Protein Power
How much Protein do I need? Do I need to supplement my protein? What kind of proteins are there? What happens to the protein in my body?
Protein is used to make major muscles and organs. It is our building substance. It is one of the macronutrients, also known as the larger nutrient amounts that we are most contained with, and as opposed to the micronutrients, which are the smaller nutrient amounts we need such as vitamins and minerals.
Proteins are made of amino acids that are the actual building blocks. There are 21 different amino acids. We get most of the amino acids from outside sources. Nine of our amino acids, called essential amino acids, cannot be made by the body, so we need to get them in food which is why they are called essential. Six are kind of essential and six are non-essential, basically built by the body, unless when someone is ill.
It is important for humans to get a variety of proteins to make sure that we get all the amino acids. Proteins can be found in meats, cheese, yogurt, eggs, nuts, beans, whey and other plants such as soy products like tofu. There are now many plant-based proteins on the market that are created from these non-meat products, and a really great one is called Jackfruit. It actually looks like shredded meat. Quinoa is another good plant based protein—it is a high protein grain and can be eaten like oatmeal or rice, etc.
How much protein does a person need? How much protein does an athlete need?
Medical News Today recommends that an average person needs about “1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight.” A kilogram is equal to 2.2 pounds of body weight. International wrestling uses kilograms instead of pounds at weigh- ins, so you might as well get used to the conversion of pounds to kilograms.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine an athlete needs “1.2-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.” They also state that, ”2 grams per day per kg can cause other health problems over time;” although they go on to say that, elite athletes can go higher to like “3.5 grams per kg without the side effects.” The bottom line is that your body can only use so much protein per day, depending on your level of fitness, so you need to make sure that you are not over-consuming protein so that you don’t get those other health issues, and as a side-note, all excess protein not used in a day is stored as Fat because that is the only storing process that our human bodies have.
The Mayo Clinic states, “extra-strength training = bigger muscle.” The reason why, is that when you workout and lift weights, you break your muscles down. During your sleep your body repairs your muscles, and they get stronger each time because that is your body’s natural instinct. So if you want to get stronger, eat the right amount of complete and varied protein for your body, work the muscles by some type of strength training activity and get your needed sleep—for young people that is approximately 9 hours a day.
The Mayo Clinic also says that, “Eating a banana, Greek yogurt and a hard-boiled egg will get you 19 grams of protein on average. A 3 ounce chicken breast with a half cup of rice and a half cup of vegetable amounts to 25 grams of protein.”
Therefore,as long as you are eating a variety of good protein foods, no supplements are needed. The only time you would need supplements is if you have some type of medical condition in which your body cannot synthesize or metabolize protein, or if you have allergies to proteins and cannot intake enough through your foods.