Protein, how much, how often, and why!
You know you need to add protein to every meal, but you don’t necessarily know how much or what type of protein. Today I’m going to teach you that, and we will cover why protein is so essential to your body and wellbeing. Let’s get started with some info on what protein actually is, and why we need it.
What is protein & why is it important?
Protein is made from amino acids, which are the basic ‘building blocks’ of all of our cells, tissues, muscles, hormones, antibodies and enzymes. Oxygen transportation and fluid balance are also dependent on protein and having enough in your body to perform these crucial functions. Protein is also important for digesting and absorbing other nutrients after meals. If you are not getting enough protein in your diet, it increases your risk of higher body fat and muscle wastage, decreased immunity, weak hair and nails, poor recovery from illness, blood sugar imbalances and also poor sleep.
Unfortunately, the human body does not store excess amino acids, so we need to consume enough in our diet every day. Let’s take a look at how much protein is enough, and what foods you can find it in.
How much protein do I need each day?
There is a bit of controversy surrounding this question, as with most things in the health and nutrition space. We have our government daily recommended protein intakes, which are 0.8gm of protein per kg body weight per day. However, this is not an optimal amount of protein for health and good body composition. Rather, it is the minimum amount of protein that you need in order to avoid having a deficiency.
Recent research in this area has shown that 1.2gm per kg of body weight, and up to 2gm of protein per kg body weight if you do a lot of exercise, is a good amount for health, energy and optimal body composition.
If you weigh 70kg, this translates to 84gm of protein per day. (70kg x 1.2gm = 84)
Consuming this amount of protein will help you keep your lean muscle mass as you age, help increase or maintain your bone density, and also help to stabilize your blood sugars throughout the day. Its also essential for maintaining a healthy metabolism, healthy blood pressure, curbing appetite and so much more.
Using the 70kg person as an example, you can break your protein needs up into 30gm at breakfast, 30gm at lunch at 24gm at dinner time. Let’s have a look now at what 30gm of protein looks like in a meal.
What does 30grams of protein per meal look like?
This table lists the amount of each food required to reach 20gm of protein. You can mix and match what proteins you like, as long as the total adds up to 30gm.
Foods with 20gms of protein per serve:
- 4 eggs
- 90gm of organic tofu
- 80gm of beef mince
- 10 slices of bacon
- 100gm of ham
- 6 sardines
- 22gm of designs for health whole body collagen
- 65gm chicken
- 115gm steak
- 130gm of fish
- 100gm of chickpeas
- 1 cup of lentils
What are the best protein sources?
This is an interesting question, because most foods contain proteins of one type or another. However, protein found in plants and protein found in animal sources are quite different.
Animal sources of protein such as eggs, meats and dairy contain what is called ‘complete proteins’, which have all of the amino acids necessary for health. The best sources of animal proteins are organic chicken, eggs and dairy, wild caught fish, and organic or grass fed red meats.
Plant sources of protein are ‘incomplete’, and need to be combined with other plant sources to create a complete amino acid profile. If you are eating a plant based diet, ensure you eat a mix of legumes, nuts and seeds and whole grains over your day to get your complete protein needs.
High protein meal inspiration
To end out our article on protein, I’d like to leave you with some high protein meal ideas:
- Egg muffins – basically mini quiches
- Millet porridge with added crushed nuts and whole fat yogurt
- Smoothies with added protein or collagen powder – speak to me about a good quality option
- The classic eggs and bacon – or eggs any way you like them
- Lentil bowl with grilled tempeh
- Sesame chicken with brown rice and greens
- Tacos – either with fish, chicken, beans, tofu etc.
The options really are endless when it comes to adding protein to your meals. I hope you enjoyed this blog on protein. If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you,
Nicky
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