The Best Protein You Can Eat, According To Nutritionists

Protein is the key to keeping cravings at bay, building lean muscle and dropping those last few pounds. But according to a new review published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, it’s not just how much protein you eat that’s important: It's where you get your protein that also matters. The reason is threefold. First of all, every source of protein -- from chicken to peanuts -- contains a different array of amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Of the 20 various amino acids, nine are “essential,” meaning you can only get them from food. So it’s especially important you get enough of those guys. Animal-based sources (meat, eggs, dairy) pack them all in one amount or another, but most plant-based sources only contain a fraction of the nine essential amino acids, meaning that if you get all your plant-based protein from peas, you could end up not getting enough of certain amino acids, explains study co-author Rajavel Elango, a nutrition and metabolism researcher with the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health. When getting protein from plant-based sources, it’s important to munch on various protein-rich plants at every meal to help guarantee you get all of the amino acids you need by day’s end. FYI, that’s not an excuse to forgo your veggies and get your protein fix from T-bone steaks at breakfast, lunch and dinner. After all, (and this is our “sec...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news