Animal Protein

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ChrisGreaves
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Animal Protein

Post by ChrisGreaves »

I’m asking for personal preference/actions here, not a Google Search; I know how to search with Google (well, most of the time) but I’m more interested in Lounger’s beliefs:

I buy chicken breast at $7.50 per kilogram; I buy fish at $5.00 per kilogram. Fish is about 2/3 the price of chicken, by weight.
Both chicken and fish are a source of protein (and other good stuff, but let’s stick to protein for now).
I know/believe that my gut is very good at dis-assembling proteins and building them into useful stuff, like other proteins, DNA/RNA, liver cells, kidney cells, and skin cells to paper over the gash in my thumb from when the knife slipped.
I think of protein as a basic “stuff” that goes into the blast furnace.

In your opinion (not some anonymous web-based blogger) does it really make any difference whether I get my protein from chicken or from fish?

I know too that I can eat vegetable protein, and that other flesh has protein, but suppose I was restricted to EITHER chicken OR fish as my sole source of protein; should I go for the $5 stuff, or is the $7.50 stuff much better?
I have a sneaking suspicion that someone is going to tell me that the closer the flesh is to my flesh, the better it is (in terms of getting so much Oomf out of so much energy of digestion) so, grass is worse than beans, then comes fish, poultry, beef, chimpanzee and best of all would be other humans, but let’s not go there).
Oh yes, also variety is good (which is why, right now, I buy both chicken AND fish, and ground beef/pork for meat sauce ...)
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HansV
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Re: Animal Protein

Post by HansV »

ChrisGreaves wrote:... the closer the flesh is to my flesh, the better it is (in terms of getting so much Oomf out of so much energy of digestion) so, grass is worse than beans, then comes fish, poultry, beef, chimpanzee and best of all would be other humans ...
Hmmm. I don't think cows would flourish on a diet of beef...
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Hans

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BobH
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Re: Animal Protein

Post by BobH »

HansV wrote:
ChrisGreaves wrote:... the closer the flesh is to my flesh, the better it is (in terms of getting so much Oomf out of so much energy of digestion) so, grass is worse than beans, then comes fish, poultry, beef, chimpanzee and best of all would be other humans ...
Hmmm. I don't think cows would flourish on a diet of beef...
Isn't that what brought on 'mad cow disease' that required the herds in the UK be destroyed? As I remember it, the beef cadavers were being dried and turned into a type of feed or feed supplement. Infected animals apparently were sent through the process thus exposing all herds.
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Rudi
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Re: Animal Protein

Post by Rudi »

Does it really make a difference?
I'd say: Nope! :nope: (It's more a thing of thing of preference, IMHO)

BTW: All this talk of protein and no mention of BBQ :drop:
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Rudi

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ChrisGreaves
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Re: Animal Protein

Post by ChrisGreaves »

HansV wrote:Hmmm. I don't think cows would flourish on a diet of beef...
Bob H :clapping: got in before me!
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ChrisGreaves
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Re: Animal Protein

Post by ChrisGreaves »

Rudi wrote:Does it really make a difference?
I vaguely think that way too.
I suspect some scientist with one of those little porcelain crucibles that render everything down to ashes, and armed with pipettes and ground-glass stoppered bottles etc could probably measure and come up with some idea.

But then I think us omnivores have evolved to have "machinery" that copes with a wide variety of foods so that any difference amounts to little more than switching the protein onto a different "conveyor belt".
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BobH
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Re: Animal Protein

Post by BobH »

My recollections of the physiology and anatomy classes I took lo these many years ago is that proteins are basically amino acids. I suspect, but cannot state unequivocally that amino acids differ in some respects depending on their source and that the amount of amino acids differs in various protein sources. The digestive system - and others - break proteins down into amino acids then use the ones the body 'needs' at the moment and passes others along to other bodily functions where some are stored and some ultimately excreted.

My suspicion is that Chris' original question as to whether one source of protein is inherently better than another cannot not be answered definitively except in the context of the general conditions vis a vis amino acids in a particular body at a particular time. What might be appropriate and good for one individual might not be good for another. Furthermore, the source of protein for amino acids might have genetic effects over time, too. IIRC the Japanese get most of their protein from seafood whereas Americans get much more from beef, pork and poultry and rather less from seafood. I've read reports that these 'might' account for differences in average stature and body mass index in populations.

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PJ_in_FL
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Re: Animal Protein

Post by PJ_in_FL »

Depending on the specific species of fish, i.e. not mercury-laden tuna (non-albacore), bottom feeder like catfish, or farm-raised salmon, then the fish is the better choice due to the high content of the omega series fats.

Chicken (of course not breaded and fried!!!!) is still a healthy choice when baked. I enjoyed using the George Forman grill to reduce the retained grease for a healthy addition to my evening salad / meal. Also, growing up in land-locked Kentucky, and on a farm with 20,000 chickens (two egg-laying houses with 10,000 chickens each), chicken was on the table far more than fish, if you don't count tuna sandwiches.

Only in my advanced years (I won't say adult because I still act like a kid, just ask the SO) have I begun to appreciate the health advantages of ocean-caught fish, but I still prefer baked chicken to grouper any day, especially with a healthy coating of thyme and oregano seasoning.

My 2 cents worth for your eternal enjoyment... :evilgrin:
PJ in (usually sunny) FL

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ChrisGreaves
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Re: Animal Protein

Post by ChrisGreaves »

BobH wrote:...break proteins down into amino acids then use the ones the body 'needs' at the moment and passes others along to other bodily functions where some are stored and some ultimately excreted.
Thanks Bob.
I think this is the bit that tells me that the body(gut) takes care of differences between proteins/amino acids and does a reasonable job of balancing requirements.
Which I interpret as "it makes little difference whether I get my protein from poultry or fish(1)"
... What might be appropriate and good for one individual might not be good for another. ...
Agreed, too.
I have no special dietary requirements (excepting for a need for me to spend less time wandering waddling up and down the ice-cream aisles) and I was thinking of the generic human being and their requirement for a fast source of protein (to be used as the fit body sees fit)
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Sadly no longer in use on the Frozen North :evilgrin: (so ... worthless!)

(1) I realise now I should have used generic "poultry" rather than "chicken"
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ChrisGreaves
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Re: Animal Protein

Post by ChrisGreaves »

PJ_in_FL wrote:... appreciate the health advantages of ocean-caught fish, but I still prefer baked chicken to grouper any day, ...
Agreed about Mercury et al. and all-other-things-being-equal.
I am now considering price (if poultry=fish in terms of benefits) and suspect that protein from fish is going to be much cheaper($$$) if only because you don't have to own land in order to harvest the protein; boats vs. jeeps it is true, and possibly greater risk to life, but then a packet of what is essentially ocean-floor-sweepings is about half the price of boneless chicken breasts - even when they are on special at No Frills :grin:
My 2 cents worth for your eternal enjoyment... :evilgrin:
I am afraid that I shall have to refer you to my reply (above) to Bob.
Even if the two of you get together, four pennies here is about as useless as a [Moderator: Thanks Chris; no need to draw a picture ...]
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ChrisGreaves
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Re: Animal Protein

Post by ChrisGreaves »

BobH wrote:Isn't that what brought on 'mad cow disease' that required the herds in the UK be destroyed?
And then in today's Toronto Star

Most people who die from the rare, fatal brain disorder known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease can blame either bad genes or bad luck. Of the roughly 50 cases reported in Canada every year, more than 95 per cent are hereditary or “sporadic” — random.

But in the 1970s, doctors realized to their horror that some patients injected with human growth hormone, which was then extracted from the pituitary glands of cadavers, had contracted this neurological disease. The procedure — used on 30,000 people worldwide, mostly children with stunted statures — transmitted misfolded proteins called prions, which incubated for decades before triggering death.
(and on ...)
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BobH
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Re: Animal Protein

Post by BobH »

And here you can read more about how prions might possibly Alzheimers (I call it oldtimers) and infectious disease in humans.

As if I didn't have enough to be paranoid about . . . .

(Where's the tinfoil hat smiley?)
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