“Have you Seen Game Changers?”
Yes, I have.
Its a very good MOVIE.
Lets get that straight, it’s not really a documentary.
Much like Westside vs The World
It’s a MOVIE.
For entertainment purposes.
It’s not exactly an evenhanded, scientifically accurate, look at the world of the
“Plant Based Diet”
And by “Plant Based”, those in the movie seem to mean Vegan or Vegetarian.
TheIssue with These Types of Sciency Movies.
You only know, what you know.
Which also means,
You don’t know what you don’t know.
So the obvious question is,
How do you KNOW if the STORY you’re told is TRUE?
Before I get into it:
This is NOT about “ethics”.
If you choose not to eat animals or animal products for whatever reason, that’s great.
I’m 100% on board with people living their lfe the way they want.
That said, I’m not on board with pseudo science, errors of omission, and preying on emotions and shock value over just giving the entire picture with ALL the relevant information.
Here’s what I’m not going to do, a point by point refutation of every claim in the movie.
Ain’t nobody got time for that.
Except Dr. Ryan Lowry and he did an hour long video of that here.
Dr. Layne Norton who wrote 10,000 words about it here: The Game Changers Review: A Scientific Analysis
What I am going to do, bring up some things that I keep hearing and maybe the movie doesn’t explain throws out there as “proof” that a plant based diet is superior to all other diets.
Cows and Gorillas Eat Nothing But Plants, Animals Act as Protein “Middle Men”
“What most people don’t realize is that the animals they are eating are really just middlemen, since the majority of these animals get their protein from plants, where all protein originates. In fact, most of the largest and strongest animals on the planet, like elephants, rhinos, horses, and gorillas — are herbivores. And yet they get more than enough protein to build large muscles and maintain good health.”- Gamechangersmovie/protein
Lions eat nothing but meat and are the “Kings of the Jungle”.
See, how that works?
Neither catchy line means JACK SHIT if we’re comparing the diets of wild animals to human beings.
Why?
Cause they’re animals.
Complete with (different) ANIMAL DIGESTIVE TRACTS and we’re humans, with HUMAN digestive tracts.
“the majority of calories, nutrients, and protein that a cow absorbs comes not from the grass or hay it eats, but from trillions of little inhabitants living in its stomachs, going through a constant frenzy of growth, division, multiplying, and eventually dying.
A cow doesn’t eat grass. A cow eats bacteria, which grow on the grass that it ferments in its stomach. The reason that a cow eats grass is to provide a food source for its real meal — the bacteria. It’s the bacteria that break down the hard-to-digest cellulose in grass and convert it into a plethora of different amino acids, which in turn become the building blocks for creating a 1,200 pound animal.” – How Does a 1200 Pound Cow Get Enough Protein
Yes, cows eat grass to proliferate the bacteria in their gut WHICH ARE PROTEIN only to regurgitate those bacteria and eat them to digest the PROTEIN the bacteria are composed of.
I don’t think people do that, at least I hope not.
Cows have enzymes that break down cellulose (fiber), we don’t have.
So yeah, the whole, “Gorillas are jacked and don’t eat meat” is ignorant or dismissive of the biology at play. <—-that’s a nice way of saying this is a F-ing stupid argument.
This argument pretty much highlights,
You don’t know what you don’t know.
People Already Consume More than Enough Protein.
RDA’s are set for bedridden people to stave off a nutritional deficiency.
The RDA is NOT set for OPTIMAL human functions.
“A number of reports have challenged the concept of the RDA as a minimal requirement rather than a “recommended” intake of protein that is “allowed” and questioned whether more optimal health outcomes could be achieved with protein intakes greater than the RDA.”- Current Concepts and Unresolved Questions in Dietary Protein Requirements and Supplements in Adults
Athletes in training have especially heightened protein requirements,
“Current data suggest that dietary protein intake necessary to support metabolic adaptation, repair, remodeling, and for protein turnover generally ranges from 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg/day. Higher intakes may be indicated for short periods during intensified training or when reducing energy intake.” -Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and Athletic Performance
1.2 – 2.0 g/kg/day when training.
Me thinks that’s a bit more than the RDA (0.8 g/day/kg) to stave off a deficiency in a SEDENTARY person.
To say that most people, even athletes, get enough protein to sustain life is 100% correct.
Saying most people get enough protein to function optimally is NOT backed by the available evidence <—-that was my nice way of saying its B.S.
Look at All of These “Elite” Athletes Who are Plant Based!
ummmm,
Look at all the elite athletes who eat meat.
The preponderance of the evidence is that the VAST majority of elite athletes include animal based sources of proteins in their diets.
Usain Bolt says he ate 100 chicken nuggets a day before and while he was the fastest man alive.
If only they had been Beyond or Impossible nuggets, he may have actually taken flight…
If being “Plant Based” and eliminating animal protein was, superior for performance, elite athletes would all be “plant based”.
How Can I Be so Sure?
Elite athletics is BIG MONEY and fundamentally about one thing.
WININNG
If an entirely plant based diet was the key to performance, WININNG and securing that financial windfall associated with it wouldn’t it be prudent for EVERY ATHLETE to become “Plant Based”?
And It’s Not the “Stigma” Associated with Going Plant Based
Elite level athletes have loooonnnng been known to do a whole host of socially unfavorable and stigmatized, hell, illegal or plain stupid things to win.
Elite athletes are not normal people and they don’t think like “normal” people,
“Several years ago I handed out a questionnaire to several runners, asking: “If I could give you a pill that would make you an Olympic champion and also kill you in a year, would you take it?” More than half of the athletes answered they would take my magical pill.
Athletes sacrifice so much and put so much time and effort into attaining world-class level that they often lose sight of other goals. Many would pay any price to become the best.” – Death in The Locker Room
Normal people don’t take that bargain: Would you dope? A general population test of the Goldman dilemma
Elite Athletes are willing to die in ONE YEAR, but they wouldn’t be subjected to the stigma of eating only plants?
OooooKaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy……
There are a whole host of illegal things that athletes re willing to do even if it might kill them to win.
Head Trauma in contact sports,
“amongst elite athletes, reasons for doping include desire to win and financial gain, and admit that, as long as testing fails to be 100% effective in identifying drug users, the rewards for sporting success are such that this deficiency in testing will be exploited. Haugen goes even further in his game theoretic model, predicting that unless the likelihood of athletes being caught doping is raised to unrealistically high levels, or the payoffs for winning are reduced to unrealistically low levels, all athletes could be predicted to cheat” – The spirit of sport: the case for criminalisation of doping in the UK
Elite athletes do what it takes to win.
There is no data that supports “Plant Based” resulting in superior performance on the whole.
Citing anecdotal examples that fit your narrative is nice, but statistically irrelevant.
There is no stigma associated with being a vegan or vegetarian in sport, no one cares.
All anyone in elite sport cares about are the results.
To that point, several elite athletes have become “Plant Based” and achieved or sustained success.
So it’s also not to say athletes can’t successfully perform on a plant based diet.
It’s 100% possible.
And some do.
It’s just harder to meet all your nutritional needs.
“In general, vegan diets tend to be lower in Calories, protein, fat, vitamin B12, n-3 fats, calcium and iodine than omnivorous diets, whilst concurrently being higher in carbohydrates, fibre, micronutrients, phytochemicals and antioxidants. Achieving a high energy intake is difficult in some instances, owing to plant-based foods promoting satiety. Issues with the digestibility and absorption of nutrients such as protein, calcium, iron and zinc might be an issue too, meaning that athletes might need to consume higher amounts of these foods compared to omnivores and other vegetarians. However, through the strategic selection and management of food choices, and with special attention being paid to the achievement of energy, macro and micronutrient recommendations, along with appropriate supplementation, a vegan diet can achieve the needs of most athletes satisfactorily.” – Vegan diets: practical advice for athletes and exercisers
Which brings me to…
Plant Protein is Just as Good as Animal Protein.
“Another common misconception about protein, paid for again by marketing and lobbying dollars, is that the quality of plant protein is inferior, because plants apparently don’t contain all of the essential amino acids. This is also patently false, since every single plant contains all of the essential amino acids, in varying proportions“- Game Changers Cutting Out the Middle Men
Here’s the thing with this statement.
It’s an error of omission.
“every single plant contains all of the essential amino acids, IN VARYING PROPORTIONS“
That, on its face is a true statement.
BUT BUT BUT..
That whole varying proportions part matters.
A LOT.
See the PEER REVIEWED RESEARCH actually points to animal based protein sources being “better”.
Better how?
Animal proteins, on the whole, are:
A: More Bioavailable (higher level of digestibility):
“In general, it appears that plant-based protein sources may exhibit lower digestibility than animal-based proteins. The digestibility of the protein source has been defined as the proportion of dietary protein–derived AAs that is effectively digested and absorbed, thus becoming available in a form suitable for body protein synthesis (54). Animal-based protein sources, including dairy, eggs, and meat, are highly digestible (>90%). Depending on the processing method and/or the presence of various “antinutritional” factors (i.e., compounds in the food source that interfere with digestion and absorption of the available protein), plant-based sources such as maize, oat, bean, pea, and potato tend to exhibit lower digestibility than do animal-based sources, with values ranging from 45% to 80%” – The Skeletal Muscle Anabolic Response to Plant- versus Animal-Based Protein Consumption
B: Complete (containing ALL the essential amino acids (EAA’s) in a single source):
“Overall, research has shown that products containing animal and dairy-based proteins contain the highest percentage of EAAs and result in greater hypertrophy and protein synthesis following resistance training when compared to a vegetarian protein-matched control, which typically lacks one or more EAAs“- International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise
It’s not because of magic, or bias towards animal products. #bigbeef
It’s because of the amino acid ratios and non-nutrative (fiber) components of plants.
In large part its due to the concentration in plants of,
Leucine
Leucine is one of the three Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA’s) along with Isoleucine and valine.
Leu (leucine) is responsible for “kickstarting” muscle protein synthesis.
With around 3 grams of Leucine being the threshold which opens the muscle protein signaling (MPS) “window” fully, producing as powerful an anabolic response as 24 grams of whey protein,
“3 g of leucine alone in the absence of other AA (amino acids) can stimulate MPS to near maximal levels (equivalent to that observed from a large bolus of whey protein) in young adult males…..present data suggest it is the composition of the feed (e.g. quantity of leucine) rather than the dose or feeding pattern being the primary driver for anabolism. – ” – Effects of leucine-enriched essential amino acid and whey protein bolus dosing upon skeletal muscle protein synthesis at rest and after exercise in older women
Can you consume enough plant protein to reach Leucine threshold and maximize MPS?
“At isonitrogenous intakes, whey protein produced higher levels of plasma Leu, mTOR signaling, and MPS than wheat. However, MPS was not different comparing meals with 30% wheat vs. 20% whey consistent with the net Leu available from wheat (6.8% Leu) and whey (10.9% Leu).” – Leucine content of dietary proteins is a determinant of postprandial skeletal muscle protein synthesis in adult rats
Yes, but it’s going to mean eating more total protein.
Sometimes a LOT more protein in a meal to reach leucine threshold.
And if you fail to reach that threshold, as you may with plant based meals that are limited in protein, you’re not going to maximize MPS regardless of your total protein intake.
figure from: The impact of protein quality on the promotion of resistance exercise-induced changes in muscle mass
“when protein is limited within the context of a small meal stimulation of MPS is dependent on the availability of sufficient Leu to initiate translation. Leu serves as a signal to facilitate assembly of the translation initiation complex [2]. Leu serves as a trigger to allow MPS to transition from a depressed state characterized with inhibition of translation factors 4E-BP1 and S6K1 after an overnight fast, to an active period of MPS. Hence, while the total daily protein intake may satisfy dietary guidelines, individual small meals with limited protein quantity and proteins with low Leu content may be inadequate to initiate the assembly process and stimulate MPS.” – Leucine content of dietary proteins is a determinant of postprandial skeletal muscle protein synthesis in adult rats
Could we fortify plant based proteins with Leucine and increase their effectiveness?
Maybe, that has been proposed.
But as of now, to my knowledge, it hasn’t been done.
In a free living condition plant proteins just don’t hold up to animal proteins when it comes to their anabolic response.
“plant-based proteins have less of an anabolic effect than animal proteins due to their lower digestibility, lower essential amino acid content (especially leucine), and deficiency in other essential amino acids, such as sulfur amino acids or lysine.” – The Role of the Anabolic Properties of Plant- versus Animal-Based Protein Sources in Supporting Muscle Mass Maintenance: A Critical Review.
Next time we take on animal protein and
Cancer,
Inflammation,
the gut microbiome
and maybe even that whole boner test where college aged, athletic, males got erections and we’re supposed to be surprised and attribute that shit to a single bean burrito meal.
But probably not, cause that was just stupid..
About Roy:
