Everyone knows Protein is Important, But How much should you take? What Kind?
The simple answer is it depends on you. If you sit on the couch all day you will not need as much protein as a professional body builder. Make Sense?
Many foods contain protein, but the the most common are:
-beef
-poultry
-fish
-eggs
-dairy products,
-nuts
-seeds
-legumes
-black beans
-lentils.
Protein builds up, maintains, and replaces the tissues in your body. Your muscles, your organs, and your immune system are made up mostly of protein, and Water.
Your body uses protein to make lots of specialized protein molecules that have specific jobs, For example: Your body uses protein to make hemoglobin, the part of red blood cells that carries oxygen to every part of your body. Other proteins are used to build cardiac muscle (Your heart) In fact, whether you’re running or just hanging out, protein is doing important work like moving your legs, moving your lungs, and protecting you from disease.
When you eat protein your body will break it down into amino acids (the building blocks of protein) then can be reused to make the proteins your body needs to maintain muscles, bones, blood, and body organs.
There are 22 Different amino acids that are vital for human health, Of those 22 amino acids, your body can make 13 of them without you ever thinking about it. Your body can’t make the other nine amino acids, but you can get them by eating protein-rich foods. They are called essential amino acids because it’s essential that you get them from the foods you eat.
SO you get what a Protein is, Now you have to Figure out the hardest Part:
How much do I need?
Adults, on average, need about 60-80 grams per day. But a more complete measurement of what you need is the following formula:
You need half your body weight in Grams!
So if you weigh 100 pounds, you are going to need 50 grams, If you weigh 200 pounds you are going to need 100 grams a day.
That was simple, But you can’t just know this information, you need to apply it in your life on a daily basis.
When you eat food that contains the nutrients you need, usually your body will assimilate the nutrients into the blood stream much more efficiently than supplementation. But I can think of two exceptions, So I will talk about those in a later post.
Thanks for your time, I hope your learned something, But more importantly decided to implement this into your life. Leave your comments below and tell me what you think, Feel free to ask any questions you have about this, and tell me your struggles in this area, I would love to help. Don’t forget to subscribe above on the right hand side. Live a healthy life!
