Learn Everything You Need To Know About Protein

Introduction

Protein is a macronutrient, meaning a major nutrient group, composed mainly of amino acids, which are organic molecules that serves as the building blocks of protein.

Protein is extremely helpful and vital for us, it is super healthy for our body and vital for our muscles and our hormonal health. It's just a no-brainer, you need to eat a protein-rich diet in order to have optimal health.

Protein supports a lot of things in our bodies. Like I've said before, it's helpful for our muscle-mass as it promotes muscle growth and strength. It also is great for our hormonal health, and it is one of the main factors that supports hair growth and growth hormone.

Protein plays other many roles too. For example, protein structures tissues such as skin, hair, and nails. They also transport oxygen through our blood (hemoglobin, which is a protein), they store nutrients such as iron (ferritin), they build antibodies to protect our immune defense, they are vital for building hormones (for example insulin and growth hormone, to say the least, are hormones built from proteins and they are vital for us), it is an energy source, and it helps with nutrient absorption.

Protein is therefore vital for us, and we need to eat the right amount of protein. The thing is, what is the right amount of protein? Do most people even eat enough protein? Which foods to eat for protein? Let's see all of that in this article.

How much protein should you eat?

Most people do not eat enough protein. That alone explains why most humans are unhealthy. Generally, you need around 2g of protein per kg of bodyweight for optimal protein intake. This means, you need to multiply your bodyweight per two (in kg), and that is how much protein you should eat for optimal health and protein intake.

That is especially true if you're active. Try to avoid eating too much protein (3, 4g per kg of bodyweight) as it could prove to be quite unhealthy long term. Too much of anything is bad. Eating too much protein could be harmful for your health and could hurt your kidney's and your health overall.

Certain foods can help you get a lot of protein in your day. For example, eggs are incredible for health. Not only are they full of protein (around 6 grams of protein per medium-sized egg, so around 50 grams of egg), but on top of that, they are full of great fats, vitamins and minerals that will boost your health. The whiter part of the egg has the most protein, and the egg yolk has the most fats.

Eggs are a super food, so not only consuming them daily will help improve your health immeasurably, it will also help you hit your protein goals everyday. Another food that is great for health and that is rich in protein is red meat. Red meat is probably one of the best high-protein foods out there.

The problem with red meat is that a lot of medias and dietitians says that it causes cancer. However, this affirmation is false, and not verified. The thing is, one of the only studies proving this has been a study that considered processed red meat or foods with processed red meat (ham with conservatives for example, or hamburgers) as "red meat". In other words, they proved unhealthy and processed ham caused cancer for example, but they didn't prove that beef steak did it too.

In reality, beef has been used as a "healing food" for thousands of years, and generally it's not only delicious, but it's good for our health. It has a lot of proteins, some good fats, and it's full of iron, vitamins and minerals. Really, eat it everyday and you'll see it for yourself. It's been more than a year and a half since I've been eating red meat everyday, and I've never been as healthy as I am today.

One other great protein source is chicken. Even tho it's often packaged in plastic which is pretty bad for your health, chicken is good for your health and it's high in protein. It's one of the highest protein foods for its calories ratio. That's why so many bodybuilders prefer chicken rather than red meat, it's because some of them still believe in the "red meat causes cancer" myth, but also because a lot of them wants to maximize their protein intake and minimize their calories, as to lose weight or maintain their weight whilst building muscle efficiently (and also because some cuts of red meat can be very calorie rich due to the fat).

Tuna is great for protein too. Just like chicken, it's low in calories, good for health and also high in protein. The only difference would be that tuna has a good amount of Omega 3's, a type of fat that is particularly powerful for health, which is even better for your hormones. Now some Tuna has been said to be contaminated with "mercury" but I think eating it once in a while shouldn't be a problem. I eat tuna in cans, by the way.

As for salmon and sardines, these two are also great for protein and especially great for fats as it's full of healthy fats which will definitely boost your health. So, eat sardines and salmon from time to time, as it's great for your health (even tho it can be quite expensive, honestly).

Some type of beans, such as black beans and red beans, are also full and rich in protein, so definitely eat them too if they're not stored in plastic (in most cans there is a plastic coating in the inside, which is pretty bad for health). Chickpeas are great too.

When to eat protein?

Some bodybuilders say that you should eat protein multiple times everyday to maximize muscle mass, but honestly, from my experience, only eating protein twice a day is great. No need to eat it more, or less. Thrice a day is better. The thing is, the more you eat around 20 grams of protein multiple times during the day, the more you have chances of turning on "protein synthesis" which is a sort of procedure in your body to repair muscles using protein.

But, if you're looking to be healthy, for a sustainable lifestyle, whilst building muscle and improving your health, I would suggest eating protein twice to thrice a day. Once a day is fine too, but the best, at least for me, is twice to thrice a day.

Also, you do not need to immediately consume protein before or after a workout. Yes, it's better if you eat protein RIGHT after a workout, but if you do not, you'll not get a huge amount of diminished muscle-mass, the difference is super minor. So don't stress for that, just make sure you eat protein a few minutes or hours after your workout. Like, don't go workout and then go sleep straight away. Eat protein.

If you need, let's say, 140 grams of protein per day, you'll need to eat a lot of protein on your two or three meals, so it might be better for you, if you have a hard time eating so much protein, to divide it into multiple meals throughought the day, such as eating some chicken and red beans at lunch, a tuna can at work break, and eggs at night. This might be a good way to consume protein easily.

By the way, if you want to know how much protein you're eating, the best is to track your macronutrients (and therefore calories) on a calorie-tracking app such as Lifesum or Myfitnesspal.

But one thing that could help you reach your protein goals easily is to drink protein powder.

What is protein powder?

Protein powder is a supplement that comes from extracting protein from food, so for example extracting the protein from milk, and putting it in a powdered form.

Protein powder is, as its name says, a powder, and a scoop of protein powder comes to around 20 to 30 grams of protein. You simply need to put a scoop in 200-400mL of water, use a shaker in order to blend the protein in the water correctly, and then simply drink!

The problem with protein powders is that most protein powders supplements are very bad for health, as they have added sugars and colorants and ingredients. So try to find a 100% natural protein powder. And avoid vegan protein powder, the quality of the protein sucks.

Protein powder is super helpful if you have a hard time reaching your protein goals, as it enables you to reach them in only a few minutes. So don't hesitate to buy one if needed, even tho it might be expensive, it's a wise investment.

Conclusion

Protein is super important for health. Try to hit your protein goals everyday, don't overthink it, and you'll be good to go.

As always, I hope this article was of help to you, and have a nice day. Bye.

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