Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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In a similar vein of the question: http://paleohacks.com/questions/308/lectin-content-of-green-beans-vs-dried-beans -

I have a friend who can't eat meat or seafood + has a thyroid condition so they avoid iodine. Trying to determine the best protein source for them is tricky, so we have to determine which legumes might be least harmful, and has enough protein.

I'd like to know the protein contents of various bean types, primarily comparing green beans to traditional dried beans.

edited Jun 1 2010 at 13:19

Bread-Eating Beelzebub
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asked May 11 2010 at 23:16

David Csonka
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	Can you edit the title to say: [Non-Paleo] – Stephen-Aegis Jun 1 2010 at 13:18
	Beautiful, thanks – Stephen-Aegis Jun 1 2010 at 13:22
	Perfect! Great! – Patrik♦ Jun 2 2010 at 3:53
	I have given a pretty detailled answer below. I was diagnosed just recently with hyperthyroidism. – Jamie Aug 7 at 4:40

Bread-Eating Beelzebub · Accepted Answer · 2010-06-01 13:47:28Z UTC

To answer this question perhaps we should go back and ask ourselves why beans aren't in the traditional paleo diet? It's mostly justified because of their high anti-nutrient content.

In that content, the least harmful protein sources are probably fermented traditional legume products. Fermentation reduces antinutrients and produces probiotics. The negative is that many are high in salt and my own experience was that some upset my stomach. Some possible options include miso, natto, and tempeh. It's frickin hilarious that Wolf is OK with green beans, but not with these much less toxic products. Just because you can pick it in your garden doesn't make it paleo.

Brown rice protein is also considered to be fairly neutral and when I was vegan I had decent results with home-ground hemp powder, though since the intact seeds are illegal in the US, that might not be an option.

Whey and egg whites are the other obvious choices if he can digest them.

Basically if we could create a rank of protein choices normal beans would probably be on the bottom.

Jamie · Answer 2 · 2012-08-07 04:41:51Z UTC

Avoiding excess iodine makes sense (like eggs, fish and iodised salt, dairy) for a hyperthyroid, but you do need still need some I beleive.

Fresh water fish has less that seafood. If you can find some freshwater farmed salmon at some point, to eat occasionally this may be ideal because omega-3 is useful to support the thyroid, and though it still has some iodine, its much less that sea fish.

Being that they cant have dairy, eggs, or seafood on a lower iodine diet, I would suggest that grassfed land mammals is the most ideal for of protein and fat, being lower in iodine, and containing balanced fats and whole proteins.

And while we are on that topic, why cant they have meat? I understand avoiding cured meat, perhaps even avoid feedlot meat (often they put iodine in the feed), but grassfed cuts from the butcher?

Even with feedlot meat it tends to be lower than seafood:

In mcg/kg: Beef mean iodine levels in mcg/kg: Muscle (173), Liver (70), Kidney (61). Poultry - Breast/Muscle (56 – 1248)

(Tending towards to lower end usually, but dependant on iodine in the feed)

Versus mean iodine in mcg/kg: Cod (1100), Haddock (2500), Atlantic Salmon (760), Rainbow Trout (130)

As you can see, meat, even feedlot, is generally lower than seafood, depending on how over the top the farmers have gone with the iodine in the feed. And the more freshwater the fish is, the lower it is too. So freshwater fish and grassfed meats are fine...

Ergo best protein source: 100% Grassfed beef, mutton, buffalo and lamb (not minced as that can very rarely be contaimanated with thyroid gland), and occasional 100% freshwater farmed salmon or freshwater trout (wild salmon tends to roam into the sea and that increase its iodine), and perhaps some egg whites if its not an autoimmune issue (although probably smart to avoid, seeing as it usually is autoimmune)

TLDR? - Answer: All 100% fresh grassfed meat cuts from the butcher, except minced meats should be all good. Even occasional freshwater fish, and poultry/ham.

Oli · Answer 3 · 2012-08-06 17:04:35Z UTC

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You should never avoid iodine in your diet if you can get it from the food you eat and not just salt. Iodine aids the work of the thyroid whether it is over or under-active. The UL on iodine for an adult is 1100mcg which is a lot more than the RDA so there is a pretty large safe range for overconsumption.

answered Aug 6 at 17:04

Oli
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	^ Thats wrong. Excess iodine, whether its a whole food or not, can stimulate hyperthyroidism. In fact switching from a very low iodine diet to a high one, can cause temporary hyperthyroidism. The recommended intake is 150mcgs. If one is controlling hyperhthyroidism, one may wish to remain below this for about 2 weeks. and then perhaps hover around that mark, but going above that can be detrimental in some, especially those with hyperthyroidism. – Jamie Aug 7 at 3:17
	I know, my thyroid test just came back hyperthyroid, and it was hugely stimulated by the 400-500mcgs I was eating per day in the from 5 daily eggs, cheddar, cranberry juice and fish. I am just hoping it settles and am avoiding iodine for now. Its not something I have researched as much as id like yet, but its a definate certainty that excess iodine is bad for hyperthyroid. – Jamie Aug 7 at 3:19

Scott · Answer 4 · 2010-05-31 16:04:58Z UTC

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Green beans still contain harmful lectins; that's what makes them non-paleo.

answered May 31 2010 at 16:04

Scott
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But all kinds of paleo foods contain anti-nutrients: cruciferous vegetables, nuts, seeds, sweet potatoes, raw egg whites, etc. This is probably not the best means of demarcation. – Mike Jones Jun 2 2010 at 19:58

Eric · Answer 5 · 2010-05-29 03:27:32Z UTC

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How are green beans not paleo?

answered May 29 2010 at 3:27

Eric
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henny · Answer 6 · 2010-05-26 03:33:19Z UTC

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You can easily Google 'protein content + beans' and come up with lots of information on the subject but this question triggered a memory.

As I recall from reading "Diet for a Small Planet" years ago the best vegetarian protein is obtained by combining proteins from, say rice and beans to make a complete protein. You might want to look further into that subject.

answered May 26 2010 at 3:33

henny

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I believe protein combining en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_combining has been largely debunked. When I was a vegetarian, the best dietary advice I read was to simply eat a variety of whole foods to ensure getting enough nutrients and not get too worried about the minutiae of it all. – Shebeeste Jun 1 2010 at 0:09

Aaron Griffin · Answer 7 · 2010-05-13 20:45:13Z UTC

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Before anyone gets the wrong idea - I would like to say that Robb Wolfe is not the complete and utter authority on what is and is not paleo. Legumes still are not paleo, even if our modern farming and breeding techniques make these things edible.

I'm just here to say: I don't have an answer, and that's because it doesn't matter. Don't eat either of them

answered May 13 2010 at 20:45

Aaron Griffin

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I didn't ask if they were paleo, I was asking what their protein values were. – David Csonka May 13 2010 at 22:16

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And I'm simply making sure you're not throwing off newbies, who come to a paleo site, looking for paleo questions, and find people talking about non-paleo foods. It's paradoxical. Maybe try asking on a vegetarian board or something – Aaron Griffin May 13 2010 at 22:28

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I don't see how discouraging inquisitive minds increases the knowledge of anyone. But sure, feel free to keep asking questions like vision tests, because that has a lot to do with food, right? Are you serious? I shouldn't ask about real food options because they don't fit into your narrow idea of what Paleo is or is not? I ask these questions because I have a friend who can't eat meat or seafood + has a thyroid condition so they avoid iodine. Trying to determine the best protein source for them is tricky, so we have to determine which legumes might be least harmful, and has enough protein. – David Csonka May 15 2010 at 1:00

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The Original Poster could've got a lot more positive and informative replies asking more along the lines of "need to sniff out the best protein source considering that meat and seafood is out....." I'd certainly believe there are humans that can't eat meat/seafood (PKU, etc...) and would like to know a protein source to keep such a person in good health. Perhaps egg whites? Perhaps clean whey sources dunno. May have to go sub-optimal and non- Paleo, but what would be the best alternate protein source when meat/seafood is out? – Tim Rangitsch May 29 2010 at 4:11

Egg whites can cause autoimmune problems, which is bad for people who already have autoimmune issues, thyroid problems. I tried asked for best protein source when meat and seafood is out, I asked that exact question actually. But people chose to debate about the possibility of that type of situation, rather than answer the question. – David Csonka Jun 1 2010 at 17:35

Non-paleo: Protein content of green beans vs. dried beans?

7 Answers