Nutrition. Protein in everyday life.
Nutrition. Protein in everyday life.
An active healthy lifestyle is one incorporating regular
physical activity and exercise. The concise Oxford dictionary says that
exercise is activity requiring physical effort, done especially as training or
to sustain or improve health.
In order for a person to exercise and remain healthy, it is
essential to fuel the body with a diet that supplies it with the correct
balance of nutrients.
If we break down our bodies tissues during training they can
become stronger and more able to repair if they are fed the right ingredients.
If we fail to eat well then it can be more likely that we become ill or
injured. Good nutrition is the perfect partn
er to a good training programme.
To maintain a healthy body we need a good balance of
nutrients, I'm going to start this series of nutrition blogs with proteins.
Proteins - a word derived from the Greek - meaning
"holding first place" - proteins are essential in the structure of
all living things; without them no life can exist! Many associate protein with
strength and muscle power. Whilst being correct it is only one of their many
functions in the body. Other functions include - key components in playing a
part in immunity, transporting important substances around the body , and blood
clotting. Some proteins are also key hormones enzymes or buffers.
Meat is often thought as the perfect protein source, but so
are many other foods, both of plant and animal origin. The protein from meat is
nothing special.
There are millions of different proteins - plant, animal and
human - but, all of them are made up from the same 20 amino acids. It is our
body's need for these amino acids make it vital we have enough protein in our
diet. If we fail to eat sufficient protein the body will use its own structural
proteins to meet metabolic needs for repair. I won't go into them all as I'm
not writing a text book!!!! I will say that the variety of proteins that we
know about is far greater than fats or carbs.
Great sources of protein are;
1. Lean meats - chicken, beef, pork
2. Breads and cereal - whole meal or seeded breads, oats
(good old porridge) whole grain cereals - not cocoa pops or ricicles!!! Look
out for high sugar content even in the so called whole grain varieties., such
as granola and muesli.
3. Nuts - cashews, peanuts, (peanut butter) almonds,
Brazil's etc.
4. Dairy - yoghurt (strained Greek set is good) again look
out for sugar content on the labels! Plain is best with your choice of fruit
added.
Semi skimmed milk.
Eggs.
Cheeses.
5. Pulses/beans - baked beans - again look at sugar
content. Chick peas, butter beans, lentils, kidney beans, black eye beans, soya
beans.
A reference guide for daily requirements according to the
department of Health UK
Males 19-50 is around 55.5 gram per day
Males 50+ is around 53.3 gram per day
Females 19 -50 is around 45 gram per day
Females 50+ is around 46.5 gram per day
Most of us in the U.K. Consume more than this per day. Is
there any harm in a very high protein intake?
Although clear evidence is lacking a very high protein
intake "may" contribute to bone demineralisation and a decline in
kidney function with age.
It's all about balance.
For more information about nutrition contact Julie via our website below
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