Due to the many health benefits associated with protein intake, you cannot afford to avoid them in your meals. Leave alone the anti-protein campaigns; you need it and you can eat a lot of it. How is this possible? Here are the ‘WHYs’ and ‘HOWs’ you need to know as far as protein intake is concerned.
Why you need protein
- To build muscle. Proteins are known to help in building strong muscles. Whether you are a gym fan or not, somehow you need strong muscles. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. Just ensure that you do not exceed your protein intake to more than 30% of the protein content in your meals because excess of protein does more harm than good.
- Feel fuller, longer. You will not eat snacks every now and then after you have a meal with sufficient amount of protein because protein is a macronutrient that takes time to be broken down.
- Burn more calories. Protein needs more energy to be broken down. This is good news since more calories will burn in the process.
- Muscle preservation. To keep your muscles in good condition, you need to take in more proteins.
How you can safely eat more protein
For a start, you should first know your daily protein needs. Men require more protein than women and this should help you in calculating your specific protein needs. If you are a vegetarian, plant proteins should make up a considerable share of your meal. Once you establish your daily protein needs (clinically or through gauging your daily activity) stick to that nutritional quota.
You also need to know if you are among those with special-added protein requirement. If you happen to be one, then you can take more protein without risking your health. How do you know whether you have this special need? Well, if you are an athlete, have a hyper-metabolism or have a kidney problem, you definitely qualify. A dietitian can help you calculate or determine this special need.
Thorough evaluation is essential in order to know the amount of protein you should take. This will help in deciding whether you are taking enough or you have a deficiency. It is thus essential to have a mechanism to calculate the amount of protein in each food you take. You can use the USDA database for this purpose.
To eat more protein, be able to identify protein sources
To ensure that you are consuming the required amount of protein, you need to know all your protein sources. There are numerous sources of protein which you may not know, so do a little reading to find out what those hidden sources may be. Having a variety of sources ensures that you always have adequate quantities in every meal. It is also essential that you rotate your protein sources between plants and animal.
Cook proteins in a new way
Get creative with every meal and make every meal a new experience. For instance, instead of going for the usual omelet every morning, why not try out a vegetable frittata? This will give you an added amount of protein from different sources.
If you have any questions about dietary needs or supplements to your diet, including protein or any other nutrient, please don’t hesitate to ask. The pharmacy staff at [company_short] is available in person or by phone at [phone_main] for personalized recommendations. We look forward to speaking with you soon!