Incorporating organic protein powder into your diet is of the best things you can do to maintain a naturally healthy lifestyle. Whether you are a protein connoisseur, a weight lifting muscle builder, or just a vegan trying to get a proper balance, the right protein powder for your body can make or break your sense of balance and well being. Let’s first discuss why a protein supplement may be right for you, and then we’ll dive into the importance of going organic, especially when it pertains to protein powder!
The Power of Protein Powder
Protein is one of the three essential macronutrients necessary for the body’s basic functioning. Carbohydrates and fats are the other two. It is rather difficult for the average eater to get the right balance of macronutrients without a protein supplement, especially if they are vegan or vegetarian! But what exactly is protein? How much do you really need?
At it’s most basic form, protein is made of large molecules of amino acids. It’s biggest role is to tend to muscle tissue: building, repairing, and maintaining. Protein is essential in helping to prevent muscle loss and trim fat. It can help strengthen bones and is used in basic physical functions. These functions include the production of hormones, nucleic acids, immunity, enzymes, and cell building blocks. Without enough protein, strained or worked muscles cannot heal as fast, putting you at risk of injury. As you can see, protein is absolutely essential to a healthy body!
Because protein functions to grow muscle and body tissues, it is particularly essential for young children, pregnant women, someone who is injured, or are recovering from surgery. More commonly, protein is important if you are active and consistently breaking down muscle to build it back up.
It is hard to say exactly how much protein each person should consume throughout the day. The total required intake of healthy protein a person needs depends on their size including their height and weight, their gender, and their activity level. In general, you can suppose that you need between 20 and 30 grams of protein per meal, if you are eating three meals a day.
Per pound of body weight, you can bet on between 0.5 and 0.8 grams of protein needed for optimal muscle recovery and maintenance, depending on your activity level and your muscle building goals. That means a 200 pound man aiming for maximum protein intake would need about 160 grams of protein per day! That’s a whole lot, especially if you are vegan or vegetarian! A 125 pound woman with moderate activity levels (0.65 grams per pound) would need about 81 grams per day!
Thankfully, lots of delicious and nutritious fruits, vegetables, and grains include a ton of protein. Great sources of protein include quinoa, lentils, chia seeds, nutritional yeast, nuts, buckwheat, wild rice, seeds, spinach, broccoli, and oatmeal. But often times getting all the way to 80 or 150 grams of protein with food alone is difficult. Enter the need for protein powder supplements!
A protein shake adds between 16 and 25 grams of protein to your meal, helping you achieve the best balance of fats, carbohydrates, and protein in each eating. It is very important to eat balanced meals and snacks, to be sure that your body can properly absorb all of the vitamins and minerals it needs.
It is also very good for your body to consume protein steadily throughout the day. Commonly, people will consume a moderate amount of protein at breakfast, a tiny bit at lunch, and the majority of protein at dinner time. The truth is that your body can only really absorb so much protein at one time. Taking it all in with a steak at dinner will only give you a portion of what your body needs throughout the day. The rest will be disposed of as waste.
Thankfully, there are excellent protein powder options for you to choose from. Here you can read about the importance of vegan protein powder. Read on to learn why organic protein powder, whether vegan or not, is important!
8 Reasons to Make it Organic Protein Powder
The organic food market continues to expand and reach even the smallest mom and pop grocery stores. Many people have become very skeptical of organics, thinking the concept is an unnecessary scam to over charge even up to $10 a pound for grapes. Is there any truth in organic products?
Experts agree that there really is such a thing as non-organic foods. These are the foods that are not naturally found on the earth in the wild. Non-organic foods have either been contaminated with chemicals, pesticides, or have been genetically modified to be different than they were created to be. Here are just 8 of many reasons to choose organic products, and organic protein powder, over other conventional choices.
1. Pure and Natural – GMO Free
First, organic protein powder is pure and natural: GMO Free! GE (Genetically Engineered) food, and GM (Genetically Modified Organisms) are not organic. They are not naturally found on the earth without human technological intervention. Both GE foods and GMOs are contaminating the greater supply of food in today’s world. Think about a whole bunch of black sheep mating with your white sheep. Eventually you won’t have any purely white sheep anymore. The same is happening with the organic food crop all over the world! The worst part is that GMO and GE foods do not need to be identified or labeled in the United States. Thankfully, we can know that foods labeled “Organic” by the USDA are neither genetically engineered or genetically modified. The pure and natural nature of USDA organic protein powder is our number one reason to choose organic!
2. Chemical Contamination
Next, we’ll consider the chemical contamination of non-organic protein powders. When you think of conventionally grown vegetables and foods, you may only be thinking of those foods that are directly consumed in your salad. We’re talking about carrots, celery, lettuce, greens, grains, fruits, etc. But the huge majority of pesticides that are consumed are those found in the fatty tissues of both dairy and meat products. That means your whey protein shake could be delivering chemical pesticides to your cells alone with whey protein! Chemical contamination affects both vegan protein powders and animal based products, but only if they are non-organic!
3. Antibiotics, Drugs, and Hormones – OH, MY!
The sad and disgusting truth of the animal product industry is that it is ripe with antibiotics, sex hormones, growth hormones, and other drugs. Those three are enough to make this our third reason to be sure your protein powder is organic! These chemicals are given to cattle and other animals to produce more milk and meat without requiring more food. These drugs and hormones cannot be broken down, and are essentially consumed along with the meat and dairy. Care for a side of antibiotic with your whey protein shake?
4. Overall Health and Nutrition
Many severe health problems associated with conventionally grown agriculture can be reduced and even eliminated by choosing organic. Foods that are organically grown include all of the micronutrients, minerals, vitamins and enzymes naturally found in balanced soil. Interesting studies have shown a significantly higher nutritional value of foods that are organically grown than those that are industrial or conventionally grown. Organic vegetables, fruits, and grains contain even up to thirty percent more essential vitamins and minerals than conventionally grown varieties. No wonder organic foods taste better!
5. Agricultural Preservation
Today’s farms are heavily dependent on just a handful of products that you can probably name within a few minutes. These products include corn, wheat, soybeans, and oatmeal. What is disturbing is that a high level of GMO technology has been used to manipulate agribusiness. Not to mention all of the pesticides that are regularly used in the growing and processing of these foods. It is very difficult to find products in the grocery store that do not include one or more of these damaged goods. While industrial farmers focus on just one crop they can grow in mass, organic farmers almost always rely on the historical truth and proof behind crop rotation. This simple method of farming is safe and necessary to improve the natural fertility of the soil and decrease the need for pesticides. Organic farmers also typically grow a wide variety of foods that can grow more abundantly indigenously. Foods naturally grown in a region will be more tolerant of local pests and weather. So when you are buying organic protein powder, you are support agricultural preservation, too!
6. Environmental Damage
Let’s talk about fresh water. Chemicals from agriculture that are flushed into the water table directly impact the quality of water coming out of your faucet. Water contaminated by pesticides will need to be further treated with chemicals to purify it. Also consider the water cycle and how contaminated water evaporated from an industrial farms can rain down hundreds of miles away. The more organic products and farming is supported, the more pressure on industries to refrain from their unethical practices.
Pesticides and chemical fertilizers also contaminate the natural balance of the surrounding soil. Once the soil is poisoned, plants including fruits and vegetables cannot easily be grown without other chemicals to return balance to the system. Thankfully, organic farming demands appropriate management of pure water and healthy rich soil.
7. Eco-Friendly
Chemicals used in farming not only impact the immediate environment including the soil, fresh air, and water, but the animals who rely on the natural balance of the ecology. Insects, wildlife, frogs, soil organisms, and birds are all significantly impacted by industrial farming. They can be poisoned and caused to move out of their natural habitats. Many species have been so impacted by industrial farming that they are in danger of becoming endangered, or even extinct. Organic farming supports the health of all animals, allowing them and us to play out our appropriate roles in the environment.
8. Directly Support Farms
Lastly, a organic protein powder purchases directly support local farms. Many people don’t realize the great cost associated with non-organic farming. These costs include, but are not limited to expensive hazardous waste cleanup, pesticide regulation, taxes, and government subsidies. So you can take it to the bank that your 50 cent head of cabbage is actually costing the American economy an additional $2.50. If you purchase an organic product, though you are paying the overall cost of three dollars, or close to it, more of that portion goes directly to the farmer. Organic farming does not include a need for government subsidies, pesticides, or hazardous waste cleanup. So organic protein powder, which supports organic farming, is not only a healthier choice, it is a more ethical choice!
Organic Protein Powder
As you can see, not only is protein powder an important addition to a healthy diet, but organic protein powder is a must. Don’t undo the good done to your body by the addition of a protein powder supplement by introducing toxic chemicals and contamination to your system. If you are going to take the steps to get fit and maintain a healthy lifestyle, use organic protein powder.
To learn more about the importance of organic protein powder, and for other tips and information about living a vegan organic lifestyle, check out our home page!
