Why do we need protein?
Why do we need protein?
Protein is essential for all cellular processes in the body. Especially when we start exercising and strength training (or kids who are always active), we need adequate protein for muscle repair and growth. We have to eat sources of protein each day in order to thrive. Children/Teens need more protein than adults relative to their body weight to support continuous growth.
What kind of protein is best?
Quinoa a plant-based
protein with all 9 essential amino acids
What kind of protein is best?
Meat, fish, plant-based protein? No matter what you eat, the proteins break down into amino acids with digestion. Some of these foods have the 9 essential amino acids we require daily and others do not. The foods that do have all 9 are called complete proteins. Animal protein such as eggs, dairy, meat and fish are complete proteins which supply all 9 essential amino acids. Two plant sources, quinoa and soy are also complete proteins. But I’m not a fan of soy, which is another post for future. Protein is best consumed from real food rather than in supplement form with amino acids (our bodies view individual amino acids as foreign) (1)
If you eat beef, chicken, eggs, dairy, fish or any other animal food each day, then you are getting your essential amino acids.
Plant-based diets need to have a variety of vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts to supply all the essential amino acids each day. A vegetarian diet of just pasta and cereal will not get you there.
How much do we need?
How much protein do we need?
Adults can divide their body weight in lbs. by 1/2 (or if it’s kg body weight you will eat your body weight in grams of protein) and that’s approximately how many grams of protein to eat per day. For example, if you weigh 170 lbs and exercise moderately 3-5 days per week, you need 85 grams of protein per day. If you weigh 60 kg, eat approximately 60 g protein if you exercise regularly.
Children and teens need closer to their body weight (lbs) in grams of protein. They are metabolic machines building tissue and need protein to supply their systems. If you have a 100 lb teen, and he is active, he needs 70-90 g of protein a day. (2)
In general, focusing on exact protein intake is not necessary as most people tend to eat more protein than they require just through standard meals. But, if you want to keep track with an app MyFitnessPal is decent.
Protein Recommendations 2–
|
Type of Individual |
Grams per lb body weight |
Grams per kg body weight |
|
Sedentary Adult |
0.4 |
0.8 |
|
Recreational exerciser-adult |
0.5-0.7 |
1.1-1.6 |
|
Endurance athlete-adult |
0.6-0.7 |
1.3-1.6 |
|
Growing teenage athlete |
0.7-0.9 |
1.6-2.0 |
|
Adult building muscle mass |
0.7-0.8 |
1.6-1.8 |
|
Upper limit |
0.9 |
2.0 |
Keep it Spaced out!
Unlike carbohydrate and fat, protein can’t be stored as well for later use. We can pack on the body fat, we can store glucose in our muscles and liver, but we can’t store protein. The body can only assimilate a certain amount per meal. If you need 60 grams of protein a day, space it out so you are getting close to 20 g for breakfast then the same for lunch, dinner and any snacks in between. If you eat a giant steak in one sitting, there’s a good chance some protein in it is not being used and will either be converted to fat or excreted and can even increase the loss of calcium in the body.
Some protein source examples (CP -complete protein)
|
CP |
3 oz cooked meat (pork, beef, chicken, etc.) |
25 g |
|
CP |
3 oz fish |
20 g |
|
1 C cooked beans, black, lentil, white, etc. |
18 g |
|
|
CP |
1 C of yogurt |
8 g |
|
1 T peanut butter |
8 g |
|
|
CP |
1 C cow milk |
8 g |
|
CP |
1 C cooked quinoa |
8 g |
|
1 C green peas |
8 g |
|
|
CP |
1 oz cheese |
7 g |
|
¼ cup nuts |
7 g |
|
|
CP |
1 egg |
6 g |
|
1 C cooked oatmeal |
6 g |
|
|
1 C cooked buckwheat |
6 g |
|
|
1 C cooked brown rice |
5 g |
|
|
1 C cooked spinach |
5 g |
|
|
1 C cooked white rice |
4 g |
|
|
1 T hemp or chia seed |
3 g |
|
|
1 C almond, hemp milk |
2 g |
What a 3 oz. serving looks like.
An example of a 20 g protein breakfast may be 2 cups of oatmeal (12 g) with 1/4 C walnuts (7 g) or 2 eggs (12 g) with some spinach (5 g) or cheese (7 g)
To sum it up, eat a variety of proteins, space it out and don’t eat excess.
Written by Kristina Cagno, MA
Sources:
1. Blaylock, R. Excitotoxins, Neurotoxins and Human Neurological disease, lecture, 2011
2. Clark, N. Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook. 5th edition. 2014
©2019 Cagno Fitness LLC