Time-Appropriate Protein
By Atom Bergstrom
Atom’s Blog
Re: I’m a bodybuilder and simply need more protein then just almonds for breakfast.
The question is, “Do you actually need the protein or do you need something to make you feel fuller?”
MANY notable bodybuilders and strongmen eat only one high-protein meal a day and manage to build impressive strength and muscle mass.
Pavel Tsatsouline (The King of the Kettle Bells) is an example of someone who usually eats one meal a day in the evening.
I don’t recommend a one-meal-a-day eating protocol for longevity — the point being that protein is not required just before workouts.
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So, there are several options …
1) If you think you need extra morning protein, CHEAT and add something from “out of time.” MANY professional athletes regard their career as more important than longevity. (The time-appropriate foods offer protection from the time-inappropriate foods.)
2) Eat more time-appropriate filling foods for breakfast — avocado, olives, coconut milk, cashews, macadamias, dates, etc. (Incidentally, a cup of avocados provides 4 grams of protein and a cup of guavas provides 5 grams (but is not very filling). Butter, ghee and rice are basically neutral; combined they’re very filling and tasty (esp. when you add pine nuts and ume plums).
3) If you want to be way out-of-the-box, eat insect-feeding birds in the morning for high-quality protein. Birds — esp. songbirds — were a major source of food for American pioneers. There was even a famous songbird meat market in Manhattan. No one today will probably give you much grief if you eat starlings or English sparrows, but there are laws against killing many other birds. (Seabirds, of course, are an evening food.)
4) Free-form amino acids are abundant in raw fruit. I used to sell injectable-grade FFAAs to bodybuilders in the 1990s — not knowing that raw fruit and fruto-vegetables are packed with them! The main contender for The Strongest Man in the World — William Bankier, aka Apollo, the Scottish Hercules — was a vegetarian.
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'Time-Appropriate Protein' have 13 comments
March 28, 2022 @ 3:27 pm Atom
Most goitrogens are anti-carcinogenic but no one tells you why.
It would compromise iodide sales.
March 29, 2022 @ 9:20 am John
Hi Atom, why are most goitrogens anti-carcinogenic?
What is iodide?
March 29, 2022 @ 2:26 pm Atom
They block iodide.
Iodide is the most common form of iodine, e.g., potassium iodide.
March 28, 2022 @ 3:28 pm Atom
Heavy metal detox? Start with iodine (126.90447 u).
Actually, the body is so good at detoxing iodine that all you have to do is stop shoveling it down your food-tube!
March 28, 2022 @ 3:28 pm Atom
Re: Why don’t Japanese people have wrinkles?
They eat foods that manufacture more collagen, resulting in neotony — the retention of juvenile features into adulthood.
Sometimes the fontanelle never closes.
March 28, 2022 @ 9:51 pm John
Hi Atom, what foods would those be?
March 29, 2022 @ 2:24 pm Atom
Foods high in glycine, leucine, isoleucine, and valine … and low in tryptophan and the sulfur-based amino acids.
March 30, 2022 @ 11:59 pm John
Can you name a few of those foods please?
March 31, 2022 @ 6:03 pm Atom
Fish heads, head cheese, chicken feet, cucumbers, pickles, tomatoes, carrots, radishes,
March 28, 2022 @ 3:30 pm Atom
I rarely use soy products because of the estrogen and omega 3 fatty acids.
Some have value above and beyond their downsides, e.g., tempeh, miso, and tofu from sprouted soybeans.
I’m suspicious about the value of nattÅ because of all the erroneous hype, but I’m open to “reassessment.” (I’m not a fan of the MK7 variant of K2.)
August 2, 2022 @ 1:07 am Nate blair
Hey Atom, what makes you favor mk4 (presumably) over mk7? I concur with this, my reasoning is the fact that there have been populations that treasured the mK4 containing dairy after grazing season, lighting candles with the butter etc. also, mk4 is the only version of K2 that crosses the ALEGED blood brain barrier
Also, Is an mk4 supplement unsafe? It is obviously better to eat raw dairy etc, but in a pinch would a k2 supplement suffice?
August 5, 2022 @ 4:04 pm Atom
The numerous studies I saw all favored MK4. Neither are dangerous, but I take neither since I get more than I need from food.
March 28, 2022 @ 3:30 pm Atom
Re: Why would sugar or honey hurt my teeth so much?
Sugar sensitivity indicates oral issues — exposed roots, compromised enamel, cavities, infection, inflammation, etc.