What is Protein & How Much Do I Need?

What is protein?

Your hair and skin are mostly protein. Also of course your muscles, the oxygen carrying hemoglobin in your blood , and the multitude of enzymes that keep your body working properly.

Your body is home to more than 10,000 different proteins!

Proteins are long, intricate chains made from 20 or so building blocks called amino acids.
Our bodies are constantly making new proteins and because we don't store amino acids as we do fats, we need a daily supply of protein.

Some dietary proteins are complete ( they contain all the amino acids we need to make new protein). Others are incomplete, lacking one or more essential amino acids ( ones we can't make from scratch or convert from other amino acids).

Good sources of complete proteins are:
Meat
Fish
Eggs
Low - fat dairy products ( such as Greek yogurt and cottage cheese)

Incomplete proteins are:
Vegetable proteins
That is why vegetarians need to eat combinations that complement each other, such as:
Rice and Beans
Natural peanut butter and whole wheat bread  (Ezekiel bread is a great choice)
Tofu and brown rice

How much do we need each day?
The latest guidelines from the Institute of Medicine set the RDA for protein at 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight or just over 7 grams per each 20 pounds.

Please note :
Taking in more protein per day than your body needs will not create "BIG" muscle gains and give you the body you want - but will be stored as fat!
 Protein = 4 calories per gram
 Carbohydrate = 4 calories per gram
 Fat = 9 calories per gram