Protein Myth #8

High Protein Diets Impair Detoxification. Not really.

Detoxification is the body's process of eliminating metabolic waste before it damages tissues and causes disease. High-protein diets in no way impair detoxification. In fact, they enhance it. In my clinical experience, it is low-protein, high carbohydrate diets that impair detoxification, because they feed a yeast overgrowth that in turn pushes toxins into the liver and the rest of the body. I find that higher levels of protein-4 to 6 ounces of protein at least twice per day-is essential for a healthy gut and liver and for optimal detoxification. Sulfur-bearing amino acids like methionine, cysteine, and taurin-all crucial for detoxification-are lacking in low-protein and vegetarian diets.

From: The Carnitine Miracle: Top Ten Protein Myths
By: Mark Hegsted of New England Regional Primate Research Center, Harvard University