What do you know about protein? What do you think you know about protein?
Today, we'll have a look at protein, what it is needed for and how you can use that knowledge for being healthier

What do we need it for?
Protein is needed to form the building blocks for new tissue and repairing existing body cells! They can also be used for making enzymes, hormones and even antibodies. It can also be used as a small fuel source, but very little!!

How much protein should I be eating?
This varies more than you'd expect. If you don't do anything and are what we call 'sedentary' then your requirement is 0.75 grams of protein for each KG of body weight. If however you are an athlete your requirement ranges between 1.2 and 1.7 grams of protein for each KG of body weight. What does that mean for me? I currently weigh about 80kg. That means if I did nothing and was sedentary I should be eating only 60g of protein per day. If however I was an athlete my protein requirement might be anything up to 136g per day. Realistically I am more in the middle and my protein requirement is more in the lower spectrum of 1.2 times my weight, which comes to 96g per day.

How should I eat my protein?
Well, obviously you shouldn't eat all of your intake at once, that would be a bit silly and overload your system at a time when it doesn't need them all. Most experts recommend that you consume 20 to 25 grams of protein in each meal as well as immediately after you exercise.

So take a read, have a think about what you're eating and combine it with the information we have had already around Carbohydrates and Fats and try and plan your food a bit better.

Ciao for now! x