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In this article I'm going to tell you the reasons I believe protein is such an important part of any persons diet. I have worked in the health and nutrition industry for over 12 years and one of the things I regularly see is that clients don't get enough protein in their diet. This often leaves them weak, tired and often sick and for many of my clients also overweight.
From an evolutionary point of view, as humans, we evolved on a predominantly meat based diet (fish also). This covered all of our dietary protein needs and it wasn't until fairly recently that we switched to cultivating grains and other carbohydrate type foods. However, there was still more balance with humans getting plenty of protein in the form of meat and fish and now eggs.
Today we eat more processed and convenience type foods than ever before and consequently our quality and quantity of protein consumption has dropped dramatically. We need good quality protein every day to provide the amino acids (protein building blocks) to run our physiology. From the hair and nails that we grow to the red blood cells that carry oxygen in our blood protein is vital. We also need it to build the bones of our skeleton and the muscles that help us move and exercise.
I'm of the belief that the best way to do this is by regularly consuming meat and fish but I realise that some people, for whatever reasons, choose not to do this. Regardless of where you source your protein you need to get a plentiful and quality supply every day to maintain good health.
From a weight loss perspective you need the amino acids found in protein to build the power house, calorie hungry muscles in the gym that will help create a negative calorie balance and help you lose weight. Also protein in your diet, particularly from animal sources, causes your pancreas to secrete glucagon which switches on fat burning genes and off sets the effect of the hormone insulin which activates fat storage genes.
Another critical factor about animal protein, particularly red meat, which most people don't know is that it's high in carnitine. Carnitine is an amino acid that takes energy and particularly fatty acids into the mitochondria of cells to be burnt as fuel. This is vitally important on any weight loss programme as this makes your metabolism speed up once again creating that negative calorie balance.
In conclusion, you can see from the information that I have presented here that good quality protein in your diet is vitally important for your health and even more so on any weight loss programme. Also due to the advantages that I have discussed I believe that meat and fish are the best sources of this protein due to evolutionary processes. In my experience with hundreds of training clients over my career people don't get anywhere near the required amount of dietary protein each and every day. I encourage you not to fall into this trap and include more protein in your diet.
From an evolutionary point of view, as humans, we evolved on a predominantly meat based diet (fish also). This covered all of our dietary protein needs and it wasn't until fairly recently that we switched to cultivating grains and other carbohydrate type foods. However, there was still more balance with humans getting plenty of protein in the form of meat and fish and now eggs.
Today we eat more processed and convenience type foods than ever before and consequently our quality and quantity of protein consumption has dropped dramatically. We need good quality protein every day to provide the amino acids (protein building blocks) to run our physiology. From the hair and nails that we grow to the red blood cells that carry oxygen in our blood protein is vital. We also need it to build the bones of our skeleton and the muscles that help us move and exercise.
I'm of the belief that the best way to do this is by regularly consuming meat and fish but I realise that some people, for whatever reasons, choose not to do this. Regardless of where you source your protein you need to get a plentiful and quality supply every day to maintain good health.
From a weight loss perspective you need the amino acids found in protein to build the power house, calorie hungry muscles in the gym that will help create a negative calorie balance and help you lose weight. Also protein in your diet, particularly from animal sources, causes your pancreas to secrete glucagon which switches on fat burning genes and off sets the effect of the hormone insulin which activates fat storage genes.
Another critical factor about animal protein, particularly red meat, which most people don't know is that it's high in carnitine. Carnitine is an amino acid that takes energy and particularly fatty acids into the mitochondria of cells to be burnt as fuel. This is vitally important on any weight loss programme as this makes your metabolism speed up once again creating that negative calorie balance.
In conclusion, you can see from the information that I have presented here that good quality protein in your diet is vitally important for your health and even more so on any weight loss programme. Also due to the advantages that I have discussed I believe that meat and fish are the best sources of this protein due to evolutionary processes. In my experience with hundreds of training clients over my career people don't get anywhere near the required amount of dietary protein each and every day. I encourage you not to fall into this trap and include more protein in your diet.
Posted in: Nutrition
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