True Health Initiative and Dr. Katz Launch Campaign to Make Protein Policies Consistent with Scientific Knowledge

It was an honor for me and KIND to support Dr. Katz and the scientific and nutrition community leaders at the True Health Initiative in the launch of a campaign they are driving to improve policies and education on how we see protein. Under today’s regulations, plant based proteins are viewed less favorably than protein from meat, even from processed meats that may contain artificial ingredients and nitrates. That is because the current way protein digestibility is analyzed measures solely the total content of amino acids in a protein source, rather than also evaluating the impact on our health such as potential coronary disease from over-consumption of meat or potential heart health benefits from consumption of protein from tree nuts, not to mention the impact to our environment. Dr. Katz and his colleagues worked really hard to come up with an algorithm that would balance things out and consider the overall quality of the food rather than the quantity of the particular amino acids. This makes sense particularly given that in the United States our problems are primarily related to over-consumption rather than under-consumption. THI is onto something very important for the health of our communities.