Proteins and Weight Loss
Proteins are often referred to as the ‘building blocks’ of the body. This is because our muscles are made up of tiny strands of protein called amino acids, which give the body its basic shape and support. As we are constantly breaking down these strands through everyday movement and activity, they have to be continually replaced. Protein’s other vital roles include maintaining healthy skin, hair and nails, the production of hormones, sexual development and sustaining healthy levels of red blood cells (which carry oxygen around the body). Although it is the second most plentiful substance in the body after water, surprisingly, of the three energy nutrients, it is the one we need least of. As with fat, it’s the quality of the protein we eat that determines our health. Providing we are eating enough calories per day to satisfy our individual requirements, we will usually be taking in more than we actually need – so don’t worry about the quantity.
Protein is broken down in the body into many different amino acids. The body is able to manufacture some of these itself, but there are eight essential amino acids which cannot be manufactured. A deficiency of even one of these eight can lead to problems with the production of protein structures.
Foods which are rich in protein do not always contain all the essential amino acids. If the food does contain all eight it is termedcomplete, and the foods that are low in one or more termed incomplete. Most meats and dairy products are complete protein foods, whilst most vegetables and fruit are incomplete. Ideally we should eat a mixture of animal and vegetable sources to ensure that we are getting the full complement. It is possible to get all the required amino acids from fruit grains pulses and vegetables, but foods must be carefully selected. Vegetarians should take care to include beans, lentils and pulses in at least two of their meals each day. They should also combine incomplete proteins, such as grains (i.e. cereals, pasta and breads), with milk or milk products (such as cream cheese or yogurt). Grains can be combined with beans and legumes to achieve the same effect, and seeds can also be a good source of protein if combined with legumes. The proteins obtainable from vegetable sources are not as easily absorbed as those from meat sources. Vitamin C can aid this process, so vegetarians should always eat or drink foods rich in this vitamin with their meal, for example, an orange or glass of orange juice.
Animal Sources of Protein
- meat
- meat products (pate, offal)
- fish
- fish products (paste etc.)
- shellfish
- cheese (watch the fat content, the softer the cheese the less saturated it is)
- yogurt
- eggs
- milk
Vegetable Sources of Protein
- beans
- lentils
- peas (including chick peas)
- butter beans
- textured vegetable protein – TVP (often used as a filler in commercial products)
- Quorn (a meat alternative)
- nuts and nut products
- bread
- potatoes
- cereals
- rice
- pasta (preferably whole-wheat)
The body takes what protein it needs from these foods and breaks it down into amino acids which can then be used by the body – but it is unable to store the rest as protein. (If you think about it, we don’t have spare muscles tucked away do we?) Any protein left over is stored as fat, along with everything else we take in excess (for information about the danger of high-protein diets see later section).
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