Let me ask you a simple question, are you consuming a relevant amount of protein? You may agree, but what if I tell you that most of you don’t. Yes, according to an article, 80% of Indians do not consume required protein and 90% even don’t know what the daily requirements are. The result? According to National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data, nearly 1 in every 4 Indians are obese and in an article of National Institute of Health, nearly 66% of Indians are suffering from malnutrition. Well, in this article wellhealthorganic.com:vegetarian protein sources we will discuss, a detail description about protein and how you can complete your daily requirements
Understanding Wellhealthorganic.com:Vegetarian Protein Sources
wellhealthorganic.com : vegetarian protein sources, is an article that discusses how a vegetarian can complete their protein requirements. Talking about the wellhealthorganic.com, then it is a website that provides health and fitness tips, skin care, beauty tips, ayurvedic benefits and tips, home remedies tips, all in hindi since many of Indians, has a mother tongue of hindi.
What is Protein?
Protein is an essential nutrient present in our body. It is a combination of 20 amino acids, which is used differently by our bodies, for particular bone and muscles. Some amino acids are easily made in our body. There are 11 amino acids which is considered non essential amino acids, but other 9 is considered as essential amino acids which are histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. Let’s not go in deep for that
Protein Benefits Sccording to Science
Now, you are thinking what protein can benefit the human body? Some of them are also discussed by wellhealthorganic.com:vegetarian protein sources. Let’s discuss them one by one:
1. Reduces Appetite and Hunger Levels
Studies show that a high protein diet can eventually reduce hunger, which eventually helps in eating fewer calories. This is mainly because protein reduces the level of the hunger hormone, ghrelin. One study also shows that an overweight woman, who increases protein intake from 15 to 30%, eats 441 fewer calories, without even any intentional restriction.
2. Increases Muscle Mass and Strength
Muscle is primarily made of protein. Many studies have shown that eating plenty of protein can help you to gain muscle mass and strength. Also, a high protein intake will reduce the chances of muscle loss, without any weight loss.
3. Good for Your Bones
There are some myths that say animal protein is bad for your bones. But are we discussing myths? No, we discuss facts. Many long-term studies, highlighted that eating an adequate amount of protein will eventually help you to reduce the risk of osteoporosis (in simple words, new bone creation is impossible) and fractures, as they grew older
4. Reduces Cravings and Late-Night Snacking Desire
Cravings are different from hunger. Think about it. If you get an advertisement for MacD, you are more likely to order MacD than eat the food in your kitchen. This means, your body doesn’t need them but your brain needs them. This can be a challenging task while having a weight loss journey. But what if I tell you that protein can help you with that. Yes, according to a study an overweight man showed that increase in protein to 25% of the calories, eventually reduces cravings by 60% and late-night snacking desire by half
5. Boosts Metabolism and Increases Fat Burning
Protein has a higher thermic effect of food (basically means the body uses more calories to digest) than fats or carbs which eventually helps in increasing metabolism, which eventually leads to burning more calories, which is between 80-100 more calories burned each day. In some studies, a high protein diet eventually burned 260 more calories per day than a low protein group. This is equivalent to moderate intensity workout in an hour per day.
6. Helps Maintain Weight Loss
One of the main benefits of protein is that it boosts metabolism, which eventually leads to loss of weight. In one of the studies, an overweight woman lost 11 pounds (or 5 kgs) in 3 months by consuming 30% of their calories from protein. Another study also found that, by increasing 15 to 18% of their calories from protein, the chances of weight regain is decreased by 50%
7. Does Not Harm Healthy Kidneys
You must have heard of the myth that high protein intake may cause kidney damage. While, it’s not actually the case, it can harm the people who have the kidney problems, but it is not have any link to the healthy kidneys, and numerous studies proved that high protein intake may not harm the individuals who have a healthy kidney
Recommended Protein Intake for an Individual
Now, in the previous section, I repeated the term adequate amount of protein. But what is it? Well, it differs from person to person, their physical activity, age, gender and metabolism. If we talk about the necessary protein requirement intake as per wellhealthorganic.com:vegetarian protein sources, then it is nearly 0.8 gm per kg of body weight. This simply means that if a person weighs 75 kgs, he should consume at least 60 gm of protein per day. But if you are exercising daily, the requirement increased to 1.2 to 2 gm per kg of body weight
Foods Rich in Protein
Now, you surely must be thinking, what are some foods which are rich in protein. Here, we will discuss some foods rich in protein for vegetarians, non vegetarians and people who are lactose intolerant
High Protein Foods for Vegetarians
- Cottage Cheese or Paneer: The main source of most of the vegetarians is cottage cheese or Paneer. The 100gm of paneer contains 18-25 gm of protein, making it a good source of protein for vegetarians.
- Curd: Curd can also be an essential source of protein for vegetarians. The 100 gm of curd contains approx. 11 gm of protein, which makes a good source for the vegetarians. If, it is still less for you, then most of the companies and corporations try to manufacture high protein curd, which can benefit to complete the recommended daily intake.
- Whey: Another rich source of protein is whey protein, it is also a dairy product and 100 gm of whey contains 75 gm of protein. Although, the process of making whey is still is a doubt to people, we still can use as an alternative.
High Protein Foods for Non-Vegetarians
Although wellhealthorganic.com:vegetarian protein sources, do not provide any relevant information about non vegetarians, we still believe that a user should be aware of the most alternatives
- Eggs: Although, eggs are considered vegetarian. Most of the Indians considered it as a non vegetarian product. Hence, we will place them at non veg. Talking about nutrition, then each egg contains approx. 6gm of protein with all the essential amino acids.
- Chicken Breast: Chicken breast can also be a rich source of protein. Most bodybuilders add chicken in their daily diet. 100 gm of chicken breast contains 31 gm of protein.
- Fish: Fish can also be an alternative to consuming protein. 100gm of fish contains approx. 22 gm of protein, although it is not consumed in large amount.
High Protein Foods for Lactose Intolerant
If you are lactose intolerant and might be thinking that you don’t have a good alternative, then think again. Well, wellhealthorganic.com:vegetarian protein sources, provides much of the information about your category only. Let’s discuss them as follows:
- Lentils: Lentils, also known as Masoor ki Daal can be an alternative for proteins. 100 gm of contains approx 9 gm of protein.
- Chickpeas: Chickpeas, also popularly known as Chana, can also be used besides protein. A 100gm of protein contains approx. 10 gm of protein.
- Black beans: Black beans can also be an alternative source of protein. A 100 gm of black beans contain approx 8.9 gm of protein.
- Almonds: Almonds are like the one stop shop for all the nutritional things. It is rich is many macronutrients, and a 100 gm of almonds contain 21 gm of protein.
- Chia seeds: Chia seeds is one of the underrated things you can think of, a one tablespoon of chia seeds in water, can approx. have the same amount of nutrition for an egg. It is also rich in omega 3 fatty acids and fiber. A 100 gm of chia seeds contain approx. 17 gm of protein. But make sure to soak in water for at least 20 mins. before consuming.
- Pumpkin seeds: Pumpkin seeds are also in many macronutrients and protein. It can also be made with other foods. A 100 gm of Pumpkin Seeds contain 19 gm of protein.
- Tofu and Tempeh: While both of them have a paneer like structure, an individual may get confused whether they are lactose free or not, well yes, they are lactose and gluten free. A 100gm of tofu contain 8 gm of protein while a 100 gm of tempeh contain 19 gm of protein.
- Edamame: It has a pea-like structure, but they are not exactly peas. A 100gm of edamame contains 11 gm of protein.
- Quinoa: Quinoa is a whole grain product and contains 14-18g per 100 gms, although it is just about grains. While cooking, the micronutrients may decrease.
- Amaranth: It is also a whole grain product and contains 14 gm of protein per 100 gms, although it is just about grains. While cooking, the micronutrients may decrease.
Conclusion
In the above article, we discussed one of the main macronutrients for our body, protein. Well, it is not only the nutrients that should be discussed such as carbs, fats, vitamins etc. These macronutrients can be easily fulfilled by rice etc., but it still needs a deeper dive, which we will discuss in another article. For today, I hope you learned about how protein is essential to one’s health and how we can complete them and in the upcoming years, the data discussed may improve. Thank you!
Disclaimer: The article, wellhealthorganic.com:vegetarian protein sources is just for informational and awareness purposes only and do not serve any other goals. Moreover, we do not have affiliations with wellhealthorganic, or any other companies mentioned. Moreover, the article is not written by any nutritionist or any other relative field, and hence we are not liable if any of the information is incorrect or inaccurate
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