Published in July 2nd, 2009
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How much protein do you eat? Do you even know which foods are strong sources of protein or why we need to eat protein?
A lack of protein in our diet can result in a weak immune system, slow your growth if you are still growing, and potentially weaken the heart and respiratory system. It is essential for our health and well being.
Protein gives us the ‘get up and go’ that we need each morning. Our bodies need a good source of protein to maintain our cells, tissues and organs. During digestion, protein is broken down into the 20 amino acids that are the basic building blocks our body requires.
Depending on which Amino acids that link together, protein molecules form muscles, hormones, enzymes and many other tissues.
There are two types of amino acids:
• Non essential – i.e. can be made by the body
• Essential – i.e. cannot be made by the body and need to be sourced from food. There are nine ‘essential’ amino acids.
There are also two types of protein, animal and plant. Animal protein contains all the ‘essential’ amino acids and can be got from eggs, fish, meat, poultry and dairy. Oily fish, such as trout or salmon are great examples.
Protein from plants contains many amino acids but not all the ‘essential’ amino acids. So, green vegetables, beans, pulses, cereal, grain, nuts etc. To obtain all the amino acids you need to eat a variety of these.
The Institute of Medicine recommends that adults get a minimum of 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weight per day. The source of protein be it animal or vegetable, should have the same effect on your health. On average we should aim for 55g for men and 45g for women.
Some examples:
A 6 ounce steak is a great source of protein. Theoretically 38 grams worth. But it also has a high fat content of 44 grams. 16 of those are saturated fat, that’s three quarters of the recommended fat intake. So remove as much of the fat as possible before cooking.
A 6 ounce Salmon will provide about 34 grams of protein, with 18 grams of fat, but only 4 grams of which are saturated fats.
Try cooking some lentils – a cup has around 18 grams of protein but less than 1 gram of fat.
A skinless chicken breast has about 40g of protein
So when focusing on protein, also look at the fat content.
The best animal source will always be poultry; chicken, turkey etc, or fish. With red meat remove the excess fat and do not eat large portions.
Beans are a fantastic source of protein, also nuts (unsalted). Soya products are also good like Tofu and vegetable mince. Try some seeds like sunflower or pumpkin. Pulses are also good, e.g. lentils, chick peas and various beans like broad, butter and black-eyed.
Dairy too is a good source, plus also a rich source of calcium. But choose non-fat or low fat products.
lana soko is passionate about health and writes for http://www.lose-weight-with-us.com” title=”http://www.lose-weight-with-us.com” target=”_blankhttp://www.lose-weight-with-us.com
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