I over heard a Mom telling her kids to not bother eating “all that protein” unless they were doing something to “use it all up”. My ears perked up when I heard this & became guilty of eavesdropping. Yes I made a point to listen to their conversation even though it had nothing to do with me. Yes- I know-very rude.
The Mom was telling them that eating protein was a waste and that they shouldn’t bother eating vey much unless they planned to do a lot of working out that day.
Well, we were at the ski hill and the kids were young. But the conversation stuck in my head all weekend so I thought I had better talk about it.
In my practice I rarely gain a new client who is eating the right amount of protein.
What I see is that no one eats enough protein.
People don’t even eat the basic “recommended” amount to avoid deficiency let alone eat enough to actually optimize their health. I have seen this with 99% of new clients. I don’t know where people learn about how much protein to eat but for the most part what I see is that we either just don’t think about it or think we eat enough (when we eat 2 servings per day). Ugh😊 and I say that with the most respect-somehow, we were educated to under eat protein.
Now keep in mind that when government agencies declare the amounts of nutrients we need their goal is to prevent a deficiency meaning to make sure we eat the bare minimum so that we don’t die
Today I am talking about the benefits or protein in general and tomorrow I will start talking about athletes.
So why do we need protein?
Have you really thought about it?
What is a protein anyways?
In the most basic sense, it’s a “macro” nutrient. We typically get in meat, fish, eggs, Greek yoghurt etc
Animal and plant proteins are made up of about 20 “amino acids”. Amino acids are like “beads” that are strung together to create “strings” of protein. The aminos each do a job in our bodies. And we cant make the 9 main essential aminos.
These #9aminoacids—histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine—are not synthesized by mammals and are therefore dietarily essential or indispensable nutrients. These are commonly called the essential amino acids.
That means that we need to eat/drink these as our bodies don’t make them
So we need to eat them!
We actually use the protein in our bodies about two times daily meaning that we use it then “recapture” it and use it again. But when we do this, we lose some of our stores. The body loses these in sweat, urine, feces, and some are sloughed off in nails and hair. A continuous supply of aminos is needed to replace the loss.
An actual deficiency is pretty rare in North America but is sometimes seen in loss of muscle or hair. It sometimes occurs in very ill patients but not often from malnutrition.
We used to just look at protein loss as the way to estimate our needs. Basically, we said whatever was lost was what we needed. In children and pregnant women, we just added a little more protein
But again, does this make you healthy? Or just prevent you from looking bald, skinny, & frail?
Most people here have enough protein to survive that’s not our challenge here
OK so what do we need all that protein for?
-Building muscle
-Helping with immune function and response
-To form connective tissue, skin,
-To metabolize fat
-To help regulate appetite, sleep, mood
-To regulate blood sugar levels
-To repair damaged tissues
-To heals wounds
-To produce growth hormones
-In energy production and regulation
-To help manage sleep cycles
-To enhance and manage sexual function
-To help manage digestion
-Its critical for maintaining something called the “Myelin Sheath” that protects the nerve cells
So- protein is essential for
-Sleep and mood management
-Muscle growth and repair
-Muscle recovery after exercise and decreased soreness
-Weight loss
And……we have now studies that show that people who are elderly or bed ridden also benefit from increased protein in their diets.
For example. a 10-day study in 22 older adults on bed rest showed that those who received 15 grams of mixed essential amino acids maintained muscle protein synthesis, while the process decreased by 30% in the placebo group who had a protein free diet
So, if you are thinking that you don’t really need all that protein or protein is for body builders it may be time to reconsider
Do you want an optimally functioning immune system? To sleep like a baby?
To be in a good mood as much as possible?
Do you want to recover fast when you play hockey or go skiing?
Do you want to lose weight?
Do you want healthy strong locks? And nice skin?
Well, its time to make sure that you are getting enough protein 😊
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