Protein in Greek means "first place" and usually our entire meal revolves around the source of protein.

Our body uses protein to:

• repair damaged tissues.
• strengthen our immune system.
• make essential hormones and replenish important enzymes.
• make hemoglobin.
• build muscle.
• makes skin, organs, and cells.
• growth (children, teens, pregnant women).  Protein is a building block for our body. 

Eat protein from a variety of sources:

• Nuts, like Brazil nuts and Walnuts
• Beans - (also a carb and an incomplete protein)
• Grass-fed Beef (rich in Omega 3s too!)
• Fish (rich in Omega 3s too!)
• Chicken
• Eggs - especially from Chickens fed a high Omega diet!
• Yogurt & Kefir (adds calcium too!)
• Milk and Cheese
• Fermented soy products like Tempeh and Miso
• Grains

Complete protein sources are from animal products.  These include chicken, milk, meat, and eggs. 

Incomplete protein sources don't have all the essential amino acids.  These include vegetables , nuts, grains, and beans.  By eating a varied diet, the vegetarian can get enough protein.  Frances Moore Lappe related the idea of mixing incomplete proteins to create a complete protein as in: rice and beans, cereal and milk, bread and cheese.  However, she has since renounced that explaining that the incomplete amino acids found in food can combine with the amino acids made in our body to form the complete proteins.

There are 22 nonessential amino acids that make up our body's protein and that we create ourselves.  There are essential amino acids that we need to get from foods:

1. threonine
2. valine
3. isoleucine
4. leucine
5. lysine
6. tryptophan
7. methionine-cystine
8. pherylalanine
9. tyrosine
10. histidine

Beef and Chicken can be a good source of protein but not the traditional grain-fed animals.  Grain-fed animals are basically a second generation carbohydrates.  This unnecessarily increases our insulin and turn into saturated fats in our body. 

When we take in an excess amount of protein, it will be converted to a carbohydrate and then stored as fat.  Protein is not an efficient source of energy for our body.  Energy should come from our stores of fat, not from the protein we eat.

How Much Protein Do We Actually Need?  Only 15 - 20% of our daily calories should come from protein.

The RDA (recommended daily allowance) is .8 grams  per kilogram of body weight (divide your current weight by 2.2 to get the kilograms) per day.  Most of us get more than enough protein.  However, pregnant women, growing children, nursing women, anyone undergoing trauma or surgery, and the elderly are at risk for not getting the proper amount of protein because these groups need more protein.

Based upon average weights at specified ages, the RDA is:

How much protein is in our food? (approximate)

Protein Power Michael R. Eades

Links:

• Dr. Weil on Protein
• Carb Smart on How Much Protein