Protein is an essential nutrient that can be found in animal products, nuts as well as beans. Your body is chock full of proteins. They are large complex molecules made up of smaller amino acid compounds.
Why should you care that you body is getting enough protein? Unlike carbohydrates and fats which are considered micro-nutrients, protein is a ‘macro-nutrient’, meaning that you need to consume large amounts of it to keep your body in top, vital, healthy shape.
There are many more reasons to consume a balanced diet of proteins.
Proteins are present in the outer as well as the inner membranes of every living cell in your body. Most of us realize that protein is the important building block of bones, muscles, cartilage and skin.
Your hair and nails are also made of protein (this protein is called keratin), your body builds and repairs tissue with it, and it uses it to make enzymes, hormones and a variety of body chemicals.
Simply adding protein to your diet helps speed up your metabolic rate. For every 100 calories of pure protein you consume, you’re going to burn off approximately 25% of them.
On the other hand, for every 100 calories of pure carbohydrates of fats you consume, you burn off 5 and 2 calories respectively. Has the mathematics “light” gone off in your head yet?
The more protein you eat, the higher your metabolic rate is going to be. It’s never advisable to take this too far as a diet of 100% protein would not be good for you either. However, a slight increase in your protein intake can be a very good thing.
Foods high in protein should be consumed at every meal and snack that you eat to help with balancing your carbohydrates.
Sources should include the leanest meat sources available along with healthy seafood and fish and low fat dairy products, eggs and whey protein. All these sources provide valuable protein without the addition of saturated fats (the bad fats) and chemical additives.
Here’s a variety of sources you can tap into:
- Chicken breast
- Turkey breast (white meat)
- Lean Steak
- Eggs and egg whites
- Venison
- Fish
- Seafood
- Low-fat cottage cheese
- Low-fat Greek yogurt
- Skim Milk
- Whey protein powder
It’s best to vary your sources of protein so that you get a variety of the amino acids and nutrients in your diet.Whey protein is a high quality protein that is naturally found in milk. It is a complete protein containing all the amino acids your body needs in order to break down food properly..
Protein is also responsible for making neurotransmitters which in turn are the chemicals that send messages back and forth that allow you to have the ability to see, think, hear and move. You should consume protein every day since your body does not have the ability to store this macro-nutrient.
The amount of daily protein you need varies depending on how active you are. For general guidelines, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans your diet should consist of 10-25% protein. All proteins, no matter the source have 4 calories per gram. If you consume 1,800 calories during the day, you need to be consuming 45 to 157 grams of protein each day. If you up your diet to 2,500 calories a day you need to get 62 to 218 grams of daily protein.
If you want a healthy functioning immune system, if you want shiny healthy hair and nails and glowing skin then protein is your answer.
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