Protein Facts & Easy Tips To Add More

Protein seems to be a very hot topic recently, and while eating a good amount of protein is amazing in a lot of ways, it can get a bit confusing as to what that good amount is for you. You may also find it hard to eat enough protein, depending on what your overall diet looks like as well.

In this blog post, I am going to be telling you all the things about protein: what it is, the different types of protein, the benefits of eating adequate amounts of protein, how much protein you should be eating, and my top tips as a Registered Dietitian on how to eat more protein (and no, it’s not to just eat more meat). 

What Is Protein?

Protein is one of the three (carbohydrates, protein, and fat) essential macronutrients that your body needs in sufficient amounts. It’s the building block of your muscles, cells, and skin as well as a host of many other important functions. 

Proteins are compounds composed of caron, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms arranged into amino acids linked together in a chain. There are around 20 different amino acids that your body uses to make new proteins such as muscles, bones, enzymes, and hormones, and they can also be used as a source of energy. 

Now, the cool thing about your body is that 11 of those amino acids are considered non-essential, meaning your body produces them on its own and you don’t have to worry about it! But it’s very important to receive the other nine essential amino acids through your diet since your body can’t produce them on its own. These nine essential amino acids are histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.

Health Benefits of Protein

Eating an adequate amount of protein for your body is important because protein acts as the building blocks of muscles, blood, and skin; protein is the major structural component of all the body’s cells. Protein also helps to improve satiety through its effect on peptide YY and decreases overall appetite by reducing the hormone ghrelin. In doing this, protein aids in keeping you full for longer, which is helpful when creating a feel-good plate! 

More health benefits of eating adequate amounts of protein in your diet:

• Collagen (a structural protein) provides the material of ligaments and tendons between cells 

• Replaces dead or damaged cells 

• Aids in making enzymes to support better digestion and oxygen transport 

• Produces protein-derived hormones to help promote growth and regulate your blood glucose (sugar), metabolism, blood calcium, and fluid and electrolyte balance 

• Defends the body against disease by protein-filled antibodies 

• Repairs tissue after injury or surgery 

• Helps to maintain balanced blood sugars by slowing the release of glucose into your bloodstream

Types of Protein

There are two types of proteins: complete and incomplete. Remember when we discussed essential and non-essential amino acids above? Complete proteins provide you and your body with all nine essential amino acids, whereas incomplete proteins do not. Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy or thrive off of incomplete proteins, but it does mean to be intentional about your choices and keep in mind Nutrition by Addition (what nutrients can you add to your meal to bulk up the nutritional profile).  

Complete proteins come from animal-based sources such as:

• Beef

• Chicken and Turkey 

• Pork

• Fish 

• Shellfish

• Yogurt 

• Milk & Cheese

• Eggs

Animal-based food sources not only provide you and your body with protein but also vitamin B12, a type of iron called heme-iron, and zinc! Studies have shown mixed results on whether animal-based proteins have been shown to correlate with heart disease, high cholesterol levels, and other chronic diseases due to the amount of saturated fat. 

I believe this is where it’s important to emphasize eating a variety of foods (animal-based and plant-based) and utilizing Nutrition by Addition, which can be extremely beneficial. I’m not saying you need to completely eliminate animal-based proteins from your diet, but what I am saying is that you can find ways to add more fiber and plant-based options to your meals and/or snacks.

Incomplete proteins comes from plant-based sources such as:

• Beans (like black beans and kidney beans)

• Nuts (like almonds, walnuts, and pistachios)

• Legumes (like lentils, chickpeas, and black-eyed peas)

• Soybean products like tofu, tempeh, and edamame 

• Quinoa

• Grains/Cereals (like oats, corn, and wheat)

• Nutritional Yeast

• Seeds (like chia, hemp heart, and sunflower seeds)

Again, incomplete proteins don’t provide your body with all nine essential amino acids, but don’t fret – you can combine incomplete proteins together to create a “complete” protein!

Below is a chart showing you foods that are limited in specific amino acids and what you can add to create a complete protein: 

So, by pairing two or more incomplete proteins together, you can provide your body with all nine essential amino acids.

How cool is that!? 

Here are a few meal/snack ideas to help you out:

• Whole Wheat toast with Peanut butter 

• Beans and Rice

• Hummus and Pita 

• Bean-based chili and crackers

• Black beans or refried beans and tortillas 

• Pinto beans and cornbread (I live in the South, so I had to add this one!)

How Much Protein Should You Be Eating?

Protein requirements are very individualized and based on things like age, gender, physical activity, health conditions, etc., so again, this is why it’s important to work with a Registered Dietitian to determine your best needs.

But there are a few ways for you to estimate your unique needs. It’s recommended that you receive anywhere from 10 to 35 percent of your total energy needs from protein-sourced food. For reference, if you were consuming roughly 2,000 calories, that represents 200–700 calories from protein. This method of calculating your protein needs is a bit stretched, and you don’t necessarily need to count calories to know and understand what your body needs. 

Another way you can estimate your needs is by using the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). The RDA is the minimum requirement an individual needs to meet their basic nutritional needs. The RDA for protein is 0.8 g/kg/day. The formula to calculate your estimated needs is: weight (kg) x 0.8 g. 

If you weighed 150 pounds:

150 pounds / 2.2 = 68 kg

68 kg x 0.8 = roughly 55 grams 

So, you would need to consume roughly 55 grams of protein per day to meet your minimum protein requirement. If you are someone who is typically more active or working towards being more active, your protein needs will increase. 

For example, if you are someone who exercises regularly, your needs may be around 1.1–1.5 grams per kilogram. And those of you who lift and train for special events need around 1.2–1.7 grams per kilogram.

If you’re not into calculating and keeping track of numbers (like me!), you can simply be mindful by incorporating around 30 grams of protein into most of your meals! This would be like a palm-size piece of grilled chicken or 1 cup of cottage cheese. 

Simple Tips to Add More Protein

• Incorporate protein-rich foods into most of your meals (chicken, salmon, tuna, eggs, or tofu)

• Make a protein-packed snack with greek yogurt or cottage cheese

• Add beans and/or legumes to your family favorite meals like tacos, pasta, soups, burgers, and salads

• Stock up on no-prep proteins like canned tuna or salmon, beans and/or legumes, cheese sticks, jerky, and deli meat

• Add small sources of protein into meals and/or snacks like whole grains, nuts/seeds, nut/seed butters, eggs, and cheese (small sources of protein still contain protein and adding them into meals can help you reach your nutritional needs!)

• Serve more protein in the meals you’re already eating protein in (if you’re having chicken and rice bowls simply add a bit more chicken to your bowl!)

• Add protein to your breakfast with foods like eggs, greek yogurt, chia seeds, cottage cheese, protein shakes, etc.

Take This With You

You can prioritize eating protein throughout your day because you now understand the importance and benefits of it, but you don’t have to obsessively count every gram you eat. Eating more protein than your body actually needs isn’t beneficial, especially when it’s causing stress in your everyday life!

You can be mindful of including a variety of protein sources in your meals and snacks to help you feel good about your nutrition and overall health!

If you have questions, leave them below in the comments!