What is Protein? And Why is it Important?
Protein is an essential part of your diet, a macronutrient (macro = big). Your body needs protein to make hair, muscles, nails, tendons, ligaments, and other body structures.
Protein is made up of a group of amino acids, which are smaller particles all grouping together to make a protein. Think of it like putting together all the ingredients to make a cake – the flour, sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla, and so on. Then baking it. You get something completely different after mixing and baking those ingredients together! The amino acids are the ingredients and the protein is the cake.
Your body needs protein in order to create new proteins. Once you eat protein, your body breaks it down into amino acids and builds the proteins it needs. There are 20 amino acids, some being essential in your diet because your body can’t make them, and others being non-essential because your body can make them from other material.
Why do we need protein?
When you think of eating a lot of protein, you may think of those body builders trying to bulk up and make muscle, which is definitely an important action of protein, but protein is important for many other things as well. And you don’t need to be a body builder to reach your protein goals.
Protein provides the building blocks to many of the body’s messengers like those in the immune system. Without protein, your body can’t build cells that fight off infection or remember past infections, because those messengers are made up of protein. Other messengers are made up of protein too, including your hormones and neurotransmitters. A hormone called insulin, important for helping get blood sugar into the cell, is made up of protein. The digestive enzymes your body releases while you’re eating a meal is made up of proteins as well. Those enzymes are important in the process of breaking down your food so your body can absorb the nutrients in your food.
Protein helps to build up muscle and tissue in the body. Without protein, your body will have a hard time making muscles. Muscles are a big part of your structure, so you won’t be able to sit up straight, move, or perform certain functions without them. If you’re exercising and you’re not getting enough protein, your body will have a hard time building new muscle.
How do you know how much protein you need?
You can calculate the amount of protein you need by multiplying your weight in pounds by 0.36g. For example, if you weight 120lb, then you need 43g of protein daily.
Extra protein is necessary in childhood/adolescence to help with growth, pregnancy, lactation, elderly, intense strength and endurance training, and living with diseases like AIDS or cancer.
If you are eating too much protein per day, then this can be a burden on your liver and kidneys. And too much protein will also signal the body to use the amino acids as an energy source instead of breaking down fat for energy. This will increase your body fat content.
Food High in Protein
Not sure where to get your protein from? Here is a list of some common foods and the amount of protein they contain.
22g protein per filet of grilled wild caught Alaskan salmon
8g protein per 1/2 cup cooked lentils
7g protein per ½ cup chickpeas
10g protein per 3 tbsp hemp seeds
8g protein tofu per 3 ounces
8g protein per ¼ cup nutritional yeast
13g protein per 3oz tempeh
10g protein per 1 cup of black beans
7g protein per 2 tbsp peanut butter
10g of protein per 3tbs of hemp seeds
Red meat, eggs, chicken, and turkey are all great sources of protein as well, but keep in mind the quality of these meats are what matter. You want to aim for grass-fed meat because these will contain more nutrients and less inflammatory fats (less omega 6s and more omega 3s). With chicken and turkey, you want pasture raised chicken as opposed to conventional or cage free chicken/eggs.
Atlantic salmon is generally farm raised, even if the package doesn't explicitly say this. This changes the nutrient composition; you will want to try to get wild caught Alaskan salmon!
What is a complete protein source?
This means that your body is provided with all 9 of the essential amino acids. Generally, animal products will supply your body with complete proteins like meat, fish, dairy, and poultry. Plant foods will often lack some of the essential amino acids. This is where protein pairing can come into play. You can combine plant sources together to get a complete source of protein. This is why certain plant foods are commonly paired together like:
Grains and dairy (pasta and cheese)
Rice and legumes (rice and beans)
Legumes and seeds (chickpeas and sesame seeds/hummus and falafel)
Are you looking to increase the protein in your diet? Try out these easy almond butter protein balls!
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup almond butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup coconut flower
1 1/2 cup dark chocolate
1tbs coconut oil
Directions:
In a bowl, mix together, almond butter, maple syrup, vanilla, & salt. Mix until incorporated then add in coconut flour.
Place in freezer for 30 mins
Shape into small sized balls then place on a tray and place in freezer
Mix together chocolate and coconut oil, melt
Dip balls one at a time in melted chocolate
Refrigerate until ready to serve
Using food is a great way to improve your health and prevent disease from occurring. Understanding nutrition can be a great way to start your health journey.
Join the 6 week Nutrition 101 program by Dr. Lyndsey and Dr. Alyssa, where you will learn about different topics in nutrition and bust common myths about dieting.
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