By Joan McDaniel July 5, 2012
The Value of Protein
Protein is one of the major types of nutrients in the human diet. Protein is built from a large combination of twenty-two Amino Acids. Your protein needs vary according to activity level. Of all the twenty-two amino acids, there are eight, which cannot be synthesized by the body and must be obtained through the diet.
Fat and Proteincan be used to produce energy, their primary function is to provide building blocks for tissues, hormones, enzymes, and other structures for the human body.
I know we are talking about Protein but it is all interconnected, you’ll see. That is if I explain it right.
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I love my carbohydrates, but most diets restrict their intake. After reading Dr. Fife and Dr. Mercola, I found a very neat answer.
I can continue to eat bread! I can continue to eat pasta! I can continue to eat my carbs!
It’s just what kind of carbs and what I eat them with.
Dietary Fiber – Also called roughage. White flour has undergone refinement where most of the nutritious part of the grain has been removed, so the flour essentially becomes a form of sugar. Whole wheat or rice is un-refined; it consists of non-digestible carbohydrates and lignin that are intrinsic and intact in plants. The body does not produce enzymes that break down this sugar and it passes through the body.
I can eat unrefined carbs plus if I eat them with fat or protein I do not have to worry about insulin resistance and high blood sugar. If my morning blood sugar reading is below 90 I can consume up to 100mg of Carbohydrates a day.
Foods that consist of carbohydrates can be mixed with fat, fiber and/or protein to slow down digestion and absorption of glucose into the blood stream. This helps prevent chronic insulin resistanceand Type 2 Diabetes. In Type 2 the pancreas may produce enough insulin but the cells of the body have become unresponsive, or resistant to insulin.
The medical explanation of insulin resistance and diabetes is a bit complex and belongs in another post so we will return to the discussion of protein. Take my word for it right now.
When you eat glucose in any form, be it sugar, HFCS, carbohydrates or about anything else, your body releases insulin to break down the sugar to feed your body’s cells. But insulin makes you hungry again once all glucose has been converted. By decreasing your carbohydrate intake and increasing your fat intake your body can burn fats more effectively. When your system is unable to process excess carbohydrates this can be termed Insulin resistance.
Remember cells need glucose to survive but too much is also toxic.
So the result of all that discussion is, eat unrefined carbs in moderation and eat them with fat and protein.
Here are some great food sources of high-quality protein:
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Remember for your Beef, Poultry, and Egg selection, go to your local farmer’s market or better yet, your local farm and get “Free Range”, or “Grass Feed”. The label organic is nice but not as important. The animal must have spent its whole life free range. Grass is the natural food for the animals not corn. And, of course, Grass is Nature and Nature does not provide man-made antibiotics and fillers as do feed-lot animals. Also look at the color of the meat. NO PINK SLIM HERE.
Meat:
Beef: Ideally grass feed beef is an excellent source of protein and Omega 3 Fats.
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Poultry:
A running Chicken and did you know chickens have wings and can fly.
Fish:
Salmon: Wild salmon is rich in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids that are essential for healthy neurological and cardiovascular function.
Tuna: While canned light tuna is my “best choice” recommendation when it comes to canned tuna, it’s important to take a close look at the “canned light” label as skipjack, yellowfin, bluefin, and tongol can all be sold as “light” tuna. Skipjack is your best choice among these light tuna options for lowering your risk of mercury exposure. I also recommend water-packed versus oil-packed tuna whenever you are buying canned tuna. Note Oil-packed tuna is high in Omega-6 Fats which destroy Omega-3.The oil is vegetable oil high in free-radicals …Joan
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Eggs: From free-range chickens eggs and consumed raw or lightly cooked.
Everyone has seen an egg, except these are golden eggs.
Beans and Legumes: Containing the most protein found in any vegetable, you can’t go wrong with beans. In addition, they’re a great source of fiber that will help you feelImage may be NSFW.
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full without overeating.
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Vegetables:
Surprised? Even the humble broccoli (1 cup) has 5 grams of protein, as does 2 cups of kale and 1 cup of cooked sweet potato. A single avocado has 10 grams of protein!
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Soy: According to Dr. Mercola “Avoid concentrated Soy Protein”
One of the worst problems with soy comes from the fact that “90 to 95% of soybeans grown in the US are genetically modified GMO’s. Genetically modified soybeans are designed to be “Roundup ready. That’s right, they are chemically engineered to withstand heavy doses of herbicides without killing the plant!” A great deal is not known about GMO consumption. More about GMO’S in another post.Image may be NSFW.
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“Are you caught up in the deceptive hype from the soy industry? If so, you have likely been convinced that soy is a health food. This belief is an unfortunate side effect of not having done your homework, relying instead on the brainwashing propaganda of the soy industry, which in many ways is not much different than that of the drug companies.
They have cleverly targeted health conscious consumers with a well thought out; well-financed campaign to convince you that soy is healthy. They were clearly effective, as “healthy soy” is one of the biggest health myths in the health food industry.
The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food
“Soy: Like other foods, have been genetically modified to resist herbicides. Soy is included in soy flour, tofu, soy beverages, soybean oil, vitamin supplements and scores of other products, especially baked goods and pastries.”
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Nuts and Seeds:
Nuts: Eaten in moderation, nuts offer a lot of protein power in a very small package.
Here’s a quick run-down of the protein content of popular nuts and seeds:
• 1 oz. cashews – 4.4 grams of protein
• 1 oz. sesame seeds – 6.5 grams
• 2 oz. walnuts – 5 grams
• 1 oz. pistachios – 5.8 grams
• 2 tbsp almonds – 4 grams
Remember that nut butters—almond, peanut, cashew—are good sources of protein, too. Just be sure they’re not laden with sugars and additives! Even Super Markets have jars on the shelves containing “Natural” nut butter, without any additives.
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