Often, we think of high protein foods as meat. But a high protein meal can consist of many different components.

Proteins make up most of living things - they are the structure of us, they hold fluids where they belong, they move nutrients throughout the body. Proteins also making up living things known as plants (ie not all proteins have to come from animals) - they again hold fluids and materials where they should be, they make up much of plant structure, and they act in processes like photosynthesis.

Having enough protein on board means:

healthier, more vibrant skin
Nail beds of appropriate shape, stronger nails
good-quality hair color, distribution, and texture
less edema (or fluid retention in extracellular spaces)
potentially lower inflammation

Now, to get all of these benefits, we have to make sure we are eating AND absorbing appropriate amounts of protein for our body type, needs, and athleticism. All of which is discussed at a nutrition counseling session.

What are some good sources of protein?

We call most animal sources of protein - high biologic value proteins. Eggs get the highest ‘score’ in this category, with almost 100% of the protein located in both the egg white AND egg yolk able to be utilized by our bodies. Going down that list are most meats (red meat, poultry, game meats, pork) and fish. Not in the HBV category, we get into other complete proteins like soy, dairy, quinoa. After that comes your other plants proteins like grains and legumes, and then most other veggies. The only food without a significant source of protein are your refined grains and fruits - great for energy but not for building blocks of the body.

What are some examples and amounts of protein?

We measure protein choices, similarly to carb choices. If you are unfamiliar, let me explain. Each “choice” is the equivalent amount of the thing we are measuring (ie 1 carb choice no matter its other qualities is 15 grams of carbs), so 1 carb choice is a medium apple and 1 carb choice is 1/2 cup of white rice. Definitely not all nutritionally equivalent, but in terms of amounts of carbs, equivalent. A bit confusing, but I hope you see my point. [If you are interested in carb counting, I take whole sessions explaining it - so come see me.] For protein, a choice is 7 g. Now, 7 grams is not an arbitrary number, but it also does not mean a lot to the average person. Let me give you the examples of what 1 choice = 7 grams of protein looks like (keeping in mind, these are NOT nutritional equivalents, only how much protein they have).

1 egg
2 TB nut butter
1 ounce of most nuts
1 ounce of lean meat, fish, or poultry
100g (3.5 ounces) tofu
2 to 3 cups of various veggies (raw) - cooked down will yield the same about of protein
1 ounce of pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 ounces of chia seeds
just under 1 cup quinoa
1 cup buckwheat or buckwheat flour
1 cup whole wheat or whole wheat flour

In contrast, most whole pieces of fruit (like 1 medium apple or 1 medium banana) have 1.5-2 grams of protein. And white rice has 4g in 1 cup, and we generally don’t encourage more than that in a day.

How some enzymatic processes work in the body. Proteins are important y’all.

So when we are talking about a target protein goal, think about all the components going on your plate (especially if you are trying to eat a more moderate amount of meat, eggs, or dairy). Veggies, whole grains, your nuts, seeds all counts too.

For example, a meal consisting of:

3 ounce filet of wild caught pacific cod, crusted in almond flour and air fried
1.5 cup quinoa cooked in veggie stock
1 cup mixed greens with 2TB dried cranberries and 1TB balsamic vinaigrette
1 cup roasted veg

would have about 37-40 grams of protein depending on the veg variety and the particular cut of cod, etc. To put that in perspective, most steaks at a steakhouse are 6 to 8 ounces cooked (assuming you are not eating the bone - which would be less protein dense and a lot of minerals). That would provide 42 to 56 grams of protein just in the steak - again assuming it is a relatively lean cut.

Bottom line. We want to get enough protein to keep our bodies healthy, but we don’t want to do it in a way that is detrimental to our health or the environment. Besides, any extra protein taxes our kidneys and just comes calories our body has to convert to use as energy.

Remember, most (not all) of our meals should look like this and the image from Harvard above.

Post 20 | What is a high protein food?