Protein

Protein is super important in your diet! It is needed to grow from a child to an adult and to grow nails,

hair and muscle. It is also needed to repair muscles, tissues and organs after injury or illness, to make enzymes for digestion and to make antibodies to prevent illness. We need to get protein in our diets to function properly.

Too much or too little protein can have serious consequences. Excess protein puts pressure on the liver and kidneys as they help process proteins, this can be really dangerous. Without enough protein, growth is slowed down and skin, hair and nails can get in poor condition as they don't grow as fast. The immune system can't work properly without protein so there is a higher risk of catching infections and wounds heal slower. You may also struggle to digest food properly, take in the correct nutrients and you may be more hungry.

Proteins are made up of amino acids which are said to be the building blocks of the body. Our bodies can make some amino acids- non-essential amino acids- but we have to eat the amino acids our bodies can't make- essential amino acids. Some proteins contain all of the essential amino acids we need- such as soya beans and quinoa- although they are mainly found in animal sources. Most plant- based proteins are missing one or more essential amino acid we need, so we have to combine multiple plant sources in a meal to provide all the essential amino acids if we have a vegetarian diet.

There is a growing amount of alternative proteins. The main alternative proteins available are;

• Soya beans which can be eaten cooked whole, in salads, in the form of soya milk or made into tofu or TVP.

• Mycroproteins which are traditionally made from a fungus and egg whites/ potato starch for vegans. An example of this is Quorn whcih can come in chunks, fillets or as mince.

• Beans, nuts, eggs and lentils are all also good sources of protein.

If you haven't ever heard of it, TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) is soya flour made into dough and baked and has a texture similar to meat.

Please remember that different people need different amount of protein. On average, men should consume 55g and females should consume 45g of protein each day but other factors can affect this. People who exercise more need more protein along with growing children and pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Thank you for reading, I hope you found this interesting. If you are interested in more nutritional information or recipes please have a look at my other posts.