Protein is necessary for building your muscles and maintaining good skin tone, healthy hair, strong nails, and virtually every other body part or tissue. Did you know that 75% of your weight, if you took away the water inside your body, is protein? We need to eat proteins because they provide for the transportation of nutrients, oxygen, and waste throughout the body.
Proteins are comprised of various numbers, and combinations of twenty-two amino acids that we need to live a robust life, but our bodies are incapable of producing all twenty-two. Scientists have discovered that eight essential amino acids are missing, meaning that thy must come from the foods we eat. It just so happens that anima proteins - chicken, beef, lamb, dairy, eggs, and so on are the only complete protein sources providing the Big Eight amino acids in their correct ratios.
Nutritionists recommend eating nine grams of protein for every twenty pounds of weight, or between sixty and seventy grams of protein per day. Though billions around the world wake up each morning without enough protein to eat, we don't have that exact problem in the U.S. Our problem is that we're not eating from the best sources of animal protein: organically raised cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo, venison, poultry, wild-caught fish, dairy, and eggs.
Grass-fed red meat is leaner and lower in calories than grain-fed. Organic beef is higher in heart-friendly omega-3 fatty acids and is an important source of vitamins, like B-12and vitamin E. It is much better for you than steaks and burgers from hormone-injected cattle that chewed on pesticide-sprayed feed laced with antibiotics.
Fish with scales and fins, caught from oceans and rivers, are excellent sources of protein and provide the essential amino acids. The good news is that, in addition to natural food stores, fish markets, and specialty shops, these days supermarkets are making fresh, wild-caught fish available.
Eating quality proteins supports weight loss. It slows the movement of food from the stomach to the intestine. Slower stomach emptying means you feel full for longer and get hungrier later. Secondly, protein has a gentle, steady effect on blood sugar as compared to the spike in blood sugar that you get after eating a rapidly digested carbohydrate food such as white bread or a baked potato.
Choosing high protein foods that contain healthy fats, such as omega-3s, will help the heart as it helps the waistline. But here is a word of caution: Don't go overboard eating proteins to the exclusion of everything else. Avoiding fruits, vegetables, and whole grains means missing out on healthful fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other phytonutrients.
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