Are You Getting the Right Amount of Protein? High Protein Foods What is protein? How much protein do we need? Is it possible to eat too much protein? These are important questions for people following a low carb way of eating, who usually are replacing part of their carbohydrate intake with protein.
What is protein?
Protein is one of the basic building blocks of the human body, being about 16 percent of our total body weight. Muscle, hair, skin, and connective tissue are mainly made up of protein. However, protein plays a major role in all of the cells and most of the fluids in our bodies. In addition, many of our bodies' important chemicals -- enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, and even our DNA – are at least partially made up of protein.
Although our bodies are good at “recycling” protein, we use up protein constantly, so it is important to continually replace it.
Proteins are made up of smaller units called amino acids. Our bodies cannot manufacture nine amino acids, so it is important to include all these amino acids in our diets. Animal proteins such as meat, eggs, and dairy products have all the amino acids, and many plants have some of them.
Learn more about amino acids in our diet.
How much protein do we need?
Our protein needs depend on our age, size, and activity level. Next week you will learn your own personal numbers. Please use the following until next week. An average woman under 225 lbs should have 75-100 grams of protein per day. An average man under 325 should have 125-150 grams of protein per day.
What happens if we don’t eat enough protein?
Unlike fat and glucose, our body has little capacity to store protein. If we were to stop eating protein, our body would start to break down muscle for its needs within a day or so.
Is it OK to eat a lot more protein than the minimum recommendations?
This is the crucial question for people on diets which are higher in protein than usual, as low carb diets tend to be. In a review of the research, the National Academy of Sciences reported that the only known danger from high animal protein diets is for individuals with kidney disease. They point out that increased protein could be helpful in treating obesity. There is also accumulating evidence that extra soy protein may help prevent osteoporosis.
Extra protein can be broken down into glucose in a process called gluconeogenesis. On low carb diets, this happens continually. One benefit of obtaining glucose from protein is that it is absorbed into the bloodstream very slowly, so it doesn’t cause a rapid blood sugar increase.
BENEFITS OF SOY PROTEIN
If you are currently a vegetarian, or are even toying with the idea of becoming one, you will need to learn about the benefits of soy protein for a vegetarian diet. This is important because when you choose to delete meat and meat products from your diet, you are deleting a major source of protein.
If you don’t provide your body with the right amount of protein it can lead to deficiency. Protein deficiency can lead to fatigue, insulin resistance, hair loss, loss of muscle mass, low body temperature, and even hormonal irregularities. In severe cases it can even be fatal.
Soy is one of the protein food sources available, and it is a great option for vegetarians because it is a natural source and comes in many realms.
Benefits of Soy Protein
The benefits of soy protein for a vegetarian diet are obvious, as it is the closest vegetable protein that resembles meat. There are also huge benefits for non-vegetarians when they include soy as part of their regular diet.
Soy protein can:
• aid in digestion
• provide structure within your body
• assist in everyday movement
• aid in the prevention of many types of cancer (breast, colon, prostate, uterine)
• aid in the prevention of heart disease
• assist in alleviating menopausal symptoms
• lower cholesterol
• help prevent osteoporosis
• help lower blood pressure
Uses of Soy Protein
Some foods that include soy protein are:
• whole soybeans
• soybean oil
• soy milk
• tofu
• tempeh
• miso
• soy flour
• edamame
• some sports bars
• breakfast cereals
• veggie burgers
• soy nut snacks
Some vegetarians choose to include soy powder when making common food recipes such as soups, stews, muffins, and other baked goods. You can also use soy milk to make pudding or milkshakes and tofu to make casseroles. There are now many cookbooks and recipes available that include soy protein as main ingredient. For optimum benefit of soy protein in a vegetarian diet, soy should be used in moderation; in other words, don’t overdo it! Soy protein should also be ingested as part of a food source as opposed to pill form. This is so that the soy can naturally interact with other foods to create the needed amino acids and enzymes.
What Foods Have the Most Protein?
Meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, legumes, and nuts all have substantial amounts of protein. Helpful information (Shortcut: An ounce of meat or fish has approximately 7 grams of protein):
Beef
• Hamburger patty, 4 oz - 28 grams protein
• Steak, 6 oz - 42 grams
• Most cuts of beef - 7 grams of protein per ounce
Chicken
• Chicken breast, 3.5 oz - 30 grams protein
• Chicken thigh - 10 grams (for average size)
• Drumstick - 11 grams
• Wing - 6 grams
• Chicken meat, cooked, 4 oz - 35 grams
Fish
• Most fish fillets or steaks are about 22 grams of protein for 3 ½ oz (100 grams) of cooked fish, or
6 grams per ounce
• Tuna, 6 oz can - 40 grams of protein
Pork
• Pork chop, average - 22 grams protein
• Pork loin or tenderloin, 4 oz - 29 grams
• Ground pork, 1 oz raw - 5 grams; 3 oz cooked - 22 grams
• Pork chop, average - 22 grams protein
• Pork loin or tenderloin, 4 oz - 29 grams
• Ground pork, 1 oz raw - 5 grams; 3 oz cooked - 22 grams
Eggs and Dairy
• Egg, large - 6 grams protein • Milk, 1 cup - 8 grams
• Cottage cheese, ½ cup - 15 grams
• Yogurt, 1 cup - usually 8-12 grams, check label
• Soft cheeses (Mozzarella, Brie, Camembert) - 6 grams per oz
• Medium cheeses (Swiss) - 7 or 8 grams per oz
• Hard cheeses (Parmesan) - 10 grams per oz
• Soy Milk - 9 grams in 8oz
• Herbalife Shake - 15 grams of protein
Beans (including soy)
• Tofu, ½ cup 20 grams protein • Tofu, 1 oz, 2.3 grams
• Most beans (black, pinto, lentils, etc) about 7-10 grams protein per half cup of cooked beans
• Soy beans, ½ cup cooked - 14 grams protein • Split peas, ½ cup cooked - 8
Nuts and Seeds
• Peanut butter, 2 Tablespoons - 8 grams protein
• Almonds, ¼ cup - 8 grams
• Sunflower seeds, ¼ cup - 6 grams
• Pumpkin seeds, ¼ cup - 19 grams
• Flax seeds - ¼ cup - 8 gram
Keep a Food Diary
Keep it Real
A food diary is an excellent first step in assessing how you eat. It can also help you understand why you eat the way you do, which is often just as important when it comes to long-term weight management.
The most important factor in keeping an effective food diary is to make it an honest one. A study showed that women in particular tend to fudge when keeping a food record -- coming up short by close to 1,000 calories wasn't unusual.
Why go to the trouble of keeping a food diary if you aren't going to be honest with yourself? Remember, no one has to see it but you, so do yourself a favor and stay truthful.
What to Include
Here are some ideas on what you can track with a food diary:
• Fat grams, calories, carbs, protein, fiber, etc.
• Your danger zones
• Your underlying reasons for eating (aside from true hunger)
• Your appetite and/or cravings
• Your portion sizes
• Your feelings after eating
In order to track your fat and/or caloric intake, keep a nutrient guide book handy or use a food database like fitday.com Using your computer or just an old-fashioned notebook, simply create a column for the name of the food and the required number of columns for each nutrient you will track. Divide the columns into sections according to meal and/or time of day so you can stay organized.
Do You have Portion Distortion?
If you're not ready to keep tally of your fat and calories yet, try just writing down how much you eat over the course of the day. (If you can't figure out where your extra weight is coming from, it may be that you are overeating and don't know it.)
Yours in health,
Barb
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then go to the Herbal health community with this link
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