Protein Power
You have probably heard about high-protein diets or maybe you have actually tried one. All kinds of protein-focused diet books are available promising weight loss based on different menus and diet plans. Typically, most of these books are based on the author’ own experiences or theories without any real scientific support. However, science is proving that there may be some benefit in eating a higher-protein diet. Research over the past several years has shown that protein may help with weight loss and improve risk markers for cardiovascular disease. Additionally, soy protein has gained attention for its own potential health benefits.
Benefits of high-protein diets
Studies suggest that protein actually helps you feel fuller longer. This can help to decrease the amount of calories you consume throughout the day. Several studies were able to demonstrate not only a decrease in hunger and total calories consumed but also that high-protein diets can facilitate weight loss. Experts believe this is partly due to an increase in thermogenesis, meaning the body burns more calories just to digest higher-protein foods. Additionally, the higher-protein diets favorably impacted cardiovascular health by promoting healthy blood lipid levels, including increasing HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol). It is important to realize however, that these studies used lean protein sources and replaced high-fat or highly refined carbohydrates. Simply eating more high-fat protein foods will not help you to achieve the beneficial effects mentioned here. So what is a higher-protein diet? Well, there is no regulated, defined term; however, researchers have seen results with diets containing 25 to 30% of calories from protein.
Increase your protein in a healthy way
For example, a higher-protein diet may look something like this: 45% carbohydrate, 25% protein, and 30% fat. For a 2,000-calorie diet this would translate into 225 grams of carbohydrate, 125 grams of protein, and 67 grams of fat each day. Here are some tips to help you increase your protein intake in a healthy way:
- Replace refined carbohydrate snacks with whole grain snacks providing at least 3 grams of protein.
- Eat lean protein sources such as beans, nuts, seeds, low-fat and nonfat dairy products, fish, and lean poultry.
- Replace fatty fried foods such as french fries with lean protein sources such as beans.
- Replace spreads such as mayonnaise and butter with protein-containing spreads like all-natural peanut and almond butters.
What about soy protein?
There are now all kinds of soy products available. You may have heard or read about the benefits of working soy into your diet. The news is based on recent studies that suggest soy protein may promote cardiovascular health, bone health, and may even reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. In fact, soy protein helps lower cholesterol so predictably that in 1999 the Food and Drug Administration approved the following health claim for food labels:
As part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, 25 grams of soy protein a day may reduce the risk of heart disease.
Soy protein is also currently being studied for its potential to help with a variety of diseases and conditions, some of which include weight management, diabetes, kidney disease, and women’ health issues. There are several ways to increase your soy protein intake:
- Look for soy-containing snack foods and cereals.
- Try soy milk with your morning whole grain cereal.
- Make fruit smoothies with tofu and top with a soy-containing cereal.
- Snack on soy nuts, which come in several varieties including honey roasted.
| Foods | Protein content |
|---|---|
| Kashi GOLEAN Cereal | 13 g / ¾ cup |
| Kashi GOLEAN bars | 8–13 g/bar |
| Ostrich | 10 g/oz |
| Soybeans (dry) | 10 g/oz |
| Milk | 8 g/cup |
| Beef | 7 g/oz |
| Cheese (such as cheddar) | 7 g/oz |
| Egg (large) | 7 g/egg |
| Fish | 7 g/oz |
| Peanuts | 7 g/oz |
| Poultry | 7 g/oz |
| Lentils (dry) | 6.5 g/oz |
| Almonds | 6 g/oz (23 kernels) |
| Red beans | 6 g/oz |
| Cashews | 5 g/oz |
| Baked potato (medium) | 4 g/oz |
| Bread | 3 g/slice |
| Vegetables | 2 g/ ½ cup |
USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 18 (2005)
I start my day with 2 scoops of Kashi Vanilla Shake powder mixed into plain non-fat greek yogurt. Not only does it taste and have the consistency of cake frosting, but it also packs in over 40 grams of protein, 7 grams of fiber, and dozens of other essential vitamins and minerals -all for 320 calories! This is a breakfast that tastes great, and keeps me full for hours.
wow, didn’t realize how much protein I was getting in a day…. i eat a lot of protein.
Be aware that soy is NOT a healthy replacement for protein. Soy contains many toxins and carcinogens, and there are numerous studies to back this up. Google it.
Wow Eliseamishe! That sound great. Protein is so important. While loosing weight on a popular diet plan, I neglected including enough protein in my diet. It has taken me many months to get (almost) back to normal.
i find soy very confusing- FLlifter- you pointed out something there- I had heard about soy not being healthy during pregnancy too- im not pregnant, tho i wondered why it wasnt healthy- I will google it- Also that chart is very interesting- protien definatley keeps me fuller longer thats a fact, i also feel more energized too
HELLO. I’M NEW TO THIS GROUP, SO TO INTRODUCE MYSELF I’M LISAMARIE FROM NEAR HOUSTON, TX.
WHEN I SAW THE 25-30% PROTEIN FROM TOTAL CALORIC INTAKE FIGURE IN THE ARTICLE ABOVE, A BIG RED FLAG JUMPED OUT AT ME, SO I JUST HAD TO REGISTER AND POST SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO KNOW HERE! AS SOMEONE WHO HAS DONE QUIT A BIT OF READING/HOMEWORK ON NUTRITION, I KNOW THE ABOVE FIGURE TO BE WAY TOO HIGH!! THE TRUTH IS THAT ONLY ABOUT 2.5-10% OF TOTAL CALORIC INTAKE SHOULD BE PROTEIN, PARTICULARLY IF YOUR TALKING ABOUT ANIMAL PROTEIN. GETTING TOO FAR ABOVE THAT 10% MAX IS GETTING YOU INTO POTENTIAL TROUBLE IN THE LONG RUN, AS OUR BODIES ARE REALLY, TRULY NOT DESIGNED TO SUCCESSFULLY PROCESS ANIMAL PROTEIN AND FAT. EXCESS PROTEIN IS WHAT CAUSES WEAR AND TEAR ON THE DIGESTIVE TRACT, PARTICULARLY THE COLON AND KIDNEYS. THEREFORE WHEN TALKING ABOUT PROTEIN MORE IS NOT BETTER!
THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE STUDY ON NUTRITION EVER CONDUCTED, CALLED THE CHINA STUDY, WAS LEAD BY NUTRITION BIOCHEMIST T. COLIN CAMPBELL FROM CORNELL UNIVERSITY AND IN THIS 20-YEAR STUDY DR. CAMPBELL AND HIS TEAM DISCOVERED A LINK BETWEEN ANIMAL PROTEIN AND CANCER CELL FORMATION!
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND PICKING UP THIS BOOK, CALLED “THE CHINA STUDY”, WRITTEN BY DR. CAMPBELL, WHICH TELLS ALL ABOUT IT.
ANOTHER GOOD BOOK IS “DIET FOR A NEW AMERICA” BY JOHN ROBBINS, OR A MORE UPDATED BOOK WITH SIMILAR INFO IS “THE FOOD REVOLUTION”.
I KNOW THINGS ABOUT NUTRITION CAN BE VERY CONFUSING, WITH SO MUCH DIFFERENT INFO OUT THERE THAT SEEMS TO GO IN ALL DIRECTIONS, BUT WE AS A WESTERN SOCIETY ARE REALLY MUCH MORE OBSCESSED/CONCERNED WITH REGARD TO PROTEIN THAN WE SHOULD BE. THE TRUTH IS HERE IN THE WESTERN WORLD WE REALLY NEED TO BE MUCH MORE CONCERNED WITH GETTING TOO MUCH PROTEIN THAN TOO LITTLE; THE SCIENTIFIC PROOF OF THIS IS OUT THERE—IT’S JUST A MATTER OF LOOKING IN THE RIGHT PLACES AND FINDING IT.
HERE ARE SOME LINKS TO L00K AT TO HELP PUT YOUR MIND AT EASE ABOUT SOY:
WWW.FOODREVOLUTION.ORG/WHAT_ABOUT_SOY.HTM
WWW.WELLNESSLETTER.COM/HTML/WL/2002/WLFEATURED1102.HTML
WWW.VEGANOUTREACH.ORG/HEALTH/SOYSAFE.HTML
SOURCE:WWW.BOBBYROCK.COM/QUESTIONS.HTML#SOY
HOPE THIS HELPS. :)
Eliseamische, where do you find Greek yogurt? My local grocery store does not sell it. I really want to try your Kashi protein powder & Greek yogurt idea. I love frosting so it’s got to be yummy!
I’m impressed with the high protein in Kashi cereals. I love them all and enjoy knowing they cover a good portion of my protein intake every day.
http://www.the7thfire.com/health_and_nutrition/truth_about_soy.html
http://www.mercola.com/article/soy/index.htm
http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/index.html
The links above have some info on soy. The 2nd one has the most. Is it the soy industry
that is behind, “soy is good for you.” ? I don’t work on either side of the soy issue.
I think maybe the soy people are trying to get some profits. At any rate I never
ate much soy and don’t intend to eat any now. I like kashi though.
In all of the studies I have read including the ADA guidlines, Americans eat too much protein. My caloric intake is 1200 per day and I am not supposed to exceed 35 grams of protein. Any comments?