As the basic structure of all living cells, the function of protein includes…

• Maintaining, creating and repairing tissue.
• Producing hormones.
• Producing hemoglobin that helps carry oxygen to cells.
• Producing antibodies for fighting infection.

When you break protein down to its smallest component, you get amino acids. Actually, you get twenty amino acids - of which, nine are essential to life. And even though you must have these essential amino acids to live, your body does not produce them naturally; so you must get them through the foods you eat. Foods containing all twenty amino acids are called “complete” proteins and include…

• Poultry
• Beef
• Eggs
• Dairy products
• Pork
• Fish
• Seafood

Poor Sources of Protein

Other sources of protein include plants, legumes and vegetables. While important for proper nutrition, these foods lack all of the essential amino acids, making them “incomplete”. Because of this, plant-based protein has a low biological value (BV) - that is, less of the protein from these sources can actually be used by the body.

For example, let’s say you consume 10 grams of plant based protein. Because of the lack of all essential amino acids, your body may only use 4 or 5 of the 10 grams. Compare this to chicken, beef or pork where you would use about 7 or 8 grams of the protein ingested.

According to Wikipedia.org, BV’s for some typical foods are as follows:

• Isolated Whey: 100
• Whole Egg: 93.7
• Cow’s Milk: 91
• Egg Whites: 83
• Fish: 83
• Casein: 80
• Beef: 80
• Chicken: 79
• Soy: 74
• Wheat Gluten: 54
• Kidney Beans: 49

Let me be clear on something. Just because legumes and other plant-based foods make poor protein choices doesn’t mean they aren’t important to good health. For instance, legumes are a great source of fiber.

What if you don’t want to eat chicken, beef and eggs? Is there a way for you to get the protein you need? I’m glad I asked :-).

You can combine various plant-based protein sources to create a meal that provides all of the essential amino acids. The one thing you need to consider though, is in trying to mix foods to get the right amount of protein, you may be consuming too many carbohydrates.

So unless you are following a vegetarian diet, get as much of your protein from fish, beef, poultry, pork and dairy as you can.

Choosing high quality sources of protein

When choosing your protein sources, there are a few guidelines to follow:

• When eating poultry, stick mainly with the white meat and eat the fattier dark meat only occasionally.
• When eating eggs, limit yourself to one or two whole eggs at a time and use mostly egg whites or low-fat egg substitutes.
• Choose low-fat dairy products.
• Choose the leanest cuts of beef possible - the less “marbling” the better. Good choices of beef include lean or extra lean ground beef, top sirloin, top round, eye round and tenderloin.
• Choose lean cuts of pork such as pork chops, pork tenderloin and avoid most other pork products (bacon, ribs, sausage, etc.)

Why You Must Consume High-Quality Protein Every 3-4 Hours

Unlike fat and carbohydrate, protein can not and does not get stored in the body for future use. When you consume protein, your body uses what it needs and expels the rest. None remains for later. Why does this matter? Well…

As mentioned earlier, the cells of your body are constantly being replaced. You need to provide your body with a steady supply of protein to use for cell creation.

Also, if you exercise you need protein to create new lean muscle tissue. If you don’t, you may actually lose muscle tissue. And that’s something you don’t want to happen.

But what if you just don’t have the time to cook chicken, scramble eggs or grill some fish? How do you get the protein you need? Well, then you need to consider using a protein supplement.

Protein Powders: Not Just For Bodybuilder Types

By far, my biggest challenge as a personal trainer was getting people to eat adequate amounts of protein. Mainly due to busy schedules, not everyone wants to, or has the ability to consume a piece of cooked chicken, a can of tuna or chunk of lean steak.

Protein powders provide the perfect solution. Not only can they be consumed quickly and easily, but they can be transported almost anywhere. I often mix up a simple protein drink in a leak-proof cup and brink it with me in the car.

In the past these supplements were often thought to be something only the most hardcore of bodybuilders or athletes would use. Now you can find it at any grocery store in the health food aisle.

When purchasing a protein powder, take these points into consideration:

• Look for powders made from whey, egg, casein, milk or a combination of these. Avoid soy or rice based protein powders (remember the whole plant based protein discussion earlier).
• Your protein powder should be low in fat (no more than a couple of grams per serving) and low in carbohydrates (preferably less than 5g per serving).
• Make your purchase from a store dedicated to selling nutritional supplements (i.e. not the grocery store). There are several reasons for this:
• The staff are infinitely more knowledgeable than anyone you will find at the grocery store or local drug store.
• Prices are always better than at specialized stores versus grocery stores.
• Many supplement stores will let you exchange your purchase if you get home and absolutely detest the taste of what you bought, which leads me to my next point…
• Test small then buy big. Never make your first purchase that five-pound tub o’ powder. Yes, you get more for your money when you buy the big container, but you’re better off buying a small container to make sure you like the taste. Of course, this point is moot if the store allows exchanges or gives refunds.

If drinking protein powder conjurs up visions of having to choke down some tasteless, chalky powder, fear not. You can buy protein powder in all sorts of amazing flavors, including, but by no means limited to…

- Pina Colada
- Lemon-Lime
- Iced Tea
- Raspberry Cheesecake
- Strawberry-Banana

…Plus the classic neopolitan flavors - chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. Plus you can find loads of free smoothie recipes all over the ‘net.

Don’t Drink All Your Protein

While the idea of simply drinking all of your protein for the day may seem attractive, there’s a very good reason why it’s always better to chew your protein than to sip it. And that is…

Your body burns a significant amount of calories to digest protein.

Of all the things you eat, protein requires the most energy to digest. Up to 30 percent of the protein’s calories get used in the digestion process. So just by eating solid protein, you lower the calorie value of that food. For example, let’s say you eat a piece of chicken which has 100 calories, your body will require up to 30 calories to move the chicken through the digestive system. Hey, every little bit helps.

How Much Protein Do You Need?

When it comes to knowing how much protein to eat, even the biggest brainiacs in the business can’t agree. So all I can do is make an educated recommendation and leave it up to you to find exactly “how much” works best for you.

Based on my personal experience and the testimonials of others, I recommend getting around 30 percent - give or take 5 percent - of your calories from protein. So for example, a person who requires 2000 calories per day would need to eat 600 calories worth of protein or about 150 grams of protein. (NOTE: 150 grams refers to the number of grams of protein, not the weight of the protein.)

If you don’t know how many calories you need to eat, you can use this free BMR weight loss calculator to provide you with an estimate.

Another method for determining protein requirements involves using your bodyweight as a guide. Most athletes, strength traininers and bodybuilders will tell you to get at least one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. If you weigh 200 pounds, you need 200 grams of protein. HOWEVER…this only applies if…

You are relatively lean to begin with.

Carrying an extra 50 pounds of fat would cause you to overestimate the amount of protein to eat. However, you can still use this method by determining what your ideal weight should be, and then apply the one-gram-per-pound rule.

The Importance of Protein While Dieting

As I mentioned in this article, if you deprive your body of the energy it requires, it will begin breaking down lean tissue (muscle) to get what it needs. What researchers have found though, is if you consume enough protein while dieting, you can prevent, or at least minimize, muscle loss. Here’s what noted researcher Stuart Phillips, Ph.D of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada had to say in The Protein Debate with John Berardi:

My feeling on the whole issue of protein consumption is that it appears to be beneficial to consume a higher than normal protein intake during a period of weight loss to prevent loss of lean body mass. Lifting weights will only augment this effect and will have the more potent effect in terms of allowing one to hang on to as much protein as possible during energy deficit. I know, the scientist finally agrees with the strategy tried and tested by bodybuilders for years.

- Stuart Phillips, Ph.D. of McMaster University in Ontario

As you can see, eating the odd cup of yogurt every day, snacking on a piece of cheese, or boiling an egg or two will not provide you with the protein you need to sustain optimum health or prevent muscle loss while dieting. And while getting enough of the right types of protein can be challenging and maybe even inconvenient at times, I know if you make the effort, you’ll find the results are worth it.