Question: from Sam

How  are  you?  I  have  a  question  about  protein.  A  vegetarian  diet  does  not  have  enough  protein.  Does  Total  Balance  or  any  of  your  other  products  contain  enough  protein  for  the  whole  body?  Thank you.

Answer: from Warren Matthews of Xtend-Life

This is an issue that is always subject to debate.  Vegetarians will argue that you can get enough protein from vegetables, and indeed many scientists agree with them and would argue that we generally consume too much protein in a normal diet.  On the other hand non vegetarians will argue the opposite.  Although I am not a vegetarian I tend to side with the vegetarians on this issue…subject to certain caveats which I will raise in a moment.

One of these is that vegetarians are often deficient in Vitamin B12 as it is difficult to get enough of this vitamin from plant sources alone.  But even more serious is another deficiency that vegetarians are subject to and in my opinion is a factor in many of them becoming old before their time and also often having health problems even though they appear to eat very healthy.

That deficiency is overlooked by almost everyone in these debates.  The deficiency is carnosine.  Carnosine as the name suggests is only present in meat…not in plants.  It is the only substance that will help protect your body against excessive glycation.  Glycation is every bit as dangerous as oxidation in the body and is arguably even more so.  It is a significant factor in degenerative disease and glycation may well turn out to be the biggest influencing factor in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

To better understand why this is so please click here to learn more about it.

However, if a vegetarian is taking Total Balance then they don’t need to be concerned about either B12 deficiency or, most importantly glycation as every version of Total Balance contains L-Carnosine which is the glycation protector.  Also because the tablets are enteric coated the Carnosine is not converted into a less potent derivative in the stomach.

The good news is, if you are a strict vegetarian or a vegan you don’t need to be concerned thinking that the carnosine that we use is from an animal source…it isn’t!   It is grown naturally using bio-technology as are most quality vitamins these days.

So, in summary, if you are a vegetarian and are taking the full dose of Total Balance I would not be concerned about looking for extra protein intake.  The Total Balance has a very broad range of amino acids and in conjunction with a vegetarian diet you will be fine.