THE BEST SOURCES OF PROTEIN
There are two main sources of protein: whole-food protein and supplement protein. Whole-food protein is, as you guessed, protein that comes from natural food sources, such as beef, chicken, fish, plants, and the like.
As you can imagine, not all protein is metabolized in the same way. Different proteins digest at different speeds, and some are better used by the body than others. For example, beef protein is digested quickly, and 70 to 80 percent of what’s eaten is used by the body.6 On the other hand, the protein found in eggs is digested much more slowly than beef, but the body uses it even more efficiently.
The general rule of protein intake is that you want to stick to proteins that are easily digested and that supply plentiful amounts of the essential amino acids required by the body. To determine what these proteins are, we can turn to the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAA) of various types of protein, which assigns ratings on a scale from 0 to 1 to indicate the overall quality of the food (with 0 being the worst and 1 being the best possible score).
While I could give you a big table with the PDCAA scores of various proteins, I’m going to just keep it simple: your best choices are meat, dairy products, and eggs; second to those are certain plant sources like legumes, nuts, and high-protein vegetables such as peas, broccoli, and spinach.
Protein from meat is particularly helpful when you’re weightlifting, as research has demonstrated that eating meats increases testosterone levels and is more effective for building muscle than vegetarian sources.
One study conducted by researchers at the University of Arkansas had two groups of men aged 51 to 69, all comparable in health and body composition, follow a weightlifting program for 12 weeks. One group followed a meat-free lactoovovegetarian diet (wherein meat is avoided but eggs and dairy are eaten) and the other ate a meat-containing omnivorous diet. By the end of the program, all had progressed about equally in strength, but only the meat eaters enjoyed significant muscle growth and fat loss.
“Meat” doesn’t only mean red meat, by the way. Fish, chicken, turkey, pork, buffalo, and so on all qualify as “meat” in this sense.
You’ll also want to stick mainly to lean varieties and cuts of meats, as fattier meats are hard to fit into a proper meal plan. It’s generally good advice to limit your saturated fat intake and get a good amount of your dietary fat from unsaturated sources.
If you’re a vegetarian, while it’s true that you would do better if you ate meat, don’t despair: you can still do well on the program so long as you eat enough protein every day and stick to high-quality sources.
And while we’re on the subject of high-quality vegetarian proteins, let’s address the claim that as a vegetarian or vegan eater, you must carefully combine your proteins to ensure your body gets all of the amino acids it needs to build and repair its tissues.
This theory and the faulty research it was based on was thoroughly debunked as a myth by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, yet it still hangs around.
While it’s true that some sources of vegetable protein are lower in certain amino acids than other forms of protein, there is no scientific evidence to prove that they lack them altogether.
Let’s now talk about protein supplements. These are powdered or liquid foods that contain protein from various sources, with the four most popular sources being whey, casein, egg, and soy, as well as plant-based supplements made from various foods such as quinoa, brown rice, peas, hemp, and even fruit.
While you don’t need protein supplements to build muscle and get fit, it can be impractical to try to get all the protein you need from whole foods. Protein powder is convenient and, in some cases, it offers some unique benefits.
Let’s take a closer look at each type of protein supplement and see what the research says about their value in our quest to get fit.
There are two main sources of protein: whole-food protein and supplement protein. Whole-food protein is, as you guessed, protein that comes from natural food sources, such as beef, chicken, fish, plants, and the like.
As you can imagine, not all protein is metabolized in the same way. Different proteins digest at different speeds, and some are better used by the body than others. For example, beef protein is digested quickly, and 70 to 80 percent of what’s eaten is used by the body.6 On the other hand, the protein found in eggs is digested much more slowly than beef, but the body uses it even more efficiently.
The general rule of protein intake is that you want to stick to proteins that are easily digested and that supply plentiful amounts of the essential amino acids required by the body. To determine what these proteins are, we can turn to the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAA) of various types of protein, which assigns ratings on a scale from 0 to 1 to indicate the overall quality of the food (with 0 being the worst and 1 being the best possible score).
While I could give you a big table with the PDCAA scores of various proteins, I’m going to just keep it simple: your best choices are meat, dairy products, and eggs; second to those are certain plant sources like legumes, nuts, and high-protein vegetables such as peas, broccoli, and spinach.
Protein from meat is particularly helpful when you’re weightlifting, as research has demonstrated that eating meats increases testosterone levels and is more effective for building muscle than vegetarian sources.
One study conducted by researchers at the University of Arkansas had two groups of men aged 51 to 69, all comparable in health and body composition, follow a weightlifting program for 12 weeks. One group followed a meat-free lactoovovegetarian diet (wherein meat is avoided but eggs and dairy are eaten) and the other ate a meat-containing omnivorous diet. By the end of the program, all had progressed about equally in strength, but only the meat eaters enjoyed significant muscle growth and fat loss.
“Meat” doesn’t only mean red meat, by the way. Fish, chicken, turkey, pork, buffalo, and so on all qualify as “meat” in this sense.
You’ll also want to stick mainly to lean varieties and cuts of meats, as fattier meats are hard to fit into a proper meal plan. It’s generally good advice to limit your saturated fat intake and get a good amount of your dietary fat from unsaturated sources.
If you’re a vegetarian, while it’s true that you would do better if you ate meat, don’t despair: you can still do well on the program so long as you eat enough protein every day and stick to high-quality sources.
And while we’re on the subject of high-quality vegetarian proteins, let’s address the claim that as a vegetarian or vegan eater, you must carefully combine your proteins to ensure your body gets all of the amino acids it needs to build and repair its tissues.
This theory and the faulty research it was based on was thoroughly debunked as a myth by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, yet it still hangs around.
While it’s true that some sources of vegetable protein are lower in certain amino acids than other forms of protein, there is no scientific evidence to prove that they lack them altogether.
Let’s now talk about protein supplements. These are powdered or liquid foods that contain protein from various sources, with the four most popular sources being whey, casein, egg, and soy, as well as plant-based supplements made from various foods such as quinoa, brown rice, peas, hemp, and even fruit.
While you don’t need protein supplements to build muscle and get fit, it can be impractical to try to get all the protein you need from whole foods. Protein powder is convenient and, in some cases, it offers some unique benefits.
Let’s take a closer look at each type of protein supplement and see what the research says about their value in our quest to get fit.
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