The Power of Protein
The Power of Protein
Low energy, sugar cravings, stubborn fat, or what feels like a slowing metabolism got you down? What if I told you that simply adding more protein to your plate could help eliminate these frustrating symptoms?
While no one food is the “magic bullet” for health, as a dietitian I do find that eating the right amount of protein can help resolve a lot of frustrating symptoms and complaints like the ones listed above.
If you’d like to learn more – today’s post is for you!
What is protein?
Perhaps you heard about protein in your high school health class, but for a quick refresh:
Protein is a nutrient found in food that your body requires for optimal health. It’s one of the three main macronutrients – the other two being carbs and fat.
Protein is made up of several smaller structures called amino acids. These are the building blocks for every cell in your body – from your hair, to your skin, to your stomach lining, to your heart, to your muscle. When you eat food that contains protein, you are providing your body with the raw materials it needs to build, grow, and repair.
If that feels a bit too arbitrary or broad, let’s focus in on 5 specific reasons you may want to start paying extra attention to eating enough protein.
What is protein important?
We briefly mentioned that protein serves as the building blocks for every cell in your body and that it supports growth and repair of these cells. Really great information, but how about some more concrete, “ohhh I get it” reasons why protein is important?
Think of this as the PRICE of protein intake. Protein is important for:
Promoting muscle growth
Even if you’re not trying to be the buffest person on the block, muscle still ought to be on your radar, especially if you wish to have more energy, lose fat, live independently for as long as possible, or even improve your blood glucose numbers.
The more muscle you have on your body, the greater chance you’ll have at reaching the goals and benefits listed above. Muscle helps you have more energy in your daily activities (like doing laundry or walking the dog), it fuels a strong metabolism that makes fat loss easier, it improves mobility and balance so you can feel more confident living alone, and it serves as a “disposal site” for excess glucose so you can better manage blood sugar levels.
What is protein's role in this? Well, we stimulate muscle growth by engaging in weight-bearing activities. This will cause micro tears in muscles. When we eat enough protein, the amino acids come in to repair those tears and rebuild the muscle to become stronger. Simply put, protein will help you build more muscle, and more muscle will make it easier to reach your health goals.
Recovery
Whether you’re recovering from surgery, illness, or an intense workout or race, protein intake ought to be on the front lines of your recovery regimen. This goes back to protein’s primary role of serving as the building block for every cell in your body.
When you don’t eat enough protein, recovery can drag on, leaving you sidelined from life. And that’s probably not how you want to live, is it?
Injury prevention
While we can’t prevent injuries 100% of the time, we sure can give ourselves a leg up to make injuries less prevalent! A simple way to do that? Eating enough protein! Again, protein serves as the building block for every cell in your body, so when you consume enough protein, you help to ensure your body has enough of the raw materials it needs to support healthy tissues that are less susceptible to injury.
And, when we make sure we’re consuming enough protein to recover appropriately, this also helps to prevent further injury.
Controlling blood sugar, hunger and cravings
An often overlooked benefit of protein intake? It helps to control your blood sugar, hunger, AND cravings. Are you on the edge of your seat yet??
As a dietitian, one of the most common questions I hear is “how do I get rid of my cravings?!”. A close second is “I’m always so hungry and I don’t know why – I’m eating a lot of food!”
In working with patients that voice these concerns, 9 times out 10, they aren’t eating enough protein. Once we tweak their meals (by adding in MORE of the right types of foods), they notice their hunger is under control and their cravings have almost vanished.
For those that have blood sugar issues, they find their numbers improve and they experience more steady energy through the day. This is because when consumed with carbs, protein will blunt the blood sugar spike that would otherwise result from eating carbs alone. This leads to more favorable blood glucose values. To be honest, this is important even if you don’t have a diagnosis of diabetes.
When you have sufficient protein in your meals, you feel more satiated from what you ate. It holds you over. You’re not thinking about the candy bar in your drawer 30 minutes after a meal. Can you imagine what life, and your health, would be like if you weren’t constantly thinking about sugar?
Energy levels
If your energy levels are tanked, protein may be a helpful piece of the puzzle.
While protein is not your body’s preferred energy source (carbs are the man for that job), it does help to support better energy levels through the day, in large part because of its role in balancing your blood sugar. If you experience energy crashes and extreme fatigue during the day, there’s a chance your blood sugar needs a little TLC. It’s easy to consume large amounts of carbs and sugar (think of all the chips, crackers, candies, sweets, cakes, sodas, etc…), without having those countered with the right amount of protein.
Lots of processed carbs = little protein = a perfect recipe for bottomed out energy levels.
What would you do with your day if you had more energy?
Where do you get protein from?
Wonderful, so you’re basically a pro and knowing why protein is important. But…where do you get protein from??
Protein is found in most foods, though some are better sources of protein than others.
The best sources of protein are animal-based foods like eggs, beef, chicken, seafood (like cod, shrimp, oysters, salmon, sardines), turkey, pork, and dairy products like Greek yogurt or milk. Animal-based proteins provide all of the essential amino acids your body needs. The protein is also easier for your body to digest, absorb, and utilize. These sources of protein are typically higher in protein compared to carbs or fat.
On the other hand, there are also plant-based protein sources, such as edamame, tempeh, hemp seeds, quinoa, and lentils. Many plant-based proteins do not provide all essential amino acids, so you’ll want to make sure you’re eating a wide variety. Plant-based proteins are also harder for the body to digest, absorb, and utilize. This means you’ll need to eat more of them compared to animal-based proteins. Many of the plant-based protein sources will provide more carbs or fat than they do protein, so that is also a factor to consider.
While it’s ideal to get most of your nutrients from real, whole food, you can also get protein from supplements like protein powder. Both animal and plant-based options exist. Protein powder can make it easier to hit your protein needs.
In fact, how much protein do you need after all?
How much protein do you need?
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), for protein intake is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. If you weigh 165 pounds, this would equal about 60 grams of protein per day.
Note that this recommendation is to prevent deficiency. It’s not set to promote optimal health. Would you rather prevent deficiency or promote optimal health? I vote for the latter.
A more accurate recommendation, especially for those who are active, or for those who are trying to lose weight, is closer to .8-1 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. So for that same 165 pound person, that would equal 132-165 grams of protein per day.
This can be challenging for some people to hit, so let’s talk through the 3 P’s of increasing protein intake.
3 P’s of increasing protein intake:
If you’ve realized you may need to up your protein intake, here are 3 easy ways to do so:
Increase portions
Simple enough, but whatever sources of protein you’re currently eating, just up the portion of that food a bit! For example, if you typically have one scrambled egg in the morning with toast, bump it up to two or three eggs (don’t fret about the cholesterol, it doesn’t have an impact on blood cholesterol).
If you typically put 3 slices of turkey on your sandwich at lunch, increase to 5 or 6.
Pair with carbs
Think of protein and carbs like a pair of socks: you’d never just put ONE on…you’d wear both! Whenever you are eating a carb (fruit, bread, chips/crackers, waffle, potato, etc), make sure it is paired with protein! This will increase your protein intake, and will also help regulate blood sugar.
Some examples: toast and jam with 2-3 eggs; an apple with a cup of Greek yogurt; a baked potato with a burger patty.
Plan ahead
Taking 5 minutes at the start of the week to plan your meals can save you hours during the week (and also take away the weight of decision fatigue at the end of a long work day). Make sure you are planning your meals to have a source of protein, rather than just getting home at the end of the day and winging it. You’ll be more successful when you plan for it!
If you’re struggling with frustrating symptoms like low energy, sugar cravings, stubborn fat, or what feels like a slowing metabolism and feel like you’ve tried everything with no success – consider scheduling with our dietitian to learn how you can fuel your body with the right amount of protein – and other nutrients – to help you feel your best. But beware: you may be told to eat more food than any other diet program has allowed you to before.
Reach out today to learn more, and don’t forget to eat your protein!