How much protein do you need for a healthy life? Proteins, with important roles in all aspects of your body's function, count among the most important nutrient components of your diet.
Hitting the optimum protein content in your daily diet can do a world of good to your overall health.
But, the question is; how much is the right amount? There is a lot of information from a variety of sources regarding the right amount of proteins.
But, the fact is that none of these sources know you.
If there is anyone who is qualified to decide your optimum protein requirements, it is you; because dietary protein requirements are governed by factors like body weight and physical activity, which only you will completely know about.
How much protein? There is a lot of research data available regarding the right amount of protein for an adult.
And, there is an appreciable amount of variation in the guidelines that each research result provides.
But, the one thing that a majority of results seem to agree upon is the figure of 0.
6-0.
8 grams of protein per kilo of bodyweight or 0.
27-0.
36 grams per pound of body weight.
Most research results seem to point towards the higher limit and therefore you can safely calculate your protein requirements at 0.
36 grams per pound of body weight.
That works out to around 54 grams of protein a day for an adult weighing 150 pounds.
Now, whether your body weight is ideal is something you will have to find out on the Body Mass Index (BMI) scale, which you will surely know about.
Where do I get my proteins? The above given protein requirements are optimum for the normal sedentary adult; the everyday office goer who does average physical activity.
If you are an adult with a normal 9 to 5 routine, your protein requirements will be automatically taken care of in your regular diet.
This is assuming the fact that your regular diet is a healthy mix of whole grain, bread, eggs, milk, meat and vegetables.
If the assumption is right, then you are taking care of your body's protein requirement.
Everything you eat, ranging from plain bread to baked beans, contributes towards your protein intake and hitting the minimum protein requirement will be an easy task for anyone who does not skip meals.
I need to know more! If you want to know the exact amount of protein you get from different sources just to be sure, then here are the details.
Eggs, milk and meat are the biggest contributors.
An egg gives you 6.
5 grams while 100 grams of chicken gives you 26 grams and a cup of skimmed milk contributes around 8.
35 grams.
It is the vegetarians who have to be slightly more conscious about their protein intake as vegetables are not particularly rich in proteins.
In such cases, eating the right amount of cereals and complementing them with foodstuffs like almonds can settle the issue.
Why can't I just stock up? There is a misconception that only excess of fats and carbohydrates are bad for health; and that an excess intake of protein cannot do much harm.
This is plainly wrong.
Excess intake of proteins is a burden on the kidneys and the general metabolism.
Protein intake does not directly convert into muscle mass and excess proteins are sometimes metabolically converted to fat.
So, hogging on proteins is not a good idea at all.
I work out, should I eat more? Research has shown that there is not too much of a link between protein intake and athletic performance and more surprisingly these findings even apply for weight trainers.
So, you need to dynamically increase your protein intake if you work out regularly.
The recommendations lie at 1-1.
2 grams per kilogram of body weight for professional athletes.
Assuming you are not a professional, an extra glass of milk might just be enough.