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Protien, Protien, and More Protien CREATIVE NUTRITION by Julie Feldman

Most are aware that proteins are essential for building muscle, but what else is protein good for? Well, it's much more complex than you'd think. All the tissues in your body are made of protein. This includes (but not limited to) your heart, liver, lungs, blood, and skin (these are all tissues). All of your hormones are proteins. Every reaction that occurs in your body requires proteins called 'enzymes' to drive the reaction to occur. Proteins keep our immune system strong.

So, all that being said about protein, are you getting enough? Most men get enough protein, but most women fall short of their daily requirements. Most government agencies will agree that we all need 0.8 g of protein per kg of body weight. Why does this equation need to be so difficult? Let's say that if you are generally healthy and free from disease (and not at high risk for heart or kidney disease) that you should strive for 1 g of protein per pound of 'desired' body weight. This number is pretty high and most of you will not reach this goal. So, if you can take this number and subtract 25 grams, that may be a more realistic number for you to strive for. Those of you driven to high protein diets for getting super lean, strive for 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.

High Protein Diets:

Eating more protein is safe and effective for most people. Think about it - it's all that our ancestors ate and they were quite lean. One problem with high protein diets is that most people take this as a cue to eat high saturated fat too. These nutrients are not the same. Another problem is that most adults are under so much stress these days that they are deficient in digestive enzymes and intestinal bacteria (as well as antioxidants), so the burden on the digestive and other systems from the protein load, can be great. When using a high protein diet, you really need many supplements too. I recommend high quality omega 3's, digestive enzymes (for a minimum of 1 month), probiotics (indefinitely), antioxidants, calcium hydroxyapatite (protein depletes your bones of calcium) and a multivitamin/mineral at minimum. Remember - the more protein you eat, the more water you need to hydrate your body and to help digest the protein.

Which Foods are Protiens?

Proteins come in 3 categories: very lean, lean, medium & high fat.
When in doubt - assume a protein is medium fat. Below are some foods that fall into each category.

Very lean