worry about deficiency of L-carnosine and Vit B12 if taking Total Balance, I wonder if eating meat every day and taking TB I would be having too much of these substances in my body, to a point of being detrimental to my health. Your input would be very much appreciated.
Thanks,
Vera
October 22, 2008 | Vera
Hi Vera,
Not at all. You can eat all the meat you like and you will never overdose with Carnosine. There is still only a small amount in meat and really not enough to ensure adequate protection against glycation as we age. The amount that we use in Total Balance is to ensure that the body gets sufficient to help against glycation.
It does not matter if you still eat a lot of meat.
With regard to Vitamin B12 once again there is only minute amounts in meat and for that matter in Total Balance as well. You could ingest much higher doses in food and your body can handle it fine...it would just discard what it did not need.
When you eat natural foods that may be rich in a particular nutrient it is very rare to overdose with it. For example, you may have a love of kiwi fruit which is high in Vitamin C. Thats OK because your body can handle it OK when it is incorporated within the fruit...but, if Vitamin C is taken in isolation in high doses as per some supplements 2 - 3000 mgs a day then the body cannot handle it and you may get the opposite effect of what you are hoping for.
October 22, 2008 | Warren Matthews
Thank you for clarifying the matter for me Warren. That's what a imagined it to be, but I just want to be sure.
Vera.
October 23, 2008 | Vera
You say that the product is suitable for vegans, but vegans do not buy or use products that are tested on animals, or have ingredients that are tested on animals.
So are your products tested on animals or use any such ingredients?
I am vegan and would appreciate a response to this question, although I believe you probably do test on animals since it does not say otherwise.
April 9, 2009 | Jane
Hi Jane,
None of our products are ever tested on animals. Bear in mind though that our Omega 3 fish oil is from fish and the soft gels are gelatin. The gelatin is from bovine source. We never use anything from porcine source. Our tablets of course are free of anything from porcine or bovine source.
April 9, 2009 | Warren Matthews
I would like to know if the human body can synthesize any carnosine from precursor vitamins, amino acids, etc.that one can get by eating plant foods (the way it can with taurine and l-carnitine). If so, which ones?
April 16, 2009 | Mike
Hi Mike,
Carnonsine which is a dipeptide can be synthesized by the body from beta-alanine and L-Histidine. Problem is from a vegetarians point of view is that the best source of beta-alanine is actually from meat...the same source as carnosine.
April 28, 2009 | Warren Matthews