There is so much talk about protein. This is my attempt to break it down.
We are obligated to eat amino acids the building blocks of protein. Some of these our bodies cannot make are called essential amino acids. Essential amino acids are found easily in balance and abundance in meat, eggs, dairy and nuts or can be collected from a variety of vegetables eaten in combination and quantity.
Choose palm sized servings of protein from healthy animals or choose 1-2 ounce portions of raw or sprouted nuts or raw organic minimally processed cheese for best quality, highest concentration of essential amino acids. If you exercise aggressively, are pregnant or lactating you probably require more.
Some ideal protein source ideas:
Raw foods: Including non-roasted nuts and minimally processed raw milk cheese.
Meat from grass-fed, free-range and cage free sources without added hormones. Avoid farm-raised fish when possible. Choose cold-water fish like salmon, sardines, mahi-mahi, mackerel, etc.
Organic eggs from free-range chickens
Grass-fed beef
Grass-fed, free-range, organic poultry
Grass-fed lamb
Wild game
Whey protein
(info from One Degree Of Change, Standard Process)
The healthier the source the more balanced and beneficial the fat ratios in the animal proteins are. Purchasing meats one the bone can reduce cost and provide additional minerals and collagen good for hair, skin, nails, tendons, joints and our brains.
Vegetarian sources include legumes (beans), lentils, whole grains and seeds. Because these plant based foods are also significant sources of complex carbohydrates caution regarding blood sugar levels and insulin resistance is needed, limiting quantities and frequency is recommended.
Key points about protein:
• High quality protein must be part of any diet because of its overwhelming importance to physical, mental growth and wellbeing.
• For optimum health, protein containing all the essential amino acids in the correct amounts must be consumed every day; it cannot be stored in the body like fat.
• Animal proteins are the best kinds of proteins in terms of their nutritional value. Eliminating meat, dairy and eggs because of the cholesterol and fat they contain means losing the high-quality protein and other essential nutrients they provide.
• Plant proteins can provide the essential amino acids only if they are carefully chosen to balance one another, and then must be eaten in large amounts.
• An all-protein diet is not healthy since it will overtax your kidneys; you need other foods as well.
• When eating high-fat foods, it is important to eat protein at the same time.
(Protein: Building Blocks of the Body by Fred Kummerow Phd)