Dietary protein provides our body with the building blocks of our muscle tissue. Dietary protein also provides the building blocks for the many biomolecules that our body uses to send and receive signals as well as fight infection. An amino acid is the biochemical subunit that makes up proteins. There are certain amino acids that must be obtained through dietary protein due to the fact that our body is unable to synthesize them. These are called essential amino acids. A protein source that includes all 20 amino acids is called a complete protein source. Complete proteins are primarily found in animal-based foods including meat, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy. Most plant sources of protein are considered incomplete protein sources as they do not contain all 20 amino acids. Regardless of whether we are getting our dietary protein from animal sources or plant sources it’s important to make sure that all 20 amino acids are represented in our dietary protein to ensure that all of the essential amino acids will be available for use by our body. As with the other macronutrients, the majority of the dietary proteins we ingest will be used for essential bodily functions. Also similar to other macronutrients, an excess of dietary protein can ultimately be converted to body fat and stored for later use.
How do we incorporate protein into a healthy diet? Our best source of dietary protein is unprocessed whole foods. Making an effort to include one palm size portion of protein per meal for women or two palm size portions of protein per meal for men is a good start for many people of healthy weight. Whether the protein comes from lean meats, fish, eggs, or plant protein sources it’s important to consume enough protein to support all of our bodily functions as well as allow for maintenance and sometimes growth of our skeletal muscle tissue. Inadequate protein intake, especially as people age, is a leading cause of sarcopenia, which is the loss of lean muscle tissue. It’s especially important to get adequate amounts of dietary protein when working towards fat loss or muscle gain to ensure that the body has the resources it needs to retain or build muscle mass during the periods of what the body identifies as stress. Specific protein recommendations for an individual can be calculated by a nutritionist or registered dietitian based on a person’s current lean body mass as well as their individualized fitness goals.
Check back for the next acticle in the series: Determining your target macros