27/02/2023
OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE
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The western diet today is full of highly processed carbs and meat products. Heck – even the plant based stuff has gone from actually being plant based to being highly processed these days.
And, for the sake of our health, we need to step away from many of these processed foods and get back to basics. You know – like the food our great grandmothers put on the table.
They knew something when they did the meat and three veg. It may not be very exciting and to be honest there is a lot of really tasty and interesting things you can do with the ingredients of meat and three veg.
Both should be a priority in our daily nutrition, but lets discuss the “meat” .
So we aren’t literally just talking meat here – it could be seafood, poultry, or it could be tofu, or it could be beans and legumes – we are actually talking protein.
The name itself is suggestive to how important it is to our daily lives. The root of the name is from the Greek proteios, meaning “first place” or “primary”. And it is exactly that. It is the macronutrient that is of primary importance.
For many people, they assume that consuming protein is solely for the purpose of building muscle.
So let’s deal with this myth.
If you consume protein, you will not magically start building muscle and look like a body builder. There – I said it.
The protein is actually used to repair the muscles AFTER exercise as opposed to building said muscle for no reason.
Protein, when consumed is broken down into amino acids. These amino acids are responsible for the following purposes within our bodies.
• TISSUE REPAIR. So this deals with the constant breakdown and creation of cells within our body to rebuild tissue or even just to maintain tissue. What am I referring to? Ligaments, tendons, muscle etc.
• TRANSMITTING MESSAGES THROUGHOUT THE CELLS. These are called neurotransmitters and examples of such are dopamine, gabba, norepinephrine and serotonin. Without sufficient consumption of protein, there is decreased activity of neurotransmitters and research has found that a low protein diet (particularly in the elderly) can result in dementia. (It is also responsible for low memory function in all ages)
• HORMONE PRODUCTION. Some of the protein we consume gets broken down into peptides and is then used for hormone production such as insulin, thyroid hormones etc.
While the above is a very shortened and not a thorough discussion into how proteins work within your body, you can see protein plays an important role in keeping our bodies health.
When we consume protein, as I have mentioned previously, (during the digestive process) they get broken in Amino Acids. There are 20 amino acids, of which 9 are necessary and unable to be made by the body. These 9 amino acids are called essential amino acids. And we need to get them from the protein we consume.
For those into supplements, you will have heard of EAAs and BCAAs. EAAs are essential amino acids (a product which contains all the 9 essential amino acids) and Branched Chain Amino Acids. For my money, choose the EAAS as they are a more balanced product.
But we don’t need to spend money on supplements though to get sufficient amounts of the 9 essential amino acids. We can get them from the foods we eat naturally, and by adding variety to the proteins we consume daily. Ie/ don’t have all three meals just consuming chicken, add some beef, or tofu or beans and legumes or seafood into the mix.
So how much do we need?
Well there are more and more findings out there that while it is currently recommended to have .8 to 1 gram per kilo of bodyweight, we actually need between 1.2- 2grams of protein per kilo of body weight for health. Once you get past consuming 2grams of protein per kilo of body weight there is little benefit.
Many would consider this a high protein diet and have concerns with regard to kidney disease. So, let me address this here.
1. If you are a healthy person (no renal disease or do not have a disease such as PKU) then the amounts discussed above show no adverse effects.
2. If you have renal disease, then you must work with your doctor/dietician and the .8-1gram per kilo rule generally applies to your protein consumption.
3. Amounts over 3grams per kilo of bodyweight has been sited (pub med studies) as possibly resulting in digestive, renal, and vascular abnormalities
So, to summarise that all up for you guys. Protein is vital to our physical and mental health. It is responsible for not only tissue repair but also hormone and neurotransmitter production. There are 9 essential amino acids in protein that are required for our body to function well and, no, you don’t need to “buy” the supplement – you can get them through eating a variety of different protein sources. Protein is not responsible for renal issues in a healthy person until may be if you start consuming over 3 grams per kilo of body weight daily. If a person has renal issues, then they must work with a doctor/dietician to find the appropriate amount of protein daily – which is generally in the range of .8-1gram per kilo of bodyweight daily.
So…… with the above in mind, make sure you are including a good source of protein in each of your meals daily!
If you need help with your nutrition, book a chat to see what we can do to help you get on track. https://justmoveithealthfitness.as.me/PrivateChat
