Everyone knows that protein is an essential part of your
daily diet, and meeting a minimum protein level throughout
the day is vital for having the energy you need as the day
rolls on. Some people, however, are unaware of the fact
that there is also such thing as having too much protein in
your diet, because your body doesn't know what to do with
excess protein and this can cause more harm than good.
Having excess protein in your diet can cause just as many
harmful effects for your health as not getting enough
protein can. If you are increasing your protein intake but
your calorie intake or exercise habit is not increasing
along with it, you can actually put your body through more
stress than it needs or than it can handle for that matter.
Your body requires protein on a daily basis in order to
repair and build your muscles along with other vital body
tissues. Protein allows your body to create the hormones
that it needs for optimum health, and to make the enzymes
that are needed for metabolic and digestive processes. If
you do not consume enough protein on a daily basis, your
body may turn to your muscle instead, breaking it down to
find the energy it needs.
Proteins are comprised of amino acids, which are
essentially building blocks, and there are somewhere around
twenty different amino acids, some of which are actually
created by your body. There are nine different amino acids,
however, that cannot be synthesized by the body, and these
are known as essential amino acids. The only way to get
these essential amino acids is by eating whole foods that
contain them. It is vital that you eat a variety of
different protein foods every single day so that your body
can get all of the essential amino acids that it needs.
There are a number of excellent whole food sources of
protein that offer all nine of the essential amino acids,
including meat, turkey, fish, eggs, chicken, cheese, milk,
soy and yogurt. You can also find some, but not all, of the
nine essential amino acids in plant food sources such as
beans and peas and other legumes, nuts, peanut butter and
some seeds. If you are a vegetarian, then it is vital that
you find the right balance of whole food plant sources
including vegetables, legumes, seeds, nuts and grains in
order to get all of the essential amino acids that you need.
The amount of protein that you need is dependent upon your
age, the size of your body, and how active you tend to be,
or how much energy you burn throughout an average day. Most
teenagers, for example, need between 40 and 50 grams of
protein per day. The best way to get an estimate of how
much protein you need is to take your weight and multiply
it by about 0.40, and you will have the number of grams of
protein that you need for a day. So if you weigh 150lbs for
example, and you multiply that by 0.40, you will need 60
grams of protein every day for optimum health. This is just
an estimate however, and there are a number of
characteristics that will impact this number, such as
whether or not you are an athlete or play sports.
Many of the whole food sources of protein are excellent at
delivering the protein that you need. For example, fish,
beef, chicken and shrimp can provide as many as 21 grams of
protein per 3 oz serving. A single cup of yogurt can
provide 11 grams of protein, and cooked lentils and tofu
can provide 9 grams of protein with only a half cup of
food. Other excellent sources for protein include bulgur,
kashi, oats, millet, cooked egg, hummus, soy milk, cooked
beans, cheese and cow's milk. There are a number of
different protein supplements that come in the form of
bars, powders and shakes. Usually though, most people get
their much needed protein, rendering these supplements
unnecessary in most cases. But if you need to put more
protein into your diet, make sure your protein supplement
contains several forms of protein (not just whey protein)
AND the protein includes an enzyme additive for protein
digestion. This will ensure your body can digest the
protein and you acheive maximum benefits from taking the
supplement.
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Ron Godlewski has written many articles on health,
wellness, and maintaining vitality throughout our lifetime.
Read more about the importance of nutrition and the many
benefits of protein in our daily diets at
http://www.pillfreesupplements.com/buildmuscle.php
and
even receive your own complementary copy of a nationally
recognized health and nutrition magazine just for visiting!
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