A perennial question is, "How do I get my protein if I go on a total juice diet?"

As stated elsewhere, I don't advise going on a total juice diet unless one is physically unable to take solid food or is trying to combat disease, but I have gleaned that properly made fresh juices contain adequate quantities of protein to sustain the body in perfect health.

In a total raw juice diet there are adequate amounts of protein, carbohydrates, fat and all the vitamins and minerals, so you don't have to go to the animal kingdom to get them. Raw vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts provide all the nutrients required to maintain sparkling good health.

Don't allow anyone to tell you that you will suffer nutritional deficiencies if you do not eat meat, because tens of thousands of healthy vegetarians have not been eating meat for years. However, a vegetarian usually is 10 to 15% lighter in weight than a carnivore.

Do you know how much protein is required by the human body per day? Well, it is much less than you probably think. Furthermore, it has been proven that a diet with excess protein can be dangerous to your health.

Going back to the time of Voit, it was believed that 118 grams of protein was the amount required for a man weighing 70 kilos. Then Chittenden laid down the thesis that 35 to 50 grams per day was sufficient. The National Research Council claims 70 grams. However, Dr. William C. Rose, of Northwestern University, established that somewhere between 20 to 35 grams was the correct amount. From my own reading and studying, I'm quite satisfied that one ounce of protein — good protein — per day is optimum and it need not be animal protein either.

Now the protein you ingest should not be chemically-extracted soy protein because the protein quality has been impaired by the hexane solvent used to release the oil from the soy beans. I stress, chemically-extracted soy protein is not only poor protein but it is definitely harmful. Don't be fooled by the food processors and their supporters — often hired university professors. Your protein needs to be complete and unimpaired by chemical treatments, actions and reactions. Do not accept less than the best for your health and well-being.

From my own actual experience and from my reading and observations, I reached the conclusion more than 10 years ago that there is adequate protein in a diet consisting of 100% raw vegetables, raw cereals, raw fruits and raw nuts .... and a more complete protein than in even the best meat. Now if I had dared make such a statement 25 or more years ago, I would not only have been ridiculed but I probably would have been charged under some law or other for making a contribution to the degeneration of mankind. However, year by year and day by day, research data comes out to prove that there is excellent, if not superior protein in vegetables, grains, fruits and nuts.

It may be necessary for one to live on juices for a period of days or even weeks and sometimes months, but I do not advise or encourage this. A raw fresh juice diet is wonderful when it is needed, especially in the threat of serious illness or disease, but I stress that as soon as possible adequate raw vegetables, fruits, cereals and nuts should be taken to protect you against any possible deficiencies.

If you have any doubts about there being sufficient protein in raw vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts, or raw vegetable and fruit juices, I would suggest that you have no cause for worry because there are stacks and stacks of good proof available.

The following are some valuable excerpts from "Live Food Juices" by H. E. Kirschner, M.D.:

"In a book 'The Nutrition of Man,' the distinguished physiological chemist, Dr. Russell Chittenden of Yale University, calls attention to the fact that the American diet is far too high in protein, and especially meat protein. This noted scientist proved conclusively that not only could the daily amount of protein be reduced to as low as 50 grams or less, but also proved that such a 'lowering of the protein greatly increased the health, endurance, and working power of the individual.' ...

"In his thesis on 'PROTEINS,' Lloyd K. Rosenvold, M.D., of Montrose, Colorado, agrees with Drs. Newburgh, Chittenden, and Stare. He states that 'A few years ago it was thought that a high protein diet (100-150 grams per day) was essential. Recent information, however, seems to indicate that if good quality protein is used the total amount need not be so great ... Vegetarians, though sometimes impaired in efficiency, thrive on 40-60 grams of protein at 70 Kilograms body weight. A case illustrative of this was a physician, aged 48, who maintained normal physical ability and normal chemical composition of the blood on a daily caloric intake of 1600-1800 calories, and a daily protein intake of only 30-40 grams. His only source of animal protein was 80 cc. of milk daily.

"'Another physician, Dr. C. Rose, lived for fifteen years with a daily intake of 38-40 grams of protein, and during this period, without signs of unusual fatigue or exhaustion, climbed twenty-two mountain peaks, including the formidable Matterhorn.'

"From the American Journal of Public Health, I present a report from Dr. Frederick J. Stare and George W. Thorn as follows: 'Interesting data on dietary protein and signs of protein deficiency have recently been reported by Youmans. Out of a group of approximately 1,100 individuals in Tennessee that were studied in considerable detail, there were some 40% who had a dietary protein intake of less than 50 grams daily. In these 450 individuals who had been receiving less than 50 grams of protein per day, probably for most of their lives, only 5 subjects or less than 1% had clinical evidence of protein deficiency. Furthermore, the caloric intake of these individuals was in general low, and it is entirely possible that with an adequate caloric intake no signs of protein deficiency would have occurred."'

Here is the protein content of some of the vegetables and fruits frequently used in making juices. This list gives the number of grams per 100 grams of edible portion:

(tables missing due voluntary work)

Please note the substantial quantities of protein found in the above group of vegetables and fruits. Thus, when someone is on a juice diet and consumes from 2 pints to 2 gallons daily, the amount of protein derived therefrom is sufficient to maintain the body's requirements. That should lay to rest the question, "Where do I get my protein when I am on a diet of only fresh juices?" I usually drink a minimum of 1 pint of juice a day, along with my regular diet of whole raw vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts.

Remember, only 30 to 50 grams of protein is the daily necessity for good health and most people get much, much more than that .... especially those who are not vegetarians, which means at least 99% of the population of America. I consider good flesh vegetable protein to be the best protein but that is not the generally accepted opinion. My own personal protein intake is mainly vegetable.

One very important consideration is the fact that the protein in live fresh juices contains its full allotment of enzymes and, thus, is completely assimilable, whereas the protein in meat, which has been subjected to high heat or even burned, is impaired and its assimilability is doubtful.

Adam Brookover

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