Why You Need Protein

Proteins are the basic building blocks for the body.  Proteins are made up  of  22 essential and non-essential amino acids.  Your body can make 14 of these amino acids but the other 8 essential amino acids must come from food.  Your body needs all of these amino acids to make enzymes and function properly. If your body is lacking even one essential amino acid, it will break down muscle to get it.

Your body needs protein to build and repair muscle, skin, hair, nails, blood, bone and internal organs.  Proteins also play an important role in the immune system and hormones. Just about everything you do requires some type of protein.

The only complete sources of protein come from meat, eggs, milk, cheese and other animal derived sources.  Although more difficult, it is also possible to construct a complete protein by properly combining vegetables, grains, seeds and nuts. It takes the diligent effort of a vegetarian to get enough protein. Supplementing their diet with whey protein powder can help. Eating a well-balanced diet with protein, vegetables, fats and complex carbohydrates can ensure optimum health and recovery after athletic performance.

So how much protein do you actually need? The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of protein is 0.4g per pound of body weight.  So a 150 pound person would need at least 60 grams of protein a day.  The minimum RDA for protein is 50 grams per day.  Another way to look at it would be percentage of calories. For most people, 15% of their calories should come from protein. Looking at a diet of 2000 calories, the protein requirement would be 75 grams or 300 calories. Athletes may need a higher amount of protein in their diet to recover from activity and to build, maintain and repair muscles.

A note about soy as a protein source:

If you eat soy based products, do so sparingly. Make sure to rotate them with other sources of protein. Soy products are very heavily processed, difficult to digest and cold in nature. According to Chinese Medicine, the spleen and stomach are responsible for taking in the nutrients you eat, breaking them down and transforming them into Qi (energy) and blood. The spleen likes warm nutrients, which makes energetically cold foods like tofu, soy meats and cheeses hard to digest and assimilate.  Soy phytoestrogens can also disrupt endocrine function, which could contribute to infertility, breast cancer and hypothyroidism.

Protein sources: