|
|
|
5 Ways To Make Protein Benefit You
by: Lee Cummings
Imagine this ... What if you could –
Increase the rate of your metabolism.
Burn more stored body fat.
Maintain more muscle mass by eating protein rich foods.
Calculate the correct amount of protein needed for your body.
Learn about the best food sources of protein.
As you are looking for ideas, here is some proven nutrition information about how protein can benefit you.
1. Are you aware that protein increases the rate of metabolism of your body because it is Thermogenic? - because it takes more calories to process protein rich foods and nutritional supplements.
“Thermogenic” refers to the normal Thermogenesis process your body goes through in digesting and using the food you eat and the burning of calories and fat from that food. i.e. - producing energy from the food you eat.
The body requires more calories to process or digest protein than it does to digest fat or carbohydrates. Thus your metabolism is raised by consuming protein rich foods.
Here is a good resource for more information about Thermogenesis: http://www.mpcoffee.com/thermogenesis.htm
2. Increase the rate at which your fat cells are able to burn stored fat!
You'll probably disagree with this, however...
Soy protein also contributes to the body's ability to burn fat because as you eat more protein your metabolism is raised and it enables your body to burn stored fat instead of storing more fat.
Dr. Robert Atkins - author of the Atkins diet, as well as Dr.'s Michael Eades and Mary Dan Eades - authors of the "Protein Power" books, all talk about the proven power of protein and the importance of soy protein in particular.
More about soy protein in a little bit...
3. Maintain muscle mass by eating plenty of protein rich foods.
Realize that by eating more protein rich foods, you will maintain muscle mass and more muscle mass means you will:
* raise your metabolism
* burn more fat
Understand that your muscle tissue needs protein to maintain itself and when your body does not get enough protein, one of the first places it will get protein is from your muscle tissue.
Let's also remember that one of the most important muscles in the body is your heart. You don't want to damage that muscle do you?
Remember, muscle is protein and protein is Thermogenic - When you do not eat enough or get enough nutrition, the body goes into a "starvation mode" and it will hang on to what it's got. That means it will hang onto fat stores as long as it can.
Since the body does not know when it will get more food or nutrition it is going to hang on to all the fat it has and begin to burn the protein found in your muscle tissue.
Eating less is not the best way to go because it starts to LOWER your metabolism and take away your ability to burn stored fat.
4. Are you feeling hungry when changing your eating habits to a more healthy lifestyle?
Maybe you are not getting enough Protein. You might be wondering just how much protein do I need?
Dr.'s recommend that you get nearly your body weight in grams of Protein. The average woman needs about 100 grams of protein every day. The average man needs about 150 grams of protein every day.
This is an average person who is moderately active. The more active you are the more protein you will need for your active lifestyle.
This is especially important if you are a person who works out several times a week. Protein and calorie intake are a concern when you are an active person who burns many calories (and potentially muscle) during a workout session.
Because it may be difficult to get enough protein without over eating, here are some suggestions to increase your protein intake while on your program.
Have you ever considered integrating a high protein (and preferably low carb) meal replacement shake into your daily diet? Whether you need to lose weight or not, nearly everyone can use more nutrition and protein in their daily diet.
Depending on your favorite shake mix, it could be anywhere from 9 to 18 grams of protein per shake and it will be loaded with vitamins and minerals your body needs.
Here is a suggested "Power Protein Shake" recipe:
Add 1/2 cup cold water and 3 Tbls of a High Protein low carb shake mix, to a blender. Using the lowest speed blend the water and shake mixes together. Then add 3 ice cubes, a banana or your favorite fruit and blend on a high speed for a special "Power Protein shake"! More protein, fewer carbohydrates and calories than a regular shake mix made with milk or soy beverage are the benefits of the "Power Shake". The "Power Shake" also helps to keep you feeling fuller and satisfied during the day and will help you eat less while maintaining the benefits of a protein shake!
Another way to give your body more protein is to eat a High Protein Low Carb power bar which may have 8 - 15 grams of hunger fighting protein. These power bars always make a great snack.
Use this in combination with the Shake mix and your normal meal(s) to get all the protein your body needs each day!
5. Do you know what one of the best sources of protein is? Many people say beef or meat in general.
These are great sources of protein, however are you aware that one of the best sources of protein is Soy Protein?
We won't have the time to go into all the benefits of soy protein here, however there are some important points to highlight.
Plant-based Proteins, like those found in soy, have been proven to help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and elevate good HDL cholesterol. This contributes to less build up of bad cholesterol and helps prevent heart disease and clogged arteries.
This in turn helps prevent heart attacks and strokes. Products which contain soy protein may be able to carry the FDA approved "Heart Smart" symbol which means - "Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include 25 grams of soy protein a day may reduce the risk of heart disease"
Animal Proteins vs. Plant-based Proteins -
Animal Proteins like meat and dairy, can be loaded with saturated fat and cholesterol. This type of protein can elevate the LDL (bad) Cholesterol when it remains in your diet for long periods of time.
Over the years, high LDL cholesterol in the blood combined with elevated homocysteine levels can lead to heart disease and clogged arteries. This in turn can lead to heart attacks and stroke.
So, try to replace high fat animal proteins with better cuts of meat - preferrably grass fed beef and plant-based proteins like soy.
Also, replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats like those in olive oil will help you avoid the negative health effects associated with high LDL cholesterol and saturated fats.
I know that reading this article has inspired you to take action. When you follow these 5 tips, you may find that you can give your metabolism a boost and burn more stored fat because protein is thermogenic. And because of this fact you can maintain more of your muscle mass by burning the protein you take in from food and supplements instead of burning the protein of your muscles.
Finally you will do your body well by taking in more high quality animal based protein and especially more soy protein which is good for your heart and circulatory system.
|
|
|
