Proteins War: Steaks, Beans or Salmon?
Young people are influenced by the media in their dietary choices, which, starting
from adolescence, often manifest through impulsive exclusions or compulsive
selections. As a result, many individuals, both young and old, become easy prey
to trends that completely eliminate certain nutrients or food categories, only
to fall into the trap of using expensive and often useless supplements that can
be purchased online by anyone. Behind these "trends" often lie
ideologically-driven positions lacking solid and scientific foundations.
As a result, they could try to eat or to avoid completely alternatively meat or
vegetables, and compensating with junk food or suppliers.
Common misconceptions:
Vegetal proteins are sufficient/insufficient for human nutrition;Young athletes need massiveprotein integration;High protein diet leads to a better health; A complete carnivore/vegan diet is better for human health
Lesson Plan Details:
Learners will be able to explain the role of proteins and amino acids in human nutrition, compare different protein sources, and evaluate how protein requirements vary throughout life. They can apply this knowledge to make informed and health-conscious dietary choices.
Activity 1
Teacher Instruction
Environment (but adaptable proportionally)
Classgroup of 20 learners;
Number of learners per group
Number of groups: 5
Materials:
4 excerpts (1 for each student of the group) from articles coming from different websites promoting various views on the origins of proteins in one's diet.Check-list:
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Website Reliability Scoring Table 🚦
Use this checklist to evaluate if a website
is reliable, partly reliable, or unreliable. Tick the appropriate box for each
criterion, then calculate the total score.
Criteria
Yes (2 pts)
Partly / Not clear (1 pt)
No (0 pts)
Author & Source – Clear author, credentials, reputable
institution?
⬜
⬜
⬜
Evidence & References – Supported by data, research, official
reports?
⬜
⬜
⬜
Purpose & Bias – Informative, balanced tone, no commercial
agenda?
⬜
⬜
⬜
Accuracy & Timeliness – Up-to-date, no errors, consistent with
trusted sources?
⬜
⬜
⬜
Clarity & Language – Professional writing, no major mistakes?
⬜
⬜
⬜
Total Score: ___ / 10
Interpretation 🚦
8–10 points → Reliable (Green) ✅
5–7 points → Use with caution (Yellow) ⚠️
0–4 points → Unreliable (Red) ❌
Excerpt from Websources:
The excerpts will include a working link so that learners can practice strategies to verify the the reliablility of the sourcessources.
Excerpt 1 (i.e.government website)
Excerpt 2 (i.e. scientific publication)
Excerpt 3 (i.e. publication with a strong ideological orientation)
Excerpt 4 (i.e. personal blog or facebook account)
Sites
Government site
Scientific site
Ideologically oriented site
Personal blog
Ss tasks:
Ss will complete the table above, discussing in their own groups by using the checklist; TASK 1Ss will rate the sites reliability putting them in order from the most reliable to the least; TASK 2Each student has to summarize in their own words one of the given excerpt;Ss will discuss their conclusions all together; TASK 3Each student has to find two sites they are interested in which relate to the cathegories above. TASK 4
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Activity Instruction
Your group has been provided with 4 different chunks of texts coming from as many different sites.
By using the checklist provided, please:
1. Identify the web sources and write the links in the table.
3. Compare them: put the cross in correspondence of the best description of them ( government website, scientific article, publication with a strong ideological orientation,personal blog)
4. Discuss in your group what is the most reliable one. Put them in order from the most reliable to the least reliable one
5. Summarize the key message (for each excerpt) that relates to the way to provide ourselves with proteins
6. Find two sites you are interested in which relate to the sites cathegories
7. Compare your results with the other groups
Source 1
Background: Protein may have both beneficial and
detrimental effects on bone health depending on a variety of factors, including
protein source.
Objective: The aim was to conduct a systematic review
(…) evaluating the effects of animal versus plant protein intake on bone
mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content (BMC) and select bone biomarkers in
healthy adults.
Results:Meta-analysis results showed on average, the differences
between Soy+ and animal protein groups were close to zero and not significant
for BMD outcomes . All meta-analyses had
no statistical heterogeneity.
Conclusions: These results do not support soy protein
consumption as more advantageous than animal protein, or vice versa. Future
studies are needed examining the effects of different protein sources in
different populations on BMD, BMC, and fracture.
Source 2
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Essential amino acids must be obtained through food, as the
body cannot produce them. “Complete” proteins that have all essential amino
acids and are generally higher quality, come most often from animal sources.
Animal proteins also tend to be higher in branched-chain amino acids,
especially leucine, which is key for stimulating muscle growth. That said, you
can still get all essential amino acids by combining a variety of plant-based
proteins, and some—like soy and rice—are good sources of leucine.
The good news is that you don’t have to exclude plant-based
proteins from your diet—they can contribute to your total daily intake. If you
follow a mostly plant-based diet, be sure to eat a variety of plant proteins to
get all essential amino acids. If you’re open to animal proteins, Bonci
suggests this as your best option for protein quality and digestibility: “I am
a fan of less and more—less quantity and more quality, so a smaller amount of
animal-sourced protein such as dairy milk, yogurt or whey protein isolate may
be easier to tolerate.”
Source 3
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""In the two models, the dairy food group was
replaced with dairy-free nutrient-dense options included in the 2020-2025 DGA,
which are fortified soy milk and soy yogurt. Additionally, for the vegan model,
eggs servings were replaced with equal proportions of vegetarian protein foods,
including soy products, nuts and seeds, and beans, peas, and lentils,"
said Dr. Hess.
The results of this study found that amounts of many
nutrients changed very little between the original Healthy Vegetarian Dietary
Pattern and the vegan and dairy-free vegetarian adaptations. The vegan and
dairy-free vegetarian diets had slightly more calories and slightly higher
levels of some nutrients like vitamin D, vitamin B12, and choline. They
provided less protein, sodium, cholesterol, phosphorus, and zinc than the
original Healthy Vegetarian Dietary Pattern, though. The only nutrient that was
below recommended levels in the dairy-free vegetarian and vegan diets was zinc
(for adult males only).
"The DGA is intended to provide guidance on healthy
diets for all healthy Americans, including healthy adults following dairy-free
vegetarian and vegan diets" said Dr. Hess.
Dr. Hess also stated that while this study does not provide
evidence that a vegan dietary pattern will be nutritionally adequate for
everyone, it shows that it is possible to eat a nutritionally adequate vegan
dietary pattern with careful planning.
The study was recently published in The Journal of
Nutrition.
Source 4
Which Protein
Type is Best?
There are studies that have shown
that our western obsession with protein may actually be hazardous to our
health. That’s right – more isn’t always better when it comes to protein.
When it comes to animal or plant
protein sources, evidence indicates it’s best to get most (if not all) of your
protein from plant-based foods. In fact, research shows that high animal protein intake can increase your
risk for early death from things like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and
cancer.
What’s more, the concern about
getting too much protein overall appears to be negated when your diet is
primarily made up of plant-based protein.
A 2014 study found that overall, a high-protein diet (at least 20%
of calories from protein) came with a 74% higher likelihood of death from any
cause within the 20-year study period than a low-protein diet (fewer than 10%
of calories from protein). Plus, the authors found that negative health
associations of a high-protein diet were reduced or eliminated if the protein
came from plant foods.
Visualisation (e.g. poster, infographic, mind map, diagramme, etc.)
Yes
Yes; Yes