Protein: Your Plate Is The Key To A Healthier You

Sixty percent of Americans say they'd like to lose 20 pounds, according to a new survey. If you are one of the tens of millions of Americans looking to take a few inches off your waistline, protein may help your weight loss program.

Protein, an important nutrient and fuel for the body, also aids in weight loss, according to researchers who have found a link between protein and hunger. French scientists from Lyon University found a potential new target for the treatment of eating disorders. "It is well known that protein feeding decreases hunger sensation and subsequent food intake in animals and humans," said study author Gilles Mithieux. Protein not only provides satiety, but aids in maintaining lean muscle mass while losing unwanted fat.

Another recent study demonstrated the beneficial impact of protein. People following lower-carbohydrate/higher-protein diets lost more weight than those on a
low-fat/low-cholesterol/low-calorie diet over a six-month period, although differences in weight loss after one year were similar for both diets. Improvements in some risk factors for coronary heart disease were seen in the low-carbohydrate/higher-protein diet group, including greater decreases in triglycerides and greater increases in HDL cholesterol (also referred to as good cholesterol) levels.

Including lean meat and poultry in your diet can be healthy as well as convenient. "Certain cuts or parts of beef, chicken, pork and turkey are all packed with protein, low in
fat and saturated fat, and have an excellent nutrient profile," notes nutrition expert Michelle Tuttle, R.D. Look for lower-fat meat and poultry choices such as:

• Lean beef cuts such as round steaks and roasts (round eye, top round, bottom round, round tip), top loin, top sirloin, and chuck shoulder and arm roasts.

• Lean pork such as pork loin, tenderloin, center loin, and ham.

• Extra-lean ground beef. The label should say at least "90% lean." You may be able to find ground beef that is 93% or 95% lean.

• Ground white meat turkey (99% fat free).

• Skinless poultry-chicken or turkey-or take off the skin before eating.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts and turkey cutlets or turkey tenderloins are the leanest poultry choices.

• Choose lean turkey, roast beef, ham, or low-fat luncheon meats for sandwiches instead of luncheon meats with more fat, such as regular bologna or salami.

Try ProtiDiet Spaghettini Bolognese

Very good tasting diet spaghetti with a small amount of noodles, 15 grams of soy protein and lots of meat style sauce. For a Perfect meal of the day.

Protein, A Hand To Help You On A Diet

A lot more people avoid some useful food because they thought it make them gain weight. Some food like meat, eggs, and milk are mistaken to be a factor of gaining weight. So those who are on diet nowadays are likely to avoid those kind of food. Actually, people are getting mistake as those food do provide benefits and also help on loosing weight. Why it help you to loose weight? It helps because these foods are full of protein.

There are studies and experiments results come out to confirm that the high protein consumers are likely to loose weight more than those who consume less protein or do not eat at all as protein help boosting metabolism. Metabolism is the process (or rate) by which your body converts calories from food into energy. That means protein helps body to be able to converts calories from food in to energy more conveniently.

Protein also helps balance the nitrogen in the body that increases the muscle mass. It also slow down the glucose absorption in bloodstream that help us hardly get hungry. Besides, it helps decrease the insulin level which allow the metabolism to work easier.

Where is the protein resource?

Actually the body itself can produce the amino acid for 80% and other 20% is from the food we eat. Amino acids are the basic structural building units of protein. The amino acid resource can be found from the high protein food like:

Casein

Casein or a protein from milk is the muscle’s favorite. It helps to strengthen muscles, increase the synthesis process, and restrain protein decay. According to the related study, if we take in the food containing casein, it will agglutinate in a jelly form in the stomach that slow down the food movement. So the amino acid will be release in to bloodstream more. In addition, casein helps strengthen the muscle, boost HDL level, and relaxes muscle tension and the joint.

Soy bean

Soy bean contains protein for 34% which is two times higher than that in pork. Although the soybean does not have any role on losing weight, it is really good for health. In the soy bean seed, especially its peel, contains lecithin which is a very good substance for health. Normally, lecithin is produced daily by the liver if the diet is adequate. It is needed by every cell in the body and is a key building block of cell membranes; without it, they would harden. Lecithin protects cells from oxidation and largely comprises the protective sheaths surrounding the brain. It is composed mostly of B vitamins, phosphoric acid, choline, linoleic acid and inositol. Although it is a fatty substance, it is also a fat emulsifier. Hence, it supports the circulatory system.

Eggs

Eggs are a good and cheap protein resource. Many people may be scared of eating eggs because of the cholesterol in the yolk. In fact, the saturated fat in food is a factor that increases cholesterol in bloodstream, not the yolk. Besides, eggs helps prevent the heart decease and loose weight. An egg does not only provide only 75 calories, but it makes you full for a longer time than other kinds of food which provide the same quantity of calories.

Foods High In Protein And Benefits Of Protein

Source, shop and discover foods high in protein and benefits of protein for bodily results. Eating foods high in protein and benefits of protein is the path to ensuring the body's primary course in establishing overall health.

Getting to the source of protein is to define and identify. To the exception of water, it is protein that measures up to approximately seventy-five percent of a human's body weight. Protein, clinically considered to be a chemically founded unity, is ever present amid the entire body mass. As an integral biological component, protein prevails within bone, hair, muscle, skin, all tissues, and most every other part of the human body. Hence, as protein is such an integral element and associated composition of the body, foods high in protein and benefits of protein play a significant role.

Protein is the manna in the make up of enzymes within the body. Enzymes are the powerful generators that fuel the numerous actions of chemicals throughout bodies, as well as serving in the transportation vehicle, if you will, that preciously hold the oxygen within the traveling blood. Therefore, the foods high in protein and benefits of protein aid essentially in the body's biological manufacturing of such supportive enzymes. Protein serves two highly viable roles, in establishing and maintaining the body, as it takes a minimum of ten thousand diverse proteins to support the human body.

Amid the mix of carbohydrates, fat, proteins and vitamins, in the past, protein was not considered for spotlight consideration. However, times, advances in clinical and dietary research, fitness, foods high in protein and benefits of protein and recognized modes have brought to protein the amount of attention due its benefits. In widespread consciousness, as to weight control, protein plays a much more significant and prominent role. Part of the resurgence is due, in part, that there is a lack of knowledge, in reference to proteins total correlation to health. What is clinically proven, with regards to protein, is that the adult human body demands at least zero point eight grams of protein on a daily basis, in ratio to each present kilogram of actual body weight, to prevent the self-destruction of its own tissues. Such scientific determination reveals that, for twenty pounds of body weight, it takes a little more than seven grams, in order to sustain the body every day, through, of course, a regular diet of foods high in protein and benefits of protein. To summarize the ideal levels of protein in an individual's diet, as well as the optimum varieties of protein, or the exact amount of calories by protein has yet to be completely founded. What has been clinically discovered is that, worldwide, individuals lack in an adequate amount of protein. Such inadequacy is the cause of death, decreased immunity, muscle mass losses, as well as weakening of both the heart and the respiratory components of the body.

If an over-consumption of foods high in protein and benefits of protein is ingested, in an attempt to derive optimal results, complicates the balance between the amount of acids released by the body, which, otherwise, were reserved for neutralizing calcium and buffering elements within the blood. As one may go to the extremes in a diet of foods high in protein and benefits of protein, they, unintentionally, may be causing the body to pull its essential calcium from bones. Hence, by the ingested calcium not having been neutralized satisfactorily, due to an excessive of amount of protein being digested, the bones are weakened through the biological removal of their calcium.

In shopping for foods high in protein and benefits of protein discover a method that will provide the best in protein's optimal effects, as well as to accommodate your choice among health diets. Among the variety of foods high in protein and benefits of protein, individuals are presented with many options to suit personal preferences, such as the leanest cuts of beef, along with fish and poultry, plus beans, nuts, and grains that are whole. Exploring for foods high in protein and benefits of protein is the bottom line.

Do You Really Need Protein Supplements?

Protein is an important nutrient that performs a number of functions in the body. Protein molecules are long chains that are made up of amino acids, and are important in aiding the well being and functioning of the body. Amongst the functions performed by proteins are the building and repair of the body, muscle growth, aiding the production of hemoglobin, and forming antibodies to fight off disease and infection.

The truth is that it isn't difficult to get the necessary amount of protein that your body needs each day from a sensible and well balanced diet. However, in today's fast paced world filled with fast foods and microwave meals many people end up taking in reduced levels of good quality protein and levels of refined carbohydrates that are a bit too high.

Protein is a nutrient that is found in a range of foods, such as cheese, nuts, dairy products, fish, eggs, and meat. Those that eat meat may be able to step up the amount of protein that they consume by planning their diet more sensibly. Vegetarians may find this more difficult because they do not eat meat. Vegans will really struggle, as they don't eat meat, fish, or dairy products. And in some cases, such as with body builders and fitness enthusiasts, higher levels of protein may be required in the diet.

Supplement your protein intake

This is where protein supplements may be able to help. For those that are unable to arrange their diet so that they are taking in enough good quality protein, these supplements can provide a valuable solution. Whether you are someone that needs a higher intake of proteins, or whether your diet means that you simply do not get adequate levels of protein and you wish to increase this to the recommended daily amount, protein supplements could prove an effective way to do this.

They can also be useful for people who wish to increase specific amino acids only. For example, lysine is a protein supplement that is used for treating the herpes virus. And there are specific protein combinations sold as fat burners. Those people following diets such as the Zone diet often use specially made protein bars that reflect the dietary principles of that diet. Zone diet bars typically have 30% protein and 30% fat, and the remainder in carbohydrates.

Protein powders, bars, and drinks that are available on the market today offer a convenient way for bodybuilders to increase their lean protein intake, and for many, they represent a quick, nutritious snack. For those that get little to no protein in their diets, or who have a legitimate reason to increase their protein intake, this can prove an effective way to come closer to reaching their daily protein goals.

However, for those that already get plenty of protein in their diets, it is worth remembering that an excessive amount of protein in the diet can result in calcium loss through urine and in dehydration, as the body works to try and eliminate the excess. When using protein supplements, it is therefore important to be sensible and not to overdo it. Any excess nutrients, whether they are fat, carbohydrate, or protein, will be turned into fat and stored in the body. Thus, for people trying to lose weight, it's doubly important to consider the overall calorie value of the protein bars and supplemental drinks they consume.

You’re Vegetarian...how Do You Get Your Protein?

Anytime I mentioned to someone that I’m a vegetarian, the most common question I hear after they gasp out the words “You don’t eat ANY flesh…” is always the inevitable: ”How do you get your protein then?”

Well, being vegetarian does not mean your diet will be lacking in protein. Most plant foods contain protein and in fact it would be very difficult to design a vegetarian diet that is short on protein. Moreover, the irony of the whole protein debate is that being overly concerned about sufficient sources of protein for vegetarians may not even be that necessary as it's been proven that excess dietary protein may lead to health problems. Friends, the necessity for protein for the human body is about a nickel's weight worth, the excess is basically excreted in urine.

Of course we all need a certain amount of protein everyday to remain healthy. However, based on misinformation to this effect, several people view the daily consumption of a high-protein diet as beneficial and this in itself may actually be wrong.

Take a look at these statistics will you:

-According to the French Hygienist, Albert Mosseri, diseases and conditions which can be caused or aggravated by too much protein intake include: Leukemia, Skin Diseases and even Cancer.

-Based on the John Robbins work titled: Diet for a New America, the number of people in the US suffering from diseases caused by protein excess is a mind-boggling 40, 000, 000 compared to a measly 3 people suffering from the deficiency of this substance.

Now for some sufficient sources of protein for vegetarians, here are some recommended items.

1. Green Leaves: Believe or not, these babies have sufficient amounts of protein and of extremely high quality, containing all the essential amino acids. They are highly absorbable and will not ferment in the intestines nor poison the body.

2. Fruits: Some of the fruits containing higher quantities of a protein supply for a vegetarian are –Avocados, Dates, Bananas, Olives

3. Nuts

4. Whole Grains

5. Some root vegetables (such as Sweet Potatoes @ 2% by dry weight.)

6. Legumes (though not necessarily advocated...are a good protein supply for a vegetarian)

So my good friend, there you have it, a list of adequate food items that can be consumed for the necessity of meeting your protein needs as a vegetarian, just remember, it’s really not something that you have to be overly obsessive about…really.

Which Protein Is Best For You?

If you are physically active and taking supplements but still cannot seem to get the energy back in your body and brain, then it’s time to look at how much and what kind of protein you are getting. Even though dieters have been using high-protein diets for years, many are unaware of how much protein they actually need and how critical it is to their overall health. Low-protein diets can be lacking greatly in a lot of essential nutrients such as zinc, iron, manganese, chromium, copper, and others. This deficiency can cause illness and fatigue. Protein deficiency leads to difficult recovery from exercise, feeling tired, frequent colds, poor hair or nails, and a cessation in menstrual period for women, which may sound pleasant but is potentially dangerous. People of all ages are not aware of how much their protein needs change as they increase exercise. As your activity increases, so does your protein needs.

Protein is important in your body because every single cell in the body is made up of proteins. Protein is also essential for muscle building, producing red blood cells, the production of various enzymes and hormones, and good hair, nails, and skin. Our immune systems are almost all protein based, so providing our body with protein means that we can fight colds and other infections better. Proteins are also needed in our body to repair muscle damage that occurs during mild exercise. Protein is made from a chain of amino acids and our body cannot make some of these amino acids, which means that they need to be found in our diet. There are eight amino acids that our body cannot make and must be found in our diet every day. These include: isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. Although it is nice to know which amino acids are essential, it is even more important to know where you can find these amino acids because your muscles and body need them on a daily basis.

Since proteins are constantly being broken down, it is necessary to get some every day. It is suggested that women aged 19 to 70 need 46 grams of protein per day, while men of the same age need 56 grams. Now that you know that protein is essential to your life, what kind of protein is actually needed? Even though protein can be found in a good diet by simply eating meat, nuts, eggs, and other foods, many of us with busy lives need a quick and convenient source of protein. At a health food store, your choices are soy, casein, whey, and egg. Although the classic protein source is whey protein, the problem is that even though it has a high amount of useable amino acids, some people don’t like it or have a hard time taking it. Other proteins like soy and casein don’t have the complete amino acid content that your body is looking for.

With all the different forms of protein available one might wonder which is best? Egg white is the perfect protein source. Egg whites contain more than half the protein of an egg and are also rich in chlorine, niacin, potassium, magnesium, riboflavin, selenium, vitamin K, and sulfur. Additionally, egg whites have a high amount of protein but exclude the cholesterol and sodium found in the yolk. Egg white protein is considered almost perfect because human requirements for amino acids and the amino acids contained in eggs are almost identical. Eggs are also one of the well-tolerated proteins, as over 90 percent of the protein of eggs is digested into the individual amino acids that your body needs. Egg white protein is one of the few products on the market that taste good without the added artificial flavors, colors, or additives.

Do I Really Need All That Protein?

You've seen the protein ads - massive muscled bodies, shining with paint on tan, in skimpy bathing costumes...all claiming that you too can look like this with a protein shake and a workout. There's a whole lot of hard work that goes into competitive bodybuilding, and that's not just on the weight bench. Muscle building nutrition is a science in itself - nutrients for optimal growth, nutrients for intense workout recovery, and nutrients to prevent and repair injury.

The foundation nutrient is of course, protein. All the other add-ons are to help the protein be assimilated and strengthen the signals to the muscle to grow. But for those of you like me that just want to maintain a strong, attractive physique, the body building regime is not what we are after. So just what type of protein should we be consuming, when and how much? This article helps answer that question.

What Is Protein?

Protein is the foundation structure of all of your organs, nerves, hormones, muscles, antibodies, and enzymes. Its assimilation into the body is aided by a number of vitamins and minerals.

Protein is made up building blocks called amino acids. There are 22 different amino acids, that combine in numerous ways, to form the thousands of different proteins found in your body. Of these 22 amino acids, eight cannot be made by your body from other nutrients. These eight are referred to as 'Essential Amino Acids' and must be obtained from food.

Animal Foods - such as eggs, fish, chicken, red meat, and dairy contain all eight essential amino acids.

Plant Foods - no single plant food contains all eight essential amino acids; you must eat a variety of plant foods such as vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, grains, and
even fruit.

How To Add Protein To Your Diet

To obtain the right balance of proteins, there are many food options. Each option has its benefits and drawbacks, but the following is a useful guide:

Animal Protein

The best source of animal protein is from organic animal foods. These are best eaten raw, lightly cooked, or braised in broth or water. High cooking temperatures can change the molecular structure of the protein and fat, making it harmful to your body.

Animal foods are best eaten with a large serving of vegetables. Cooked animal foods contain higher levels of free radicals than plant foods. Vegetables contain a high level of natural antioxidants, which help protect your body against some of the free radicals. Also, the fibre in the vegetables helps prevent constipation and endogenous toxaemia. Avoid luncheon meats and bacon. These are generally preserved with nitrites or nitrates, which have been closely linked to many different types of cancer, particularly in the digestive tract, bladder, and lungs.

Also avoid charcoal grilled meats; these contain chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which are known to induce cancer in animals.

Plant Based Proteins

Beans, nuts, seeds, and grains should be soaked in water for at least a few hours, preferably overnight, before eating or preparing to eat. This helps deactivate compounds in these foods that are known to cause mineral deficiencies and digestive disturbances.

Always chew these food groups until liquid to make it easier for stomach acids to break the protein down into amino acids, making them them available to your blood stream via your small intestine. Chewing well also decreases the potential for food-allergic reactions.

Processed Protein Supplements

Avoid isolated protein products, usually made from soy, egg whites, whey, and casein. These isolated protein products are typically made with high-temperature processes that can make the protein unusable by the body, and can even be harmful. Protein isolates are found in many health food bars, energy bars, muscle-building supplements, and dietary shakes.

Instead, look for protein supplements that have been manufactured using

How Much Protein Is Required?

In general terms, a good guide is to take you body weight in pounds, half it to get the number of grams of protein required per day. As an example - a woman weighing 126 pounds would require 63 grams of protein per day.

If you exercise, you need more protein to help build muscle and replenish and maintain your cells, but keep to the maximums above.

There is a test you can use to monitor how well your body is responding to the amount of protein you are eating. This is called a blood urea nitrogen (BUN) test. When you eat protein, your body breaks it down into amino acids that contain nitrogen. Nitrogen separates from amino acids and combines with other molecules to form urea. This is filtered from your blood by the kidneys and excreted from your body in urine. The test measures the amount of urea in your your urine.