What is Protein and Why Do I Need Protein?

These days there is lots of confusion going around regarding Protein. Common men have no idea regarding what are great sources of Protein or why do they need to eat protein and how much protein they should consume on a daily basis?

So this blog is to clear all the confusion around protein.

Proteins are made of Amino Acids which are linked together and proteins are building blocks of our body. Protein is used to make muscles, tendons, skin, hair, blood, connective tissues, etc. Protein also helps in making enzymes, hormones and other body chemicals. Protein is used to build and repair tissues. Proteins helps to maintain pH levels in our body, Balance fluids, promote growth and repair and boost our immune system. Protein also helps us with weight loss by boosting our metabolism and reducing our appetite helps us feel fuller for longer period of time. Combine it with fiber to get great results. Protein and fiber also help manage our blood sugar levels by reducing the Glycemic index of the food we consume.

Now as we have seen the importance of protein, let us get into more details on how much protein we should consume and also review some great sources of protein. As we read earlier that Proteins are made of Amino Acids, some of these Amino Acids are made by our body while others are not. The later ones are essential amino acids. As our body does not produce these, it is important for us to include them in our diet. As Animal protein will provide us all the essential amino acids, most of the nutrition experts recommend eating meat and dairy. I personally am not a big fan of animal protein as when we consume animal protein, we end up consuming more fat. Animal protein has more fat compared to plant protein and also it is cooked using more fat. Research has proven that a High-fat diet is linked to atherosclerosis and cancer.

When we obtain protein from plants, we do not get all the essential amino acids so protein from plants is incomplete protein. This can be a problem as our body needs all 9 essential amino acids but when we combine plant protein from 2 or more different sources we will get all the essential amino acids. e.g Beans and brown rice or nut butter and multigrain bread. As a vegetarian, I prefer to use all organic non-GMO plant protein powder from a very authentic source that has all the essential amino acids. I add it to my Rotis or parathas or smoothies or curry or gravies. It is orderless tasteless so it does not alter the flavor of my food.

Here are some great sources of protein for vegetarians:

  • Tofu

  • Edamame

  • Lentils

  • Chickpeas and beans

  • Nuts and nut butter

  • Green peas

  • Seeds (chia seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and hemp seed)

  • Barley, Farro, Wheat, Millet (Bajra, Jowar, Jav, Ragi, Barley)

  • Sprouts (moong bean sprouts)

  • Broccoli

  • Alfalfa sprouts

  • Spinach

  • Watercress

  • Collard and mustard greens

  • Greek Yogurt and low-fat milk.

Normally an active adult needs 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight or 0.36 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. You can also use this online protein calculator.

https://fnic.nal.usda.gov/fnic/dri-calculator/

Just make sure that you are not consuming too much protein. Use an app to maintain a diet diary to keep the guesswork out.

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NutritionShatadal Thakore#proteinrich, doIneedprotein, whatisprotein, benefitofproteinComment