Protein is an essential nutrient that benefits your body in numerous ways. However, protein sources vary in their healthfulness, with lean, high-protein, low-calorie foods being healthier options than sources with higher amounts of saturated fat, sodium or a combination of the two.
Read on to learn about protein’s benefits, how high-protein, low-calorie foods influence your appetite and weight, and the best high-protein, low-calorie foods to add to your menu.
Benefits of high-protein foods
To understand the benefits of high-protein foods, it helps to learn some of protein’s roles in your body. The protein you eat is broken down and used to repair tissues, including muscle and bone tissues, and to make hormones, among other things. It also provides structural support for your skin, joints, bones and nails.
Protein is also helpful for hunger management. It increases the hormones that reduce appetite while suppressing a hormone that increases appetite, helping to control overeating. That makes a higher-protein diet beneficial for weight loss.
Meanwhile, if you aren’t consuming enough protein, you could be at risk of losing muscle mass, not to mention brittle hair and nails. Inadequate protein intake also puts you at risk of weak bones and getting sick more often since your immune system depends on protein to operate properly.
How much protein do you need?
Most people get enough protein to meet their basic needs, but evidence suggests that we may need more for optimal muscle health and weight management. Most people benefit from including 1.0 to 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.
To simplify this, consider the average 171-pound female who’s trying to get 1.3 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. This equates to about 101 grams of protein each day. However, you can’t just down that at one sitting and call it a day. An ideal eating pattern includes protein spaced evenly throughout the day. So, for the average woman, this means getting…
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