Protein - How Much Do You Really Need

Think you know about how much protein you need in your diet?  Maybe you do and maybe you don't...either way, check out what the USDA guidelines are (of course, if you're an athlete you get to have a bit more):

How much food from the Protein Foods Group is needed daily?

The amount of food from the Protein Foods Group you need to eat depends on age, sex, and level of physical activity. Most Americans eat enough food from this group, but need to make leaner and more varied selections of these foods. Recommended daily amounts are shown in the chart.  

Daily recommendation*
Children		2-3 years old		2 ounce equivalents**
		4-8 years old		4 ounce equivalents**
Girls		9-13 years old		5 ounce equivalents**
		14-18 years old		5 ounce equivalents**
Boys		9-13 years old		5 ounce equivalents**
		14-18 years old		6 ½ ounce equivalents**
Women		19-30 years old		5 ½ ounce equivalents**
		31-50 years old		5 ounce equivalents**
		51+ years old		5 ounce equivalents**
Men		19-30 years old		6 ½ ounce equivalents**
		31-50 years old		6 ounce equivalents**
		51+ years old		5 ½ ounce equivalents**

*These amounts are appropriate for individuals who get less than 30 minutes per day of moderate physical activity, beyond normal daily activities. Those who are more physically active may be able to consume more while staying within calorie needs. 

What counts as an ounce equivalent in the Protein Foods Group?

In general, 1 ounce of meat, poultry or fish, ¼ cup cooked beans, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of peanut 
butter, or ½ ounce of nuts or seeds can be considered as 1 ounce equivalent from the Protein 
Foods Group. 

The chart lists specific amounts that count as 1 ounce equivalent in the Protein Foods Group 
towards your daily recommended intake: 

		Amount that counts as 1 ounce equivalent in the Protein Foods Group		Common portions and ounce equivalents
Meats		1 ounce cooked lean beef		1 small steak (eye of round, filet) = 3½ to 4 ounce equivalents
		1 ounce cooked lean pork or ham		1 small lean hamburger =  2 to 3 ounce equivalents
Poultry		1 ounce cooked chicken or turkey,  without skin		1 small chicken breast half =  3 ounce equivalents
		1 sandwich slice of turkey  (4 ½ x 2 ½ x 1/8”)		½ Cornish game hen =  4 ounce equivalents
Seafood		1 ounce cooked fish or shell fish		1 can of tuna, drained =  3 to 4 ounce equivalents 1 salmon steak =  4 to 6 ounce equivalents 1 small trout = 3 ounce equivalents
Eggs		1 egg		3 egg whites = 2 ounce equivalents 3 egg yolks = 1 ounce equivalent
Nuts and seeds		½ ounce of nuts (12 almonds, 24 pistachios, 7 walnut halves) ½ ounce of seeds (pumpkin, sunflower or squash seeds, hulled, roasted) 1 Tablespoon of peanut butter or almond butter		1 ounce of nuts or seeds =  2 ounce equivalents
Beans and peas		¼ cup of cooked beans (such as black, kidney, pinto, or white beans)  ¼ cup of cooked peas (such as chickpeas, cowpeas, lentils, or split peas) ¼ cup of baked beans, refried beans		1 cup split pea soup =  2 ounce equivalents 1 cup lentil soup =  2 ounce equivalents 1 cup bean soup =  2 ounce equivalents
		¼ cup (about 2 ounces) of tofu 1 oz. tempeh, cooked ¼ cup roasted soybeans 1 falafel patty  (2 ¼”, 4 oz) 2 Tablespoons hummus		1 soy or bean burger patty =  2 ounce equivalents

NOTE: 1 Ounce = 28.3495231 Grams

The only thing that I don't like about this chart is that they haven't listed any fruits or vegetables and, face it, protein is a building block - every living thing has protein.  So, when you're counting protein intake, don't forget to take fruits and vegetables into consideration as well.

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Food Labels and Healthier Choices (Part 1 of 2)

When you look at a food label, what do you see?  What do you actually look for?  I'm pretty label scrutinous when I'm grocery shopping but then again, I'm paranoid (to a degree) about what the big food companies and the USDA considers to be food or safe to consume as food.  So, if you're interested, I thought I'd share my method of label scrutiny.  Because of the amount of information on those "pesky" panels of nutrient/ingredient information, I've decided to make this a two-part blog with this first part concentrating on the nutrition part of the labels.  Part two will focus on understanding ingredients and what they could mean to your health.

First, about fresh fruits and vegetables -- I know, I know, there's no labels but there's a few rules I follow when I'm buying these.  These are:

1. Try to buy locally grown;
2. Whether local or not, try to buy organically grown, especially if it's something that grows close to the ground or that we'll be consuming the skin---pesticides will soak into the entire fruit or vegetable but tend to concentrate more in the skin...just in case you didn't know  (There was a case study done with chimpanzees and bananas...organically grown bananas and conventionally grown bananas were given to the chimps at the same time for many days--each day, the chimps would first choose the organic bananas and eat them with the skin but would leave the conventional bananas until much later in the day when they were fairly desperate...interestingly enough, they DIDN'T eat the skins of the conventionally grown bananas--just saying that the chimps may be smarter than we are or at least better "smellers");
3. If you can't find fresh fruits and vegetables grown locally or within a short distance of where you live, your better choice (if applicable) is the frozen variety because the produce is frozen very soon after being picked, ensuring that nutrients are held in "limbo" instead of depleting via oxidation;
4. GMOs (Genetically Modified) produce - steer clear!  This is a HOT, HOT, HOT topic right now, with Monsanto being one of the most evil corporations behind these.  (If you don't know the deal with GMOs, do your research and learn about the physiological functions of our bodies and what our bodies can recognize as nutrients.)

Okay, now on to real labels!  Let's start by looking at a nutrition label (one of my fave cereals from Kashi, BTW):

1) On the first line, you'll see the serving size that this nutritional information is really for, which is 27 biscuits (pieces) that are about 55g or 1.9oz in weight total (27 biscuits=55g or 1.9oz).
2) The 2nd line is how many of those servings (approximately) should be in the ENTIRE box (about 9 is the amount for this example)

So, per the serving of 27 biscuits/pieces (equivalent to 55g or 1.9oz) the following is the nutrient information (without milk or milk-like products, BTW):

1) Total Calories - 190 ... of those 190 calories, 10 of those calories are derived from some type of fat. Easy, right?

2) Speaking of fat...
     The TOTAL fat is 1g, but then we learn that that 1g of fat IS NOT a trans fat nor a saturated fat, which is good because those are the TWO worst fats that we can have (unless you want heart disease, obesity, diabetes, etc. that is)! So, by omission, we learn that the 1g of fat is probably a monounsaturated or a polyunsaturated fat (good fats but even these should be kept low but not removed because we need fats with certain foods to induce bioavailability of certain nutrients - FYI).
    Also, notice the right furthest column (under the category % Daily Value) - there's a number there that tells us that this fat intake is about 2% of our DAILY RECOMMENDED FAT INTAKE. If I ate this whole box of cereal in one day, I would have met 18% of my daily recommended fat intake for that day just with this box of cereal.  (IMPORTANT NOTE: the Daily Value amounts are based on a 2000 calorie diet and your needs might be different depending on how many calories your body needs to function, such as an endurance athlete might have a higher calorie need to do what she/he does.)

3) Then we see cholesterol amounts (which the closer to zero, the better, since our bodies are capable of making cholesterol, but shouldn't exceed a total of 200mg daily).

4)  Here comes another big player - SODIUM! This cereal's not bad at only 5mg per serving (not even making a dent in the %Daily Value amount.
     FYI, the ADEQUATE daily intake of sodium is as follows:
          >1500mg for 19-50 year olds
            > 1300mg for 51-70 year olds
            > 1200mg for over 70 year olds
      The maximum daily intake should not exceed 2300mg (Hint: 1tsp of salt is approximately equally to 2000mg of sodium).  Most processed foods have a very large amount of sodium content and, sometimes, things that we don't think taste salty have significant amounts of sodium.  Too much sodium in our daily diets can contribute to hypertension (high blood pressure) and loss of calcium. (Yep, I said "loss of calcium".)
     People who are "salt sensitive" and should avoid excessive intake of sodium are:
        - Those with parents who had high blood pressure (or those who HAVE high blood pressure)
        - Those with chronic kidney disease
        - Those with diabetes
        - African Americans
        - People over the age of 50
        - Those who are overweight
       
5) Potassium is sodium's arch nemesis, sort of.  So why is potassium important against sodium? It seems to prevent calcium excretion that are a response to high sodium intakes.  Funny thing is, most processed/refined foods change during the processing with potassium levels are significantly decreased while sodium levels rise.  Chalk up another reason to AVOID processed foods!  Here's a table showing you what I mean:

6) Total Carbohydrates - you know, I'm so tired of the bum wrap carbs have gotten these days!  These little energy powerhouses are a needed nutrient, just not in the Twinkie or slice of cake form :-D  Making sure that most of your carbohydrate intake is coming from fiber, such as whole grains, vegetables, & fruits, is a good rule .
     Fiber content, again, is important.  But if you're asking, "what's the difference between soluble & insoluble fiber", well, I'm going to tell you.  Soluble fiber is the one that becomes dis-sol-ved in your digestive fluids and transforms into a gel-like substance that may trap some other nutrients to make them less absorbable, including fats and sugars though you still get the calories from them (bummer)...this is the protective fiber that helps protect us from heart disease.  Insoluble fiber is the opposite and DOESN'T dissolve -- it's the bulk fiber that...well...helps going to the bathroom get going better...got it?
     As for sugars, the amount on the nutrition label is for ALL sugars - whether it's added or naturally occurring.  To check to see if there's added sugar, that's where reading the ingredient list will come in handy (upcoming in part 2).  Personally, I really wish they would break this down to "Naturally Occurring" and "Added" categories because I do believe our bodies break these down differently. For the most part, I try to limit "added" sugars to 18g/daily and I don't count the fruits and vegetables that I eat.

7) Last, but not least in any way, is protein.  On average, if you're over the age of 18, the recommended daily amount for protein is approximately is 5oz if you're female and 6oz if you're male (unless you're a bodybuilder or lift heavy weights or there's another reason why you should increase your protein intake) - THAT'S IT!  So going to a steakhouse and eating a 6oz steak (if you're a guy) and you're done with protein for that whole day...Americans tend to overdo the protein idea, just saying.  Overdoing it with protein starts a whole other story for later ;-)  Just realize that we don't need as much protein as the fads (and food manufacturers, including restaurants) have lead people to believe.
     One last thing on protein - make sure you get different types of proteins from different sources!  Variety, in food especially, is definitely the spice of life (and health)!

8) Now we're going below the line! It's about the vitamin content of the food.  Basically, these numbers are the percentages based on the Daily Value numbers.  So, for example, the iron per serving in this cereal is 8% of the daily recommended amount of total iron we need.

9) The next section is just a reminder of the Daily Values (total amounts per day) with certain nutrients for a 2000 calorie diet and a 2500 calorie diet.  It shows that, if you are on a 2000 calorie diet, your fat intake should not exceed 65g or 20g of saturated fat in a day.  If you were on a 2500 calorie diet, those numbers would change to 80g and 25g.

10) And, the final thing on this part - how many calories are in a gram of fat?  How about a gram of carbohydrate?  And protein?  Basically, 1 fat gram=9 calories, 1 carbohydrate gram=4 calories, and 1 gram of protein=4 calories...it's there, to help you make better choices and realize that one stands out as our biggest caloric enemy...

And just for giggles, I'm putting another nutrition label for a popular kids' cereal...this is one of my daughters' favorite cereals and I can't get them to stop eating it :(  See if you can spot the nutritional differences:

Part two of this blog (how to understand ingredient lists) ... I'll try to have it up by the end of the next week (Feb. 25, 2012)  For now, want more information on nutrition labels or recommended daily amounts?  Visit the USDA website at http://www.choosemyplate.gov/http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

All information on this blog is my own pursuit of information on the road to getting my BS in Nutrition Science and as a mode of studying.  
   

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Breakfast is Killing People!

Here's something to think about:

Did you know that an egg, while it has only 1 gram of saturated fat, has over 200mg of cholesterol??? That's almost 2/3 of the recommended daily limit! So, if people have an egg for breakfast every morning, plus 2 slices of bacon, plus 2 pats of butter on their toast that's 200+18+22=240mg of cholesterol - just for breakfast!! The USDA recommends a limit of 300mg of cholesterol a day, FYI. Imagine the end of day cholesterol intake after having meat for lunch, meat for dinner, AND all the dairy products that go with all that food, including dessert! 

Here's an interesting article from the USDA website from back in 2000 that discusses how the different types of fat don't affect LDL cholesterol but dietary cholesterol does:

Dietary Cholesterol Makes LDL Cholesterol More Radical By Judy McBride April 4, 2000A little extra cholesterol in our diets may render the “bad” LDL cholesterol in our bloodstream more susceptible to oxidation. That’s what happened to the LDL from a group of older men and women in a study reported in the March issue of Atherosclerosis. And that’s not good: Evidence suggests that oxidized LDL cholesterol is more apt to provoke the plaques that build up in arteries and increase risk of heart attack and stroke. The researchers concluded that the current recommendation to limit dietary cholesterol is both valid and prudent, noting that their findings support those of an earlier study by others. This study was led by Ursula S. Schwab and Alice H. Lichtenstein at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston. Schwab, who is now back in Finland, Lichtenstein and colleagues designed 30-percent-fat diets that differed only in the type of fat. One was rich in polyunsaturated fat from corn oil; the other was rich in saturated fat from beef tallow. Otherwise, the foods were identical. And by adding extra cholesterol to each diet--ranging from around 220 to 330 milligrams, depending on the volunteer’s total calorie intake--they approximately doubled the cholesterol content. That’s considerably more than the 300-milligrams recommended by the Dietary Guidelines. Thirteen men and women between the ages of 46 and 78 ate each of four diets, the corn oil with and without the extra cholesterol and beef tallow with and without extra cholesterol. The type of fat didn’t significantly affect the susceptibility of the volunteers’ LDL to oxidation in a test-tube assay. But the extra cholesterol increased oxidation susceptibility by 28 percent during the corn oil diet and 15 percent during the beef tallow diet. The volunteers began the study with moderately elevated LDL cholesterol--each having levels greater than 130 milligrams per deciliter. Adding the extra dietary cholesterol prompted a further rise in their total as well as their LDL cholesterol, regardless of the type of fat in the diet. Scientific contact: Alice H. Lichtenstein, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, Mass., phone (617) 556-3127, fax (617) 556-3103, lichtenstein@hnrc.tufts.edu.

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Frustrating Weeks=end of stagnation

Yuck!  Don't you just hate weeks that you just need to get soooo much done but it seems like your wheels are spinning in the mud and you're not getting ANYTHING done?  The past couple of weeks were exactly that way for me. But the "blah-ness" stops here and now...this week's gonna rock!  Or, at least, I'm going to try to rock it :D

I've finally applied to the college of my choice to complete my bachelor's degree in nutrition science (yay!!).  I've been working on that darn degree off-and-on for an unmentionable amount of years and now I'm crossing my fingers that it'll be within my grasp within the next two years (or maybe sooner)!  Then, my transition doesn't stop there -- that'd be too easy.  On to chiropractic college to become a chiropractor!  I'm going to be soooo tired by the time I'm done but it'll be worth it...just thinking of how I'll be able to help people makes it worth it.

I've started working on a log for vegans based on the book "Becoming Vegan" written by two registered dieticians.  If it works out really well, I'll post a copy of it for anyone interested.  I've been looking for something that I can easily refer to so I'm sure I'm getting a good balanced amount of nutrients so I can be even healthier (and with all the schooling I'm looking at, I'm going to need that more than ever).  It'd be more for beginning vegans and I'm trying to make it easy to track servings, what servings are, and the different pyramid-type food groups specific to vegans.  Obviously, the one published by the USDA isn't applicable to those of us who don't do dairy or meats...I think that's very small minded of them, don't you think so?  Right. :-D

Also, finally finished watching ALL eleven seasons of the "Biggest Loser" and now I'm so ready to watch the new season LIVE, well as live as it can get not being on Hulu that is.  If they do the "Pound for Pound" challenge again this season, I'm going to start a team - because I think it's a great idea to get people to lose weight and to help those who would go hungry without those food banks.  Wonder how many people I can get to do this with me?  I'm not going to push veganism on people but if anyone asks or has an interest, I'll be there excitedly full of information for them :D

It's funny.  Since I've started this vegan journey, I've improved my health, my energy levels, my thinking is clearer, and I've been able to watch two wonderful friends become vegetarians on the basis that one day they would jump the gap and go vegan, even if just to try it.  I think it's all pretty wonderful.  I just wish more people would discover the health benefits and the ease of being vegan...2 months for me and counting!

By-the-way, here's a recipe that one of those friends-turned-vegetarian sent to me today for homemade vegan pudding...I haven't tried it yet but "Smiles" swears it's awesome!

• 1 avocado, 1 tsp of dark cocoa powder, 1/2 cup soy milk and if you want it sweet, 4 tsp of evaporated cane sugar syrup (or agave nectar) or until your desired sweetness;
• Mix in a blender until well blended.
  Let me know if she's right or not...I haven't been very adventurous with avocados outside their normal uses so I've been hesitant to try the various vegan desserts that use avocado.

Oh, and did I mention that I'm belly dancing this weekend...in public...with a choreography that I wrote -- this is the first time for both these things together and I'm already nauseous at the thought *shivers*.  I hope I don't forget everything...or that my costume stays on (it's new, that's why I'm worried about it)...Okay, just better to not think about it - practice, practice, practice...that's the best way I can prepare, right? Right. *gulp*

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Milestones! Oh, and Potassium!

     So this week I was able to hit a few milestones in taking charge of my own health.  I've been eating a vegan diet now for just under two months and I got my cholesterol tested last week to see what sort of effect my new eating habits have had on those numbers.  I was pleasantly surprised (and a little not surprised) to learn that my cholesterol numbers had dropped significantly enough to astound my doctor's nurse (who was the one calling me with the results).  My total cholesterol dropped 54mg!!  LDL went down 35mg but my HDL also went down 13mg so I need to work on bringing up those good fats in the next couple of months.  My triglycerides also dropped 30mg.  All-in-all, I think this marks quite a wonderful amount of progress but wait, there's more!!  I also realized that I've now lost approximately 16 pounds in the almost two months that I've changed my eating habits - and that, was like icing on the cake (vegan icing, of course)!!  All of this has made my week, maybe even month!  Of course, I'm sure that it wasn't just the diet but all of this was helped along by a good amount of exercising almost every day and THAT was more difficult than changing my eating habits.
     I've been finding that this whole vegan diet was just meant to be for me.  It feels easy and the food I'm discovering is a no-brainer when it comes to making it.  No more realizing at 4pm that I forgot to take a slab of meat out of the freezer and that it won't defrost in time for dinner only to give up and announce that we'd be going out to eat!  Now, around 4pm, I'm considering what I feel like eating, go to the store to pick up whatever veggies, grains, or additives needed to make it, and dinner is done within two hours!  I tried planning and buying a week's worth of meals but I got tired of the vegetables wilting or rotting before I was able to use them.  So now, I kind-of fly by the seat of my pants everyday.  I try to make sure I have leftovers so I can eat the next day for lunch but if not, I always keep tomatoes, mixed greens, broccoli, tofu (and/or tempeh), and vegan bacon in the fridge for a quick salad or a yummy VBLT (VeganBaconLettuceTomato) sandwich.  When I make a soup or stew, I freeze half of it to use another day that I don't feel up to creating something.  It's very liberating for me!  I do plan well-rounded nutritionally dense foods for every day's meals, remembering to keep it colorful to get a good balance of vitamins and minerals.  My copy of the book "Becoming Vegan" by Brenda Davis, RD and Vesanto Melina MS, RD is my stalwart companion in keeping up with how much of what I need to eat to keep as healthy balanced as possible...if you're also embarking on a vegan adventure, I highly (again) recommend that book!
  

     So, besides needing to raise my HDL cholesterol and lowering the rest of all that a bit more, my other challenge has been potassium intake.  I just can't seem to get enough from what I've been eating.  Now, before anyone jumps on the banana wagon (LOL!), I know bananas have a lot of potassium but I also know that a baked potato has WAY MORE potassium than a banana. I've never been a big fan of bananas but I'll eat them if I have to and potatoes (love them) are way too high in calories to eat more than once in awhile (1 banana is 110 calories & 450mg of potassium; a baked potato is 290 calories for a whopping 1081mg of potassium)!  So I've been researching other sources of potassium that I can "pepper" my meals and snacks with and I've found out some interesting things:

(According to USDA.gov website):
1) Figs.  1 fresh medium fig - 116mg potassium / 37 calories
             1 dried fig - 87mg / 21 cals

2) Canned tomato paste (unsalted).  1 cup = 2657mg / 215cals
3) White beans. 1 cup = 1004mg / 249 cals
4) Raisins (packed). 1 cup = 1236mg / 493 cals
5) Spinach, cooked (without salt). 1 cup = 839mg / 41 cals

These are just a few of the ones I looked at but there seems to be more than I thought there was.  Plus, the list made me recheck my calorie tracking software and I found out that potassium numbers are not always given (even though I know the product has potassium).  Might be that I'm getting enough and I just don't realize it.  Nonetheless, living in a very humid area and working out hard...well, let's just say that I don't bother sitting down on our couch until after I've showered :D Minerals must be replaced constantly here.  It's too bad we can't have a machine in our homes that we can test our own blood every month to check vitamin/mineral serum levels ourselves.  Wouldn't that be grand??  I'd use it just to make sure my body has what it needs to function like it's supposed to.

If you want to check out the USDA's nutrient database sorted by potassium rich foods, here's the link.  (By-the-way, animal products only start showing up on this list at 850mg of potassium, just saying.)

Don't these look yummy?!? 

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