Nutrition expert prescribes lower plant protein consumption

Nigerians have been urged to reduce consumption of plant-based proteins and consume more animal proteins that are contained in meat, fish, egg, milk and other animal protein products.

Professor of Animal Nutrition and Biochemistry, at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Dr. Kevin Uneze Amaefule stated this while delivering the 46th Inaugural lecture of the university titled: “Man Shall Not Live By Bread Alone: Prophecy And Practice.”

He posited that consumption of more animal and less plant proteins would reduce risks of high blood sugar levels in the body, adding that the animal’s body does not discriminate with respect to source(s) of energy, either dietary or metabolic.

According to the professor, for man and monogastric animal species (poultry, pig, rabbit, rat, etc), the quality of protein is more important than the quantity of protein, while for ruminant species (cattle, sheep, and goats), the quantity of protein is more important than the quality.

He attributed this to “the fact that good quality protein from mainly animal sources will provide the essential and non-essential amino-acids to the animals. “But the ruminants have the ability to convert low-quality protein materials to high-quality proteins through bacterial actions (fermentation) in the rumen.”