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Guide to Meal Planning
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When you think about protein you probably picture big muscled bodybuilders or really buff fitness models. While protein is essential for growing lean muscle mass, its primary function is for maintenance of all body components responsible for health and vitality. Your entire body is made up of protein; nerves, bones, muscle are all created and maintained with protein. It is the principle raw ingredient for your skin, hair, nails, blood, and internal organs.
As a macronutrient of your diet, when used as fuel, it gives about 4 calories per gram of food based protein. While the discussion of your body’s primary fuel source is centered on carbohydrates and fats, protein can be used as a fuel source when those macronutrients are deficient. When adequate amounts of carbs and fats are present in your diet for fuel, protein is spared for tissue building and maintenance.
Some of the primary hormones are proteins – or at least the components of protein which are amino acids. Insulin and other critical hormones are amino acids. These hormones are responsible for metabolic rate, growth, and sexual development.
Enzymes, which are the catalysts for an amazing array of chemical processes within your body, are themselves amino acids . . . protein. Enzymes are essential for digestion, viral and bacterial antibodies, and a host of additional essential functions.
Your digestive process breaks down large protein molecules, essentially chains of amino acids, into the individual amino acid. These amino acids are “pooled” by the body and used when our amazing system needs the building blocks for complex tissue.
Proteins are classified into two categories:
- Essential Amino Acids
- Non-Essential Amino Acids
Before you think that non-essential amino acids are not needed by the body, here’s the definition. A non-essential amino acid is one that the body either, 1) creates from other components and then uses, or 2) recycles from cellular waste products.
Essential amino acids, of which there are eight, are amino acids that the body cannot create itself and must be obtained from the diet. Thus, these must be a part of your meal planning.
While the bodybuilding and fitness community has promoted a fairly high consumption of protein per pound of bodyweight, most nutritionists now teach that our dietary level of protein should be much lower. We should focus on adequate protein levels, not high protein levels.
When you plan your meals look for lean (low fat levels) of protein. If you are using animal sources of protein (meat, chicken, or fish) then you must be aware that some types have high levels of saturated fats. In years past many people believed that plant (or vegetarian) sources of protein were inferior (or “incomplete”). Now we know that the body does not need a full compliment of amino acids in each meal to build tissue. That’s where the concept of “amino acid pool” was developed.
So please look for and eat a wide variety of plant based sources of amino acids. One of the healthiest is greens. You know . . . salads, green leafy vegetables, etc. That’s how a bull grows big and strong, lots of greens, i.e. grass.
Happy Nutrition!
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