Dietary Proteins - Medical Health Care Library Wiki


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Dietary Proteins

	Original Author Healthocrates Staff
	Physician/Scientist Parker Al
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Protein is in every living cell in the body. Our bodies need protein from the foods we eat to build and maintain bones, muscles and skin. We get proteins in our diet from meat, dairy products, nuts and certain grains and beans. Proteins from meat and other animal products are complete proteins. This means they supply all of the amino acids the body can't make on its own. Plant proteins are incomplete. You must combine them to get all of the amino acids your body needs.

It is important to get enough dietary protein. You need to eat protein every day, because your body doesn't store it the way it stores fats or carbohydrates. The average person needs 50 to 65 grams of protein each day. This is the amount in four ounces of meat and a cup of cottage cheese.

Whey Protein

So you want to lose that gooey winter coat that''s permanently attached but you have a little problem in the eating department? I know how you feel. You feel like you just can''t eat enough. It''s not like you don''t REALLY want to stop eating, but for some reason you have an insatiable appetite. Well, has anyone ever told you that WHAT you are eating is probably making you want to EAT MORE?

When we eat foods that are highly processed like "Little Debbie Snack Cakes", "Twinkies", "Ho-Ho''s" or McDonald''s Apple Pie our bodies don''t have to spend time breaking them down in the stomach and gut. So the carbohydrates (sugars) in the food go into our bloodstream very quickly. Our body''s response to this is to produce a higher than normal amount of insulin. Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas and its job is to take the sugar in the bloodstream, and place it into each cell in the body. However, when there is a larger than normal amount of sugar in the bloodstream, and a larger than normal amount of insulin, all the sugar (carbohydrates) from the twinkie goes directly into your cells...pretty damn quick. Well, circulating insulin also sends the body the signal to store calories (a.k.a sugar, a.k.a carbohydrates, a.k.a fat). So a high calorie meal mixed in with a high amount of sugar is kind of like the "Perfect Storm" for making more fat on our bodies.

Well, if we eat food that is not processed as much, our body takes a longer time to digest it. This means that there is a steady stream of sugar (a.k.a calories) in the bloodstream, so there is no signal sent to your stomach or head to say "Go get more twinkies or carbohydrates". Instead, the signal changes to...."there''s plenty of food, quite eating....we''re full!"

So what the does this have to do with whey protein? Well, protein in whey just happens to have been scientifically proven to be the most satisfying macronutrient (you know the macronutrients are carbohydrates, fats, and protein) of all tested. That means if you would eat a regular twinkie and a twinkie made of pure whey protein, you would be hungry in about 5 minutes with the regular twinkie, and in about 5 days with the twinkie made of whey protein. (Alright, maybe not five days, but you get my point). Alright, so now we know how to not be hungry, where do we find this whey protein? Basically whey is from milk protein. So milk products and the like contain whey protein. However, a lot of milk products (like cheese, butter, sour cream and cream cheese) are extremely high in calories. So, what we need to do is find foods that have a high whey protein content and a relatively low calorie content. I try to find foods that are close to 15-20 grams of whey protein for each 110 calories. This way, if you are eating 200-300 calories of this particular food, you will be consuming 40-50 grams of protein. (you should be eating every 3 hours anyways to keep your metabolism working FOR you, not AGAINST you, but that''s another topic.)

It''s that simple, eat whey protein, 20 grams per 100 calories, and you are on your way to having a more balanced and steady level of protein in your diet.

Notes:
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Whey+Protein-a01073810490

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EditText of this page (last edited July 15, 2008)