ARTICLE WRITTEN BY JUDY SIEGEL, PH.D, LONGEVITY TRAINING CENTER, AVON, CT. PROTEINS HOW CONFUSING! WE SEE IT ADVERTISED IN ALL KINDS OF UNLIKELY PRODUCT—BARS, CEREALS, DRINKS. IT MUST BE GOOD FOR US, BUT HOW MUCH? AND HOW MUCH IS IN THESE ITEMS? HOW MUCH DO WE NEED? WHY? WHAT FOLLOWS IS AN ATTEMPT TO ANSWER SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS. PROTEIN AND ITS BREAKDOWN PRODUCTS, AMINO ACIDS ARE BUILDING BLOCKS. PROTEINS JOB IS TO BUILD THINGS. ITS AMINO ACIDS REPAIR MUSCLE, CARTILAGE, OTHER TISSUES. THEY BUILD CHEMICAL MESSENGERS, HORMONES, ENZYMES. WE DON’T, HOWEVER, BURN IT LIKE FATS AND CARBOHYDRATES. IT ISN’T ENERGY, ITS CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL. WHILE YOU’RE PUZZLING OVER THE DRINKS, BARS, ETC., HERE’S A GUIDELINE NUMBER—35 GRAMS OF HIGH QUALITY PROTEIN IN 4 OZ OF CHICKEN. THAT’S ABOUT HOW MUCH THE RESTAURANT WILL PUT ON YOUR LUNCHTIME SALAD—NOT VERY MUCH. NOW YOU CAN LOOK AT FOOD LABELS AND COMPARE THEM TO YOUR CHICKEN. THE 7 GRAMS OF PROTEIN IN AN EGG WOULD BE 1/5 OF 35 OZ. OR LESS THAN 1 OZ. WHILE I AM TALKING ABOUT EGGS, THOSE WHITES ARE OUR ONLY PURE PROTEIN. WITH NO ADDED FAT OR CARBOHYDRATES AND LOW CALORIES, THEY ARE A NUTRITIONAL BARGAIN. (EGG BEATERS ARE REAL EGG WHITES WITH A DROP OF BETA-CAROTENE TO MAKE THEM YELLOW. BUT THE MOST OBVIOUS SOURCE OF THAT HIGH GRADE PROTEIN IS MEAT AND DAIRY. SOME OF THEM COME WITH CONSIDERABLE FAT, EVEN SATURATED FAT, SO USE SPARINGLY. BY HIGH QUALITY PROTEIN I MEAN IT HAS ALL 8 ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS. YOU CAN’T MAKE THESE YOURSELF THOUGH YOU CAN MAKE THE REST OF THE 22 AMINO ACIDS YOU REQUIRE. MEATS, DAIRY AND SOY FALL INTO THIS CATEGORY. MANGIA! MORE ABOUT PROTEINS LATER--
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 19:21:37 +0000
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