a lesson in protein

In my experiences in reading the health and wellness sections of the newspaper, and articles explaining various macronutrient needs I have found that rather than actually learning something useful to my everyday life, I simply just end up confused. One article says this—another says that—and they all contradict each other! That is why today’s post is simple. It is an easy to understand lesson in protein.

First, there are two simple things you should know when deciding what kind and how much protein to eat. 

• Eat complete proteins
• Calculate your individual protein needs

While many of you (especially those of you who are vegetarians) may think you are getting all the protein you need from nuts, seeds, peanut butter, beans and the like, you should know this: not all proteins are complete proteins. Complete proteins are those that contain all 9 of the amino acids (the essential amino acids) that your body cannot synthesize.

While most complete proteins are animal-product proteins like poultry, fish, eggs, milk and yogurt, there are still ways to make sure you are eating complete proteins if you are a vegan or vegetarian.

Rule of thumb when pairing proteins:

1.     Pair legumes with grains

2.     Pair nuts and seeds with grains

As long as you pair complementary proteins during a meal, or even throughout the day (ex. Peanut butter for breakfast, rice at dinner) you will still be getting the complete proteins you need.

Some complete proteins:

• Soy (tofu)
• Fish
• Poultry
• Eggs
• Dairy
• Whey
• Casein
• Quinoa

Some incomplete proteins:

• Whole grains (with the exception of quinoa)
• Nuts/seeds
• Legumes
• Peanut butters
• Bread

Here is more information about complete and incomplete proteins.

An easy way to calculate your personal needs is this:

Weight in kg x (.8 if you are sedentary) = g protein needed

Weight in kg x (1.4 if you are extremely active) = g protein needed

If you fall in between sedentary and extremely active, multiply your weight in kg by around 1.0 or 1.2

As for calculating individual protein needs, none of us are the same. Many of you will be surprised by how many grams of protein you find that you need. Many of you might also say—oh well I eat tons of eggs and tons of nuts so I’m fine, right? Wrong.

What you should know is this – two eggs contain 7g of protein. So if your protein needs are around 70g a day, you’ll be needing to eat a lot of eggs to reach that. Try going through your usual diet and Googling how much protein is actually in what you’re eating, and adjust your diet if you need to.