Get Your Protein
- Protein Basics
- Proteins have many important functions. Your body uses protein to make hemoglobin, found in red blood cells to carry oxygen to EVERY part of your body. Other proteins are used to build heart muscle. You could be running or just hanging out and protein will be doing its thing to move your legs, move your lungs and protect you from diseases.
When you eat foods that contain protein, your digestive system goes to work. It breaks down the protein in food into what’s called amino acids. The amino acids can then be reused to make necessary proteins to maintain muscles, bones, blood, and body organs. Your body can't make 9 amino acids, but you can get them by eating protein-rich foods. They are called essential amino acids because it's crucial that you get them from the foods you eat.
The best sources of protein are fish, nuts, eggs, seeds, beef, poultry, dairy products, and legumes like black beans and lentils. Protein builds up, protects, and restores the tissues in your body. Your muscles, your immune system and your organs are made up mostly of protein.
- Various Proteins
- Complete protein contains all 9 essential amino acids and can come from animal sources, such as meat and milk. Most vegetable protein on the other hand is considered incomplete because it lacks some essential amino acids. If you don’t eat meat or milk products, you can still get all your essential amino acids by eating a wide variety of vegetables that are protein-rich.
For instance, eating peanuts alone can't get you all the amino acids you need, but if you eat peanut butter on whole-grain bread you're good. Red beans also won't give you all amino acids, but red beans and rice will do you right. You also do not have to eat all the essential amino acids in every meal. Just make sure you have a variety of protein sources throughout the day and your body will use what it needs from each meal.
Got enough protein?
Figure out how much you weigh and you’ll know how much protein you need. Adults, need about 60 grams of protein per day.
Want to know how much protein you need? Multiply your weight in pounds times 0.5 or you can just take your weight and divide by 2. For instance, a 70-pound (or 32-kilogram) kid should have about 35 grams of protein every day. If you know your weight in kilograms, you need about 1 gram of protein each day for every kilogram you weigh. Happy protein eatin’!!!